I am a huge Jane Austen fan and a bit of an Austen purist, so I did not expect to enjoy this book and am not even sure why I decided to read it (I skipped Death Comes to Pemberley despite receiving it as a gift). I am very glad I did.

There are things in the book to offend a purist or someone who expects perfect period detail (as a small example, Hartfield's disposition and legal ownership is quite wrong in this book, a very strange mistake for someone who clearly understands that Isabella is Emma's ELDER sister to make) and it is kind of a contrivance to have every major Austen couple (save one) attend a house party together in some way (the Tilneys do not come, but their daughter does; the Ferrars aren't really in the book, but the Brandons are), but this does not spoil the book.

I can't write a lot without spoiling details. This is simply a very fun read even for people (like me) who do not enjoy murder mysteries. The characters are well done and mostly consistent with their Austen portrayals (save, perhaps, Edmund Bertram and Captain Wentworth). The period detail is arguably better than Georgette Heyer's (who seems to have her own ideas about how the period was, despite Austen living during it). And the new characters are not distracting. In fact, Juliet Tilney is excellent. Perhaps not as entertaining as Catherine Morland, but infinitely more sure of herself and perhaps more clever. Your opinion of J. Darcy might vary, but he can hardly ruin the book (even if some of his foibles have a hint of modernism). I even liked Grace Churchill.

Anyway, read this book if you like Austen. I can't speak to how it compares to other murder mysteries or thrillers, but if you want to live in an alternate Austen canon for a bit, this book will let you. I can't recommend it enough and I am shocked to be saying that.

I enjoyed the over all writing and would have given this book 5 stars except I didn't feel this author was true to Jane Austin. She added modern elements that you do not see in any Jane Austin book that distracted from the story line to me. It was disappointing as this book was a page turner and I enjoyed it up to reading those new elements in the story. She also portrayed Elizabeth Darcy pretty negatively and that also did not match her character in Pride and Prejudice so that was disappointing. That being said - I still give it 4 stars because it kept me engaged, I enjoyed reading it and I did not guess the murderer. The author did a great job of making all characters potential suspects and the relationship between Jonathan and Miss Tilney is quite sweet.

One of my favorite books! A wonderful blend of Jane Austin's characters coming together in a Regency murder mystery. I could imagine all of the characters acting out their roles in the story.

My rubric for any novel is as follows:

1 ⭐️ for entertaining

2 ⭐️ for quality writing

3 ⭐️ for insight into the human condition

4 ⭐️ for redemptive

5 ⭐️ all of the above with absolute excellence

Thus I give this book 3.5 stars. It is a fun and easy read for a cozy winter day, a unique take on Austen’s characters later in life, and while I could have done without some of the explanations of 19th century English ways of manners and thought (since I am already familiar through Austen and Brontë), I appreciated that she did not modernize too much and did a decent job of staying within that mindset. I liked the autism spectrum quirk thrown in too. I think she did a good job of showing how loving marriages can drift and what it takes to come back to each other - though it was somewhat simplistic. I will be ordering her next book as soon as it’s available and recommend this if you’re looking for a light read reminiscent of Austen.

I really enjoyed this book. I highly recommend it. It is both a murder mystery and the Jane Austen noveli think you should give it a try.

Many of the characters of Jane Austen’s novels meet together in later years at a house party where a murder occurs. Delightfully written and difficult to put down

Amazing!!! I simply loved the book, and had to order the next one right away!

Cleverly organized around Austen's most famous and memorable characters, this mystery throws them all together in a house party at Emma and George Knightly's estate. The logic and believability for this gathering is weak, but the rotten Mr. Wickham shows up uninvited to spread his nastiness around and soon ends up dead. How very satisfying! Just about everyone is a suspect, as Wickham has done nearly every one of them wrong.

The author weaves subplots of marital friction in every couple in addition to the main whodunit question. I enjoyed the book very much but it lost one star for the tiresome and frankly, totally unimaginative introduction of a gay issue (is this now part of most book contracts?), whose handling seemed to me quite unrealistic, given the time, place, and moral sensibilities of the characters involved.

I felt some characters got short shrift: Elizabeth Darcy's wit and bite are in full evidence, and the resolution to her tension with her husband was resolved just a bit too easily. Ditto for the resolution of the other spats.

Still, it was an enjoyable read and I'd give the author another shot with another mystery if she produces one.

Ok

Una vuelta de tuerca para los amantes de Jane Austen y las novelas de detectives. Divertido....

Mr Wickham is a deplorable character in Austen’s Pride & Prejudice novels, and he continues to be so in Claudia Gray’s book. Unfortunately, since Gray has to give the reader significant context about each character in the story (linking all of Austen’s work), the actual murder central to the plot takes far too long to happen. It takes almost 5 chapters of a 380 page book for the murder to happen, which is far to long!

Once the murder actually occurs, the whodunnit of the story is interesting, and I love the main characters. But I hope the pacing is better in the next novel!

Jane Austen characters were fun! Good plot! Good use of suspense and sudden surprises!

I am impressed with the way the writer came up with the idea of using multiple characters from virtually all of Jane Austen's known works; then using it as a platform for the next generation. There are many people who have tried to write sequels, I have had a stab at it myself though simply for my own amusement. In this one our hero and heroine are Jonathon Darcy and Juliet Tilney; it is immediately obvious who their parents are. At a gathering of guests they find themselves caught up in a murder/mystery situation. More than that I do not want to say as it will spoil it for other readers. One thing I do want to mention is Mr Darcy's attitude to our heroine. He was not very accepting of her and that puzzles me because she displayed characteristics similar to that of the young Elizabeth Bennet....a young lady full of confidence and intelligence. Perhaps he thinks she will lead Jonathon astray though I think it would do the said young man alot of good. Having enjoyed this one ,I am looking forward to the next one in the series and hope it will be, if not better, equally as good !