A Flirtation Interrupted by Murder!
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Source: Review from Publisher
TYPE OF NOVEL: Mystery, Jane Austen as a Main Character
SERIES: Miss Austen Investigates #1
THE PREMISE: It’s the winter of 1795, and Jane Austen’s life is full of romance and promise. Her flirtation with Tom Lefroy is flourishing and she expects a proposal to be imminent. But instead of a receiving a proposal, Jane encounters a dead body, a murder mystery, and a family member arrested for a crime he didn’t commit….
WHAT I LOVED:
- Winter of 1795: Yes! I love that we are exploring this time in Jane Austen’s life! The fabulous Being a Jane Austen Mystery series by Stephanie Barron begins with Jane Austen solving mysteries later in life, almost at the age of twenty-seven, so this was a fun look and contrast of what Jane Austen maybe was like at a younger age. In addition, there is a lot going on with Jane’s family at this time – her sister Cassandra is engaged to Tom Fowle, two of her brothers are in love with her newly widowed cousin, Eliza, and she has her own romance with the visiting Tom Lefroy.
- Young Jane: This story portrays a Jane Austen of nineteen – girlish, spirited, and fanciful. While we sometimes like to imagine Jane Austen having a similar nature or personality to Elizabeth Bennet or Anne Elliot, this story explores Jane Austen having a similar nature to young and inexperienced characters such as Lydia Bennet, Marianne Dashwood, and Catherine Morland. And while that might feel a bit implausible or incongruous, it actually felt like it made sense. I could easily believe that as a young miss comfortable in her village and surroundings, Jane would be impetuous and heedless with her words and heart. And that eventually as she matures, she becomes older and wiser.
- George Austen: I really appreciated how this story gave a closer look and focus on Jane’s second eldest brother, George. George had some developmental disabilities, was subject to fits, and was possibly deaf and mute. Because of all that, he lived with permanent caregivers in a separate home from the Austens and is often not featured as prominently in as many narratives and descriptions of their family life. But this book brings him front and center, and depicts how different members of the Austen family regarded him. It was also an interesting look at how society in general viewed and treated people who were born with disabilities, and what their lives maybe were like.
- An Engaging Mystery: A violent murder takes place at a ball of all places. Who could be the murderer? And what prompted them to commit this act? With the victim being a mysterious visiting artisan of the merchant class and the suspects being Jane Austen’s neighbors and friends – it made for a very interesting murder to explore! I loved seeing the histories and connections between these characters revealed throughout the story and the surprising twists the author included along the way.
WHAT COULD’VE BEEN BETTER:
- Too Easy or Too Long?: I was able to correctly solve this mystery around halfway through. Which depending on how you look at it could be a good or bad sign. But since I sat with the knowledge of my guess for so long, it did make if feel like either the mystery itself was maybe too easy to solve, or that Jane Austen took too long to figure it out herself. 😬
- A Sorrowful Note: Usually it is easy to feel some detachment about the deceased in a murder mystery – especially if they are a character that is unliked or relatively unknown. But throughout this story we became more and more acquainted with the deceased and it actually induced more despair for their death and situation. And while solving the mystery is a joyous thing, it was tempered strongly for the loss of life and future for the deceased and their family.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
🔍 Jane Austen as a impulsive and fanciful young sleuth? I’m totally here for it!
💔 A most trying age, indeed! Young Jane Austen is crossed in love and embroiled in a murder investigation at the same time!
📚 Huzzah! This looks like this is a beginning of a series!! I can’t wait for the next book.
I picked a copy of this up on impulse during a trip to the bookstore, having never heard of it before, and now I am quite intrigued and bumping it further up my TBR to get to sooner!
Wonderful! I think it was just released a few months ago. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
This sounds like something I’d love reading. This is another new-to-me author. Aren’t we spoiled for riches in this genre? Oh my. Thank you for such a great review, fair and honest, enticing without spoiling. Just enough information. You do such a great job, Meredith.
We sure are!
And thank you so much for your kind words! I try my best to avoid giving an accidental spoiler!
I enjoyed this one, too. You made some excellent points about Jane at this age. I read a lot of mysteries so was able to solve this one pretty early on, but that didn’t lessen my enjoyment of the book. I would definitely read more.
Same for me, Kim. I am excited about the next book in this series. It will be interesting to witness Jane Austen mature and evolve through her experiences in this series.
But yeah, I got a kick out of her Lydia-like impetuousness and Catherine Morland-like overly-active imagination.
I am adding this to my TBR pile! I agree, I think Jane might have been a little bold and pert in her youth. And I love a mystery
For sure – I can definitely see that. Her writing style kind then kind of confirms that mindset a little.
I thought this book wasn’t for sale in the UK and then I realised that for some reason it has a different title, it’s called ‘Miss Austen Investigates’. It’s a bit disappointing that you could work it out so soon though, I like to sleuth for a while!
Yes, I saw it had already been released under in some other languages too. Which is a good sign I think!
But yeah, I actually don’t mind it when I’m wrong or can’t figure out the mystery until a moment before it’s reveal.