Hi friends! Happy Friday! I’m very excited to welcome back author Barry S. Richman to Austenesque Reviews today! 
Just two days ago Barry celebrated the release of his seventh Pride and Prejudice inspired novel! 🥳
A Debt Inherited is a Pride and Prejudice variation that sounds like it is full of danger, drama, and Mr. Darcy being a hero! 🎩
Barry is here to share an enticing excerpt from A Debt Inherited and an exciting giveaway opportunity!
We hope you enjoy! 
~ Book Description ~
Hertfordshire, July 1812
Elizabeth Bennet has been kidnapped.
Fitzwilliam Darcy has one day left to find her.
He must save a woman he has never met.
Her captors demand £10,000 and give her father three days to pay. Two days are already gone. Mr Bennet possesses neither the money nor the influence to secure her return. His only hope lies in a letter written thirty years before—and in the nephew of the man who wrote it.
Fitzwilliam Darcy arrives at Longbourn expecting to settle an old debt of honour. Instead, he is drawn into a bargain with George Wickham and a second man whose grievance reaches far beyond money.
To save Elizabeth, Darcy must place himself in the hands of men who have every reason to despise him. Elizabeth, imprisoned and unable to see the stranger negotiating for her life, must decide whether his promises can be trusted.
As a buried scandal binds the Bennets, Darcys, and Fitzwilliams together, the ransom becomes something far more dangerous than an exchange of money.
Some debts pass through generations.
Men of honour do not leave them unpaid.
~ Excerpt from A Debt Inherited ~
At The Stile
Oakham Mount, July 1812
Kerr waited below the crown of Oakham Mount, where the path narrowed between hedge and ditch. He
had dressed for the hedge: brown coat, dark waistcoat, buckskin breeches dulled with earth at the knee, and boots rubbed free of shine. A strip of old leather bound each leg close below the knee, lest cloth catch upon thorn or bramble. He kept still beneath the ash boughs and watched the rise. From there he could see the stile, the bend in the lane, and the strip of open ground where a lady must slow before the ascent.
The morning had settled dry and close, the July heat already lifting the smell of grass, dust, and crushed leaf from the path. He did not move when a blackbird broke from the hedge, nor when a cart rattled faintly along the lower road. Movement drew the eye; stillness let the eye pass over him. The place would serve. Not at the crown, where wind and sky made witnesses of everything, but here, where hedge, ditch, and bough turned a man into another piece of the country. A lady must look to her feet at the stile. One step checked, one hand lifted, and the hedge would take her.
A breeze rattled the leaves above him. A thread of lavender and something else—sharp, perhaps lemon—hung in the air for a moment.
Then came voices. His mouth tightened.
She had not come alone. Yesterday, she had.
The first voice came quick and low, amusement tucked within it. He had heard it the day before. The other answered higher, more measured, answered as though every word had first been weighed.
Two heads rose beyond the hedge, one bonneted and one bare. The latter held her own bonnet by its ribbons as they approached the stile: fawn muslin beside serviceable brown, one lady proper for a morning call, the other dressed for distance.
The bare-headed lady turned towards the rise.
“Charlotte, must you truly leave tomorrow?”
Miss Charlotte Lucas. He recognised the name.
“I must, if I am to reach Hunsford before Mr Collins has rearranged every shelf in my absence.”
“With Jane in London, my younger sisters at Brighton, and Papa’s cane forbidding all ambitious exercise, you are the last person within walking distance who speaks sense.”
“Then Meryton is in graver condition than I had supposed.”
“I shall miss you.”
“And I you.”
Kerr watched them cross the stile and continue up the rise, their voices receding until the hedge kept only fragments. They reached the crest and passed beyond his sight.
He remained beneath the ash boughs until the last trace of lavender had gone from the air.
Miss Elizabeth Bennet would be alone tomorrow.
Poor Elizabeth…she doesn’t know what danger awaits her on the morrow! 🙈
And it sounds like the Bennets are in different situations than we normally see them – younger sisters in Brighton? Mr. Bennet using a cane? I wonder where these alterations will lead us…. 🤔
~~~
~ Connect with Barry ~
Instagram ❧ Facebook ❧ Goodreads
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GIVEAWAY TIME!!!
Barry is generously giving away 1 paperback book of A Debt Inherited in conjunction with his visit to this blog!! Woot woot!
To enter this giveaway, please leave a comment, question, or some love for Barry!
- This giveaway is open worldwide (international readers will receive a gift card in lieu of a paperback). Thank you, Barry!
- This giveaway ends September 30th!
Wow! What an unusual premise! I am really looking forward to reading this book from cover to cover!
Thank you, Amy. I wanted to take Darcy and Elizabeth into a situation quite unlike anything I had written before. I hope you enjoy where the story takes them.
drama a-go-go! sounds fantastic. The cover is lovely too! ~many congratulations ON another release.
“Drama a-go-go” may be one of my favourite descriptions of this book. Thank you, Janey—and I am very pleased you like the cover as well. I hope you enjoy A Debt Inherited.
Thanks for the chance! Have a wonderful weekend
Thank you, Cathy. I am delighted you stopped by, and I hope you had a wonderful weekend as well. Best of luck in the giveaway.
This sounds SO exciting and action packed! I hope there’s a bunch of Darcy & Elizabeth on-page time too. I really look forward to reading this. Congratulations on the new release and thanks for the giveaway opportunity
Thank you, Kaidi. There is certainly plenty of action, and Darcy and Elizabeth both have important parts to play in the story. I hope the journey keeps you turning the pages. Thank you as well for the congratulations and for entering the giveaway.
