The subtle humor of the P&P tale is positioned awkwardly beside the abject horror, untouched by any possibility of laughability, of the brutal murder of a beloved, if minor character. If you are a Pride and Prejudice junkie, you will be horrified at seeing the P&P crew thrown into this unnecessary mess of a story. If this book by it's very nature wasn't begging comparisons to 'Pride & Prejudice', then it might get 3.5 stars from me with a better narrator.Īttention P&P Lovers! Don't waste your Credit!!!

I did like the ending, which is very important. In the end, I was glad I took the time to listen to the audiobook, but it will not be the annual favorite that the Jane Austen books have been for decades. On the positive side, it was nice to revisit Pemberley for a brief stay and spend a little time with Elizabeth. It's as though James couldn't quite make up her mind what kind of book she was writing and missed on both counts. The attempt at a romantic dilemma with the Georgiana angle was pretty weak. As to the sequel itself, sadly it wasn't a good mystery as James cheats the reader, and it doesn't have the charm or wit of a good comedy of manners in the Austen style. The narrator had such a mocking tone in the extended prologue that I was tempted to stop and get the printed version, but she seemed to relax a little and give a slightly better performance after the prologue. James masterfully re-creates the world of Pride and Prejudice, electrifying it with the excitement and suspense of a brilliantly crafted crime story, as only she can write it.

Inspired by a lifelong passion for Austen, P. With shocking suddenness, Pemberley is plunged into a frightening mystery. She stumbles out of the carriage, hysterical, shrieking that Wickham has been murdered. A coach careens up the drive carrying Lydia, Elizabeth’s disgraced sister, who with her husband, the very dubious Wickham, has been banned from Pemberley. Then, on the eve of the ball, the patrician idyll is shattered. And preparations are under way for their much-anticipated annual autumn ball. Elizabeth’s sister Jane and her husband, Bingley, live nearby her father visits often there is optimistic talk about the prospects of marriage for Darcy’s sister Georgiana.

They have two fine sons, Fitzwilliam and Charles. Elizabeth has found her footing as the chatelaine of the great house. Their peaceful, orderly world seems almost unassailable. It is 1803, six years since Elizabeth and Darcy embarked on their life together at Pemberley, Darcy’s magnificent estate. James, long among the most admired mystery writers of our time, draws the characters of Jane Austen’s beloved novel Pride and Prejudice into a tale of murder and emotional mayhem.

Pd james pemberley