Release Date: Feb 27,2010
Excerpt:
Mr. and Mrs. Darcy are looking forward to a relaxing stay with dear friends when their carriage is hailed by a damsel-in-distress outside of the village of Highbury. Little do the Darcy's realize that gypsies roam these woods, or that both their possessions and the woman are about to vanish into the night.
The Darcy's seek out the parish magistrate, who is having a difficult evening of his own. Mr. Knightley and his new wife, the former Miss Emma Woodhouse (the heroine of Jane Austen's Emma are hosting a party to celebrate the marriage of their friends, Mr. Frank Churchill and Miss Jane Fairfax. During dinner, Mr. Edgar Churchill, uncle and adoptive father of the groom, falls suddenly ill and dies. The cause of death: poison.
When the Darcy's and the Knightley's join forces to investigate the crimes, they discover that the robbery and Edgar Churchill's death may be connected. Together they must work to quickly locate the source of the poison and the murderer's motive--before the killer can strike again.
Review:
This book surprised me. I was expecting this to be a good read, but i didn't expect an excellent read. The author, Carrie Berbris, explains on the cover that her premisis for the Mr & Mrs. Darcy mysteries is the "Thin Man" movies. I had to tell her, but Lizzie and Darcy are no Nick and Nora. Despite that Ms. Berbris seems to capture the Austen characters in a way i haven't read in awhile.
In this particular mystery we see Mr and Mrs. Darcy in Highbury after getting robbed on the road. There they find themselves entangled in a possible murder mystery. They of course they meet Emma and Mr. Knightly. I was quite surprised at how well the author managed to keep the "Emma" characters true to form. None of them acted out of character. Even Mr. Woodhouse, Miss. Bates, and the Eltons were in character. Something i highly applaud the author and made the story highly enjoyable.
The mystery of the story was quite well done. You knew at once "Miss. Jones" was involved in the robbing somehow, but it was quite a surprise she was involved in the murder as well. Add along some new characters and you have a really good book. I applaud the author as well for taking a side storyline that could have been soap operaish and turning it into a nice add one. I'm not going to spoil it, but it involves a "long lost family member". Whom that person is i shall leave a secret.
Final rating: 5 Bunnies. Great story, staying true to most of the original Jane Austen characters, and for adding in some truly humorous parts. A "must buy" as well.
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