Wow! What an excerpt. Sounds amazing and dramatic! Hints of pressure and anxiety – nail biting.
Congrats on another release. I’d love to read it.
Thank you, Suzan. Pressure and anxiety were very much what I wanted that scene to carry. I appreciate the congratulations, and I hope you enjoy the book.
Sounds like a wonderful book! No need to enter me in the giveaway, but I wanted to say congrats to the author on what sounds to be another fascinating premise!
Christina, that means a great deal coming from you. Seasons of Waiting remains one of the finest Pride and Prejudice variations I have read, so your kind words carry particular weight. Thank you for taking the time to stop by and offer them.
I like the way a kidnapping story reveals so much about the kidnappers and the people who get taken. You learn a lot about the characters very quickly. I’m looking forward to reading your story and would love to win a book.
Thank you, Myrna. That was one of the things that interested me about the kidnapping premise as well. It forces people to reveal themselves very quickly. I hope you enjoy the story, and good luck in the giveaway.
Whoa! I don’t like this guy already. I can’t wait to read the whole thing!
Thank you, Ginna. Your reaction tells me the excerpt did its job. I hope the rest of the story keeps you equally engaged.
This looks so good!!!!
Thank you, Glory. I am glad the excerpt caught your attention. I hope the rest of the story lives up to it.
I wonder why Elizabeth is kidnapped? And what binds the Bennetts with the Fitzwilliams and Darcys?
Those are exactly the questions I hoped the excerpt would raise. The answers reach well beyond Elizabeth’s kidnapping, and I would rather not spoil the discoveries. I hope you enjoy finding out.
I have loved all Barry’s books and this one sounds too good to miss.
Amanda, thank you. Knowing you have enjoyed my earlier books makes that especially gratifying. I hope A Debt Inherited earns its place among them.
It’s got me hooked already ! Please consider using Audible – there is nothing so pleasurable as listening to a good Austenesque – having said that I will be happy to read it !!
Thank you, Sarah. I am very pleased the excerpt hooked you. An audiobook is something I would certainly like to explore, although there are no firm plans at present. In the meantime, I hope the printed story proves just as pleasurable.
This sounds quite angsty which I would struggle to cope with at the moment but I’m adding it to my list as it does sound like a great story. I’m wondering why Elizabeth was kidnapped? Why is Darcy attempting to rescue her? Did Wickham know Darcy would be involved? Who’s the other man? Ooooh! Problems, problems!
Thank you, Glynis. You have identified several of the questions at the heart of the story, and I would rather let the book answer them than spoil the surprises here. I hope the angst proves worthwhile when the time is right for you to read it.
Very mysterious! Elizabeth will be having quite a difficult time, I’m afraid.
Thank you, Lois. Elizabeth does indeed have a difficult road ahead of her, and I am glad the excerpt left you wondering where it leads.
I have this on my wish list. The story summary caught my attention. Thank you for the chance to get it.
Thank you, Kathryn. I’m delighted the summary caught your attention, and I hope the story proves worth the wait on your wish list. Best of luck in the giveaway.
Love the premise for this book.
Thank you. I had great fun developing the premise and then discovering just how much trouble it could cause for everyone involved.
Intriguing. On my wish list!
Thank you, Olga. I’m very pleased it intrigued you enough to make the wish list. I hope you enjoy it when you have the chance to read it.
Thank you to Mr. Richman, for sharing his talent and his generosity for the give-away. I love that his stories are always rooted in reality, as opposed to contrivance. And also that his characters have such clear personalities and voices.
Thank you, Adelle. That means a great deal to me. I try very hard to make the situations believable and to give each character a voice of his or her own. I truly appreciate your kind words.
Please enter me in the giveaway. I enjoy JAFF stories that have kidnapping plots, and the description of this one sounds intriguing! Thank you, Meredith – I discovered your site a few weeks ago and am steadily going through your reviews to help me choose which books to read. I admit that I have not yead read anything by Barry S. Richman but I have seen several recommendations for his work. Cheers, Carla
I hit enter on the post above…and then noticed a typo. Arrgh! Please change “yead” to “yet.”
Thank you, Carla. I’m glad the premise caught your attention, and I hope this proves a good introduction to my work. My bio will give you insight into my writing style. Best of luck in the giveaway.
So excited to read this, looks GOOD!
Thank you, Lisa. I hope you enjoy it.
An unusual premise for a P&P story! I can’t wait to read it!
Thank you. I wanted to try something a little different with Darcy and Elizabeth this time. I hope you enjoy where it takes them.
Sounds exciting!! Congrats on your book.
Thank you very much. I’m pleased the story caught your interest.
I’m excited to read this!
Thank you, Michelle. I hope you enjoy it.
Thank you for the opportunity! The premise sounds unique, I would love to read it.
Thank you. I’m glad the premise caught your interest, and I hope you get the chance to read it.
Love the premise and the excerpt. Thank you for the chance to win a copy!
Thank you, Pam. I’m very pleased you enjoyed the premise and the excerpt. Best of luck in the giveaway.
I would also like to thank Meredith for once again hosting me and giving me the opportunity to connect directly with readers. The support and kindness so many of you have shown me over the years have meant more than I can properly say, and I remain very grateful for it. I also hope some of you will join me again in early 2027, when I plan to release The Quince Men, a darker Georgian-era story with a very different tone from my previous books.