The Murder of Mr Wickham (Mr Darcy and Miss Tilney #1) by Claudia Gray

Book Review Jun 17, 2024

My review

4/5 stars

I've been trying more and more murder mystery recently (nothing too gory - cozy crime only) but it's been very hit and miss. This one piqued my curiosity however, because it features all of my favourite Austen characters.

I was immediately struck by the clever way that the author managed to weave all of their lives together so that it made sense for them all to be in the same place at the same time - it was creative and fun.

She also did a good job of aging all of the characters suitably - by that I mean their personalities and personas felt realistic for what we knew of them plus all of the things that were supposed to have happened to them in between their individual stories and this one. I particularly enjoyed the marital discord between Lizzy and Darcy and the annoying piousness of the Bertrams.

The introduction of the next generation was handled with charm and grace. Both the Darcy's son and the Tilney's daughter were beautiful extensions of their parents familiar characters, with an added modernity and chemistry that made the book feel really fresh.

As an avid reader of Pride and Prejudice for many years, there was no small degree of satisfaction in seeing such an infamous character as George Wickham meet a sticky end, but I confess that the reason I stopped short of giving this book a 5 star review (because I did consider it - it was a great listen) was that I wasn't completely bought in to the reveal of the murderer. While the conclusion felt true to character (especially for George Wickham), I would have preferred a more emotionally-driven ending.

In spite of that, I had a fantastic time listening to this story and am eager to read the next one in the series asap.

Book blurb

A summer house party turns into a thrilling whodunit when Mr. Wickham, one of literature's most notorious villains, meetsa sudden and suspicious endin this brilliantly imagined mystery featuring Jane Austen's leading literary characters--from the New York Times bestselling author.

The happily married Mr. Knightley and Emma are throwing a house party, bringing together distant relatives and new acquaintances--characters beloved by Jane Austen fans. Definitely not invited is Mr. Wickham, whose latest financial scheme has netted him an even broader array of enemies. As tempers flare and secrets are revealed, it's clear that everyone would be happier if Mr. Wickham got his comeuppance. Yet they're all shocked when Wickham turns up murdered--except, of course, for the killer hidden in their midst.

Nearly everyone at the house party is a suspect, so it falls to the party's two youngest guests to solve the mystery: Juliet Tilney, the smart and resourceful daughter of Catherine and Henry, eager for adventure beyond Northanger Abbey; and Jonathan Darcy, the Darcys' eldest son, whose adherence to propriety makes his father seem almost relaxed. In a tantalizing fusion of Austen and Christie, the unlikely pair must put aside their own poor first impressions and uncover the guilty party--before an innocent person is sentenced to hang.