Book Review: The Murder of Me. Wickham by Claudia Gray

I was given a free e-copy of this novel by NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

The happily married Mr. Knightley and Emma are throwing a house party, bringing together distant relatives and new acquaintances—characters beloved by Jane Austen fans. Definitely not invited is Mr. Wickham, whose latest financial scheme has netted him an even broader array of enemies. As tempers flare and secrets are revealed, it’s clear that everyone would be happier if Mr. Wickham got his comeuppance. Yet they’re all shocked when Wickham turns up murdered—except, of course, for the killer hidden in their midst.

Nearly everyone at the house party is a suspect, so it falls to the party’s two youngest guests to solve the mystery: Juliet Tilney, the smart and resourceful daughter of Catherine and Henry, eager for adventure beyond Northanger Abbey; and Jonathan Darcy, the Darcys’ eldest son, whose adherence to propriety makes his father seem almost relaxed. In a tantalizing fusion of Austen and Christie, the unlikely pair must put aside their own poor first impressions and uncover the guilty party—before an innocent person is sentenced to hang. (Goodreads synopsis)

I have not read any novels by Claudia Gray prior to this, but I certainly will be checking out her previous works.

I, like most people, have read Jane Austen’s novels. The obvious and most likely one of Pride and Prejudice, but also Emma. I have not read any of the others, nor have a seen any adaptations of them. With that stated, I thought Claudia Gray did a fantastic job in keeping Jane Austen’s characters true to themselves. I am not a fan of Emma Knightly nee Woodhouse, but found I did like her better in this novel. I imagine that years of being married would change the individuals and their personalities somewhat. Claudia Gray’s interpretation of their maturity was more than acceptable. However, she did not remove some of the personality traits that make the characters so enjoyable, like Elizabeth’s wit. I liked how she, also, made sure to include key scenarios from Jane Austen’s novels, weaving them through her novel smoothly. I would add, for those of us who are casual Austenites, that a Cast of Characters with a brief synopsis would be slightly helpful.

Additionally, Jonathan Darcy and Juliet Tilney are a very compatible sleuthing duo. Jonathan is indicated as being on the spectrum, and I love how he copes with his many “peculiarities”, but that doesn’t seem to bother Juliet at all. If Claudia Gray were to continue them as a series, I would wholeheartedly read it with the hope that they also continue their romantic partnership as well.

I thought the mystery was well written. Obviously, there is no shortage of suspects because Wickham is such a despicable man, but the clues and theories flowed. In this novel, Wickham has continued his harmful ways, not only towards the Darcy’s, but also with many of the other characters. To be honest, I almost felt that the ending could have been written like the 1985 movie Clue, where there are 2 possible solutions and then the actual ending. Though anyone with a wit of sense would agree that this ending was the only true way it could have gone. But alternate endings would have still been fun.

A Jane Austen novel is not exactly a fast-paced novel with the graphic descriptions, but that’s also what peaks certain readers’ interest. This novel was very similar. It wasn’t fast paced but it felt that way because I simply couldn’t put it down.

Overall, I rate this novel 5 out of 5 stars