I am enjoying Claudia Gray’s Mr. Darcy and Miss Tilney mystery series so much. This second outing in the Mr. Darcy and Miss Tilney mysteries feels heavier than the first. In The Murder of Mr. Wickham, the victim was one of Jane Austen’s least sympathetic characters. I certainly don’t advocate for murdering people, but Mr. Wickham’s violent demise did not cause distress. In The Late Mrs. Willoughby, we get no such comfort. Mrs. Willoughby may not be the nicest or most charming person, but she is not a villain. Her murder is distressing. On top of that, characters are still reckoning from the fallout both of Wickham’s death, and from Mr. Willoughby’s very bad behavior revealed in Sense and Sensibility. It feels odd to say I had fun reading a book dealing with trauma and murder, but I did.
Jonathan Darcy and Juliet Tilney are a delight. They are so pleased to see each other again and while horrified by the murder they witness, very happy to work together as detectives. They are also quite aware of the impropriety of their investigation. The way they know it’s improper and do it anyway feels appropriate for the time.
Now that Juliet and Jonathan’s characters have been established, I was able to enjoy their friendship and their sleuthing. Together and individually, they are my favorite part of the series. As a long time romance reader, it’s clear to me that they are destined for one another, but they’ve got at least one more book before they know that.
Murder mysteries would not have been a genre that Jane Austen would have written, first, because the genre didn’t exist until after death, and second because she was a woman in English Georgian society. But if she did, I can imagine that she would use the crime of murder to examine morality, gender roles, class, and appearances as she did in her novels. Claudia Grey isn’t necessarily writing the murder mystery that Austen might have written, but she is examining the same kinds of issues. We may not live in Georgian England, but men who are able to maintain a certain class standing are still able to wreak havoc in the lives of others almost unchecked.
CW: on page poisoning death, memories and references to bullying in boys boarding school, threat of social ostracism, autopsy, attempted murder, misogyny.
I received this as an advance reader copy from Vintage Anchor and Netgalley. My opinions are my own, freely and honestly given.
