Interested in a detailed summary with read-alikes?? Check out my Annotation of this book.
Author: Claudia Gray
Category/Type: Adult Fiction
Genre: Mystery
Subgenre(s): Historical / Regency
Publication Date: May 3, 2022
Number of Pages: 379 pages of story text; includes an Author’s Note, Acknowledgements, and a reading group guide
Geographical Setting: The English countryside
Time Period: Late Regency era
Series (if applicable): This book is part of an unnamed series
Plot Summary: Let’s face it, no one really liked Wickham anyway…
Especially not after what he did to Mr. Darcy and the Bennet family…
Could that a possible motive for murder?
The Knightleys (you might remember Emma, perhaps?) are throwing a house party and all their dearest friends, who just so happen to be Jane Austen’s beloved leads, are invited. Just as everyone is ready to settle in for some fun and relaxation, one Mr. Wickham crashes the party. Besides being endlessly annoying, it seems everyone has a reason to dislike the man. It doesn’t help that Wickham’s arrival coincides with missing jewelry, blackmail, and bad weather. That is until the stormy evening when he’s found dead in the gallery. When everyone seems to have a motive, how will anyone determine whodunnit?
Luckily, Lizzy and Darcy brought along their oldest son, Jonathan, who has an eye for details and a knack for deduction. Who better to team up with Jonathan than the intelligent and personable Juliet Tilney, attending in lieu of her parents Catherine and Henry? Trapped at the Knightley estate, they work together to track clues, interview suspects, and uncover secrets. It’s hopefully only a matter of time before they figure out who the murderer is, otherwise an innocent person will go to jail.
Fall back in love with your favorite Austen characters in this witty and suspenseful Regency-era murder mystery.
Content warnings (may contain SLIGHT SPOILERS): Ableism, violence, death, death of a loved one, death of child, homophobia (due primarily to the time period)
Representation:
Well-developed lead on the autistic spectrum
Queer romance (side character of a side character)
PERSONAL THOUGHTS
WARNING: May contain spoilers
Mystery is not my usual genre, but it appears that the way to woo me is to involve Jane Austen’s characters in the crime and its investigation. I had so much fun reading this!
Claudia Gray is a delightful chameleon of an author. I know her from her work in the Star Wars canon where her books melt nicely into the world and the work of the other sci-fi authors. From the first few pages of this book, I felt like I had fallen right back into the pages and world of Jane Austen. The language, pace, and wit mimicks Austen's while remaining Gray's own creation. After the murder takes place (it's not a spoiler, it's in the title), I found myself concerned for the well-being of my favorite characters-- the Darcys and the Brandons.
While Miss Tilney is likely meant to mimic Austen’s heroines, for me Jonathan Darcy was the real show-stopper. He’s an extreme version of our beloved Fitzwilliam Darcy. The description of his personality quirks and habits lead me to believe he is on the autistic spectrum. I don't know that he's a character Austen would have or could have created, yet for as much as he stands out, he also fits into this Regency-set story where doing things right, saying the right things, and being proper are how all social interactions are navigated. The narration for the novel is third person but changes points of view throughout the story. Gray's character development skills shine when readers are viewing the world from Jonathan's entirely sensible perspective.
This book was energetic and an excellent way to break into the Mystery genre. I do recommend everyone reads the Author's Note preceeding the story. It helps set the stage and provide understanding for how these characters could have come together and where we are in the timeline of their fictional lives.
I just learned there is a sequel coming in May 2023 and I can’t wait to get back to these characters and this world!
Final resting place: This book is on my shelf between Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden and Matrix by Lauren Groff.
WHAT I’M READING NOW
My annotations and reviews are always running a bit (or more than a bit) behind what I’m actually reading so here’s a little bit of a teaser, if you will, for reviews to come.
A Rogue by Any Other Name by Sarah MacLean