Jane Austen turns sleuth in this delightful murder mystery set over the twelve days of a Regency-Era Christmas party.Christmas Eve, 1814: Jane Austen has been invited to spend the holiday with family and friends at The Vyne, the gorgeous ancestral home of the wealthy and politically prominent Chute family. As the year fades and friends begin to gather beneath the mistletoe for the twelve days of … the twelve days of Christmas festivities, Jane and her circle are in a celebratory mood: Mansfield Park is selling nicely; Napoleon has been banished to Elba; British forces have seized Washington, DC; and on Christmas Eve, John Quincy Adams signs the Treaty of Ghent, which will end a war nobody in England really wanted.
Jane, however, discovers holiday cheer is fleeting. One of the Yuletide revelers dies in a tragic accident, which Jane immediately views with suspicion. If the accident was in fact murder, the killer is one of Jane’s fellow snow-bound guests. With clues scattered amidst cleverly crafted charades, dark secrets coming to light during parlor games, and old friendships returning to haunt the Christmas parties, whom can Jane trust to help her discover the truth and stop the killer from striking again?
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A great holiday read!
Once I got into this book, I really enjoyed it, but it took me a LONG time before the story hooked me. Not until it finally felt like a mystery. I enjoyed Jane’s character and the relationship between her and her mother and her sister Cassandra. The Chute family–both husband and wife–made me really fond of them, and Raphael West intrigued me. Using Jane Austen as a sleuth was a clever idea. If the book had started faster, it would have been a winner for me.
The plot has Jane Austen herself as the protagonist in a mystery that captures the flavor or Austen novels. Set in the first quarter of the 19th century, the tale interweaves world events with local life and provides the reader with both murder and the obligatory prickly romance.
The characters are numerous but engaging and well-drawn. They include many of the historical Austen family members.
Jane Austen was hopefully more intelligent than portrayed in this book.
This is the last of these pseudo Jane Austin books I will read. They are all alike, stilted by what the authors think of the Regency period of England, which, from the histories I’ve read, was an era that was bawdy, loud, indecorous by even the lords and ladies.
Take the same plot, give the character another name and history, and an author could cook up something acceptable for a Regency tale — like those books sold at grocery stores on revolving racks when I was a child.
My biggest gripe is that none of these authors writing in the conceit of Jane Austin show any true familiarity with her works — Jane was never so drearily departed from her famous wit!
What a lovely book to escape into. If you enjoy Jane Austen, try this delightful mystery.
Good read very entertaining. Moved along and contained the fun things about a period piece.
Another Stephanie Barton classic. Wonderful history of Christmas pre-Dickensian Christmas that we know. I really enjoyed the mystery as well.
I have been thinking of reading this series but something always stopped me. I wasn’t sure the voice of Jane Austen would work well with mysteries but I found that Barron’s voice of Jane Austen worked very well. Austen was of course a very good observer of human actions and the jump to observing clues is easy to believe. Barron stays close to Austen’s life while getting her involved in murder and spying. All in all a very nice read.
I love Stephanie Baron’s “Jane and the .. ” series. A friend introduced me to them years ago. I recommend this for anyone who likes mysteries and Jane Austen fans.
I didn’t expect to like this, but it was wonderful!
A fun visit with the Austen family
Perfect to read around Christmas time, especially for Jane Austen fans.Another fun mystery in this excellent series by Stephanie Barron. Plus you learn about the English tradition of the 12 days of Christmas. Witty and pleasurable to read.
What a fun read during the Christmas season. Good story and tons of insight into spinsters and holiday activities in the past. Really enjoyable if you’re into period pieced like I am.