Oh Dear! Another Horrific Fall from the Cobb!
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Source: Purchased
The Deception at Lyme: Or, the Peril of Persuasion is the sixth installment in Carrie Bebris’s critically acclaimed Mr. and Mrs. Darcy Mystery series. This magnificent and long-running series is a collection of sequels to Pride and Prejudice, that place our dear Mr. and Mrs. and many situations of mystery, murder, and mayhem. After the first of the book in the series, Pride and Prescience, Carrie Bebris begins to combine characters from different Jane Austen novels. It is such enormous fun to see the Darcys encounter the happily married Brandons, Knighleys, and Wentworths and solve mysteries together with them! For prospective readers who have not read this series, it might help to know these books do not need to be read in order. Also, while the first two deal with a good amount of supernatural elements and powers, none exist in this installment.
After spending some time in Highbury, the Darcys travel to Lyme for a brief holiday with Georgiana and their daughter, Lily-Anne. As we might remember from Jane Austen’s novel, the Cobb can be a very dangerous place, especially on a windy day with a storm coming in…or especially if someone wanted to do somebody harm and make it look like an accident. Darcy and Elizabeth are magnets for murder mysteries, so of course they are the ones to find Mrs. Clay lying unconscious at the base of the Cobb. Their discovery leads to them meeting the Harvilles, Wentworths, and Elliots, and becoming quite embroiled in their affairs…
While in Lyme, the Darcys meet Lieutenant St. Clair who delivers the personal effects of Gerard Fitzwilliam, Mr. Darcy’s cousin who died in action serving in the Navy. The chest contains a diary, whose contents lead Darcy to suspect that his cousin’s death might have been intentional…
– Is Mrs. Clay’s baby the next Elliot heir?
– Did Mr. Elliot have something to do with Mrs. Clay’s fall?
– Was Gerard Fitzwilliam murdered?
Hats off to you, Ms. Bebris! The Deception at Lyme is another well-constructed, balanced, informative, and engrossing mystery! There is so much happening in these novels – the integration of characters from different novels, the continuation of previous established story-lines, the introduction of new characters, the inclusion relevant historical content, some adventure, danger, and romance, and at least two mysteries that may or may not be connected! I applaud Ms. Bebris for effectively and skillfully bringing all these components together and creating a multifaceted, compelling, and thoroughly entertaining story.
As always with any Carrie Bebris mystery, my favorite part of the novel is witnessing these reverently depicted characters interact with each other – I loved witnessing how impressed Sir Walter was with Darcy’s illustrious connections (and how unimpressed both the Darcys were with him!) It was lovely to see Anne and Elizabeth form a quick bond over their mutual compassion for others and concern for Mrs. Clay’s baby. And…be still my heart…seeing Darcy and Wentworth together…in action – solving mysteries, going after the murder…We definitely need more of that! 🙂 *sigh*
Another aspect I enjoyed in this novel was seeing Georgiana have a little romance. I thoroughly enjoyed her story-line and seeing how far she has come since her near elopement with Wickham. I loved seeing her depicted as a stronger and more independent young lady. In addition, I found the conclusion of her story-line (actually all the story-lines) to be immensely satisfying. I really couldn’t ask for anything more fitting or pleasing.
When I read a novel by Carrie Bebris I cannot help but admire and appreciate the amount of work and research put into its formation. Not only are the mysteries unpredictable and well-constructed, they are supported by a richly detailed and researched backdrop. Having read all six books of this series so far, you can definitely say I’m a fan of her work. I’m elated to discover that a new novel by Carrie Bebris is in the works – The Suspicion at Sanditon (Or, The Disappearance of Lady Denham) How awesome that she is including Sanditon?!? *Squeeeee*
You know, I’ve had Carrie Brebris on my radar for some time but have somehow managed to not read one single book. Terrible of me. I think I must start. Of course being the OCD individual that I am, they will have to be read in order…thanks for your review Meredith. Sounds like a fun (in the Austen loving way that we know) read.
