CBR Bingo: Justice (which is served), although having just did my review for TKAM it is mildly more applicable there no?
Okay first things first I think I speak for everyone when I say that I am just a BIT TIRED of the constant back and forth/two steps forward one step back nature of the relationship between Jonathan Darcy and Juliet Tilney. Okay, fine, I vaguely understand why they are on some rocky footing at the start of this novel–Juliet in particular is dealing with some pretty nasty reputational besmirching from the prior go around–but there is! only! so! much! I can take.
(I am lying, I will keep taking these as long as Gray puts them out) (just please, for my sake, can we move beyond the slow burn/slow societal consternation plot and move to a marriage plot? There are only so many Austen characters around, at this rate Gray is going to run out of characters to murder before we run out of dramas to enact that keep our lovebirds apart)
I was going to add this thought in a third parenthetical but I suppose it deserves its own paragraph: there is *plenty* of drama to be had in a relationship, as much if not more than there is to be had in the starting of one! This series in particular delves quite a bit into the post-marriage dramas of some beloved Austen characters, so you’d think that there’d be enough to get them through. WHATEVER, rant over.
So this go around has our erstwhile detectives firmly established as prime murder-solvers, so much so that when Mr. Hurst (he of the wanting to drink all the time in P&P) dies suddenly while visiting Netherfield, Jonathan is immediately summoned alongside the local constable (the oldest Lucas, if I’m not mistaken) and his request for Juliet to be brought is also taken at face value. The cast of characters has been expanded a bit, in order to make it less plainly obvious who is it because it’s pretty clear throughout (despite some mild attempts) that it simply cannot be Charles or Jane Bingley. Like, can you imagine???
It’s hard to stack rank these, but I appreciated the closed house mystery of it all (it’s not quite a locked room, I guess, but given the distance to Netherfield and the overall vibes, it’s close to it). As always, we know the mystery will be solved towards the end, so in between the various red herrings and investigating that’s going on we’re treated to the reason we’re all here: the ancillary characters and the morsels of the larger romance plot.
Mr. Darcy showing up and having to dine with Mr. and Mrs. Bennet! Caroline still not learning any lessons and attempting to matchmake Priscilla with Jonathan, despite -0- interest on either side! Juliet and Jonathan being kindred spirits! It’s all quite lovely. Already annoyed that I have to wait until next summer for the next one.
Spoiler-y prediction: [there will be a murder en route to Gretna Green, they will solve it, some combination of people will catch up to them, they will not end up eloping but hopefully this next one will end with a marriage because shock! scandal!]
