Format: Paperback, 400 pages
Release Date: May 3, 2022
Publisher: Vintage
Source: Library
Genre: Mystery/ Adaptations / Historical / Regency
A summer house party turns into a thrilling whodunit when Jane
Austen's Mr. Wickham—one of literature’s most notorious villains—meets a
sudden and suspicious end in this brilliantly imagined mystery
featuring Austen’s leading literary characters.
The
happily married Mr. Knightley and Emma are throwing a party at their
country estate, 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 Darcy's
eldest son, whose adherence to propriety makes his father seem almost
relaxed. In this tantalizing fusion of Austen and Christie, from New York Times
bestselling author Claudia Gray, the unlikely pair must put aside their
own poor first impressions and uncover the guilty party—before an
innocent person is sentenced to hang.
Claudia Gray's The Murder of Mr. Wickham, set in the year 1820, features a lovable and intelligent pair of amateur sleuths, Jonathan Darcy and Juliet Tilney, a grand estate, a stormy night, and a murder after a tense dinner. The ending perfectly sets up Jonathan and Juliet's next adventure, which will introduce them to more beloved Austen characters—and even more delightful shenanigans. In The Murder of Mr. Wickham, we finally see Austen’s leading literary couples all in one place, interacting with one another and inhabiting the same universe. It’s the perfect crossover event.
The happily married Mr. George Knightley and Emma are throwing a party at their country estate Donwell Abbey, bringing together distant relatives and new acquaintances—characters beloved by Jane Austen fans: Elizabeth Bennett and Fitzwilliam Darcy (Pride and Prejudice), Edmund and Fanny Bertram (Mansfield Park), Colonel Christopher and Lady Marianne Brandon (Sense and Sensibility), Captain Frederick Wentworth and Lady Wentworth (Persuasion).
As well as Juliet Tilney, the smart and resourceful daughter of Catherine and Henry, eager for adventure beyond Northanger Abbey and Jonathan Darcy, the Darcy's eldest son, whose adherence to propriety makes his father seem almost relaxed. Definitely not invited is Mr. George 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. An investigation by Juliet and Jonathan follow, but the biggest problem is that just about everyone has reason to want him dead. This investigation also reveals some interesting aspects of each of the couple's lives which is very revealing.
17-year-old Juliet Tilney arrives fresh-faced and eager for her first adventure away from home. Egged on by a novel-writing mother who experienced her own first time traveling at Juliet’s age and a cautious practical-minded father, she is determined to make the most of the adventure while not disappointing her parents. Jonathan Darcy, would likely be placed, in modern times, on the Autistic spectrum. He has endured through a disability that wasn’t known to exist in that time, but he is a fabulous fellow and after a poor first impression.
The Regency era's most frustrating strict code of manners and what is considered “proper”, is featuring prominently with the interaction between Juliet and Jonathan. Gray smartly uses the younger generation to try to discern the difference between manners and morality. Gray’s plot gives almost everyone a motive. Jonathan and Juliet are the only two without a motive or opportunity and that makes them the perfect duo to investigate what happened, even if it means exposing his parents. There are multiple points of views to tantalize fans of Austen’s revered couples which gives Austen readers a chance to catch up with their favorites.
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