It’s a great series, Stephanie! If you aren’t a fan of this first two books, keep reading! I like the third and fifth ones the best. I very much enjoy her portrayals of all Jane Austen’s characters! 🙂
About a year or so ago, I read my first Carrie Bebris book, “Matters at Mansfield”. I was hooked. I have since started from the beginning of this series (I too like reading my books in proper order) with the first two and just received “North by Northanger” in the mail yesterday. So I will be starting that today. I do have the other two waiting in the wings on my nightstand. I enjoy seeing the characters from other Jane Austen novels, interact with Elizabeth and Darcy. But to know that Darcy and Captain Wentworth work closely together in this one just makes the anticipation so much sweeter! Great review Meredith!
Matters at Mansfield was a lot of fun, wasn’t it Carole? I’m a Henry Crawford fan so I loved seeing him so prominent to the story! 🙂 That is a timely arrival! North by Northanger is a great book! 🙂 I’d love to know what you think when you finish it!
I love this series & need to do a re-read. When I read them the first time I wasn’t as familiar with Austen’s characters as I am now so I think I would love them more the 2nd go-round. I met Carrie at Books by the Banks in Cincinnati a few years ago and she was very nice. Not nearly as chatty as Regina Jeffers and me, but very nice! lol
I would love to do a re-read as well, Monica! I read the Intrigue of Highbury back in 2010 and the others all before that! That’s awesome that you met Carrie Bebris! 🙂
Looks like a lot of fun! And what a beautiful cover…
So true. I love seeing all the detail put into the covers of this series. And the OCD side of me loves the uniformity of them all!
I read the first three in the series and got sidetracked. I really need to get busy and catch up. This one sounds really good. And yay! I love that she’s tackling Sanditon.
Yes you do! 🙂 LOL! Me too, the Sanditon has a lot of great characters. I’m glad she isn’t done with series – it would be awesome if she kept going and repeated each novel again. 🙂
Glad you enjoyed this one Meredith! I’ve only read the Mansfield one in this series and I thought it was wonderful. I really want to read all the other books in the series but these books never seem to go on sale so it’ll take the book budget a while to accommodate them all! I am another person who would prefer to read them in order:)
Hi Ceri! Just wait until you read The Intrigue at Highbury – that one is my favorite! Hopefully they will be reduced soon…maybe in celebration for her next release?
Thanks for telling me about Carrie Bebris because I’ve never heard about her and this story sounds really promising. I like mystery novels and with a couple such as Darcy and Lizzie, wow! I can’t ask anything more 🙂
This novel must be in my TBR list!
Oh happy to, Teresa! 🙂 Yes, what is better than seeing one Austen character solve mysteries…seeing two! 🙂 Hope you enjoying exploring this new author and series.
Sounds terrific, Meredith! I read the first in the series, Pride and Prescience, but did not read any subsequent books. I got swept up in other JAFF genres. It sounds interesting and fun that Carrie is bringing other JA characters into her series. I think I’ll be brave (I tend to think I should read series in order, even if not necessary to follow), and skip to this most recent one. If nothing else to prove, I can do it!
Mr. and Mrs. Darcy are well-traveled and their acquaintances expand nicely throughout their marriage. I love seeing the Darcys interact with other Jane Austen characters and seeing them form opinions about them too! This one was a lot of fun, makes me want to visit Lyme so much!
Wonderful review…I have read the whole series and am anxiously awaiting the release of The Suspicions of Sanditon.
Thank you, Stephanie! 🙂 So glad to hear you admire this series too! I’m super excited about her new release!
Meredith, I have not heard of this series until now. Imagine that! Thanks so much for sharing and adding to my ever growing reading list. Sigh!
You haven’t? 🙂 A new series to enjoy is always fun to discover. So happy to share it with you!
WOW! Thanks for the great review and for flagging this! Same as Joy, this series is new to me, and it sounds like something not to be missed.
I bet you’d love this series, Joana! The author did so many cross-overs and mash-ups with characters. 🙂 And this last book had a bit of smuggling!!! Very exciting!
I can’t believe I didn’t comment on this before – I know I read this and thought it sounded delightful – on my TBR list. I had not heard of this author nor of this series before. Thanks for bringing it to our attention. That’s a different name for a daughter – Lily-Ann.
I’m really glad to hear this is a new author for so many people! I greatly admire Carrie Bebris and think this series is most deserving of praise! 🙂