Reviews

A refreshing twist on a classic romance in the form of a cozy, regency mystery perfect for a stormy autumn night.

P.D. James is a master at lyrically describing feeling, characters and settings without losing the momentum and intrigue of a well-crafted crime novel.

I am especially grateful that we were actually given the pieces of the puzzle to figure out part of the mystery, and then we were given detailed accounta from the characters about the truth of the facts.

I feel like a warning sign might be useful to those who might be extremely sensitive about character treatment. I’m not as protective of this cast as I’d imagined, but beware you might actually get a bit pouty about your favourites being shown in a completely different light.

Will definitely have to read more of P.D. James’ detective novels!

tishreads's review

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3.0

3.5

rebeccatc's review

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3.0

I was gifted this book, which was very thoughtful since I do love Jane Austen. It started out great with a prologue updating the reader on the Bennett family since the end of Pride and Prejudice, written in the style of Jane Austen in a very entertaining way. After that it went downhill. The Bennetts are only side characters to the action, which involves Lydia's husband Wickham being tried for murder. Mr. Darcy plays a larger role but does nothing to solve the murder or advance the plot in any way. Frankly it was boring. Three stars because it was at least a fair representation of the characters and there was nothing offensive about it.

alexpaulm's review against another edition

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4.0

Really kept me on the edge of my seat, although the ending was a bit Hallmark-like.

hlogan's review against another edition

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3.0

This was okay. I think James took on a really tough challenge, trying to fit Jane Austen's characters and style into a mystery genre, and the result was a little clumsy at times. I found some of the dialogue to be unrepresentative of how Austen's characters would really speak, and James' heavy reliance on prose also made it feel a little more sombre and dull at times than an Austen novel, but overall, it was a fun idea, and I'm glad she took it on.

mslayer03's review

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medium-paced

4.0

cloth_sloth's review

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lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

1.75

Pretty horrendous! I expected a thriller and the pace was a lot slower and the mystery less complex than I had hoped. The solution to the 'mystery' was pretty obvious, in part, from early on. The characters felt like very 2D and nothing like the originals. The author kept explaining the back story from Austen's novel but with less style and humour. I've read Pride and Prejudice, I don't need a paraphrased version and I would hope a sequel could stand alone without in depth descriptions of what happened in the original story! Needless to say it was a huge flop, don't waste any time on it. I think I made it to the end because PD James has such a strong reputation as a crime writer and I thought the twist would be amazing <spoiler: it's not>

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