The Murder of Mr Wickham is an excellent sequel of sorts to all your Jane Austen favorites - we revisit the lives of beloved couples from Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Northanger Abbey, Emma, Mansfield Park, and more. Honestly the breadth of the cast blew me away and I felt a bit in the weeds instantly. The writing is excellent and it keeps the tone of both a good Austen homage as well as a cozy house party mystery. I’ve loved and hated (!) books by Claudia Gray in the past, and she’s really great at making a setting come alive and feel so real that you feel involved in the story as you read.
Overall, I think going into this story I thought I was more of an Austen fan than I was, because at times I felt a bit lost with the large cast of characters. It probably seems silly to more of an Austen connoisseur, but I would have actually appreciated a character list at the front to keep everyone straight, which always worked well with Agatha Christie’s large cast mysteries.

I would recommend this for:
Jane Austen addicts
Fans of Agatha Christie
Cozy mystery buffs
Historical fiction fans
People who own all the BBC miniseries
Anyone who wants to see Wickham dead

This is a mashup of several of the Jane Austen books. The Knightleys host a house party at their home, Donwell Abbey, and have many activities planned, but it rains and rains and rains. The despicable Mr. Wickham crashes the party, forcing everyone to confront their disliks of Wickham. It also forces the hostess to re-arrange the seating at meals as well as the overnight accommodations. He dies in the night, and everyone has an alibi. Jonathan and Fanny, the young man and woman who are being "forced" together to start courting - after all, they are such a likely couple, resolve to work together to solve the crime. As the detective and his team work through the clues, so, too, do all the house guests.

There were a lot of characters to keep straight and it might have helped if there had been a list of characters in the book, to refer back to while reading.

The Knightleys (Emma) are hosting a house party and have invited all of Jane Austen's favorite couples: the Brandons (Sense and Sensibility), the Wentworths (Persuasion), the Bertrams (Mansfield Park), and of course the Darcys (Pride and Prejudice) who have brought skinny their 19 year old son Jonathan. Catherine Tilney's (Northanger Abbey) daughter Juliet had also been invited to provide company for Jonathan, and George Wickham, surely the most despised villain of all Jane Austen's characters, arrives unexpectedly. He has swindled the Wentworths and the Knightleys, seduced and ruined Colonel Brandon's first love, injured the Darcy family in many ways, and attempts to blackmail Fanny Bertram, so there is no shortage of motives when his body is found in the gallery on a dark and stormy night.

Frank Churchill is the local magistrate and an inept investigator who wants to blame the servants or local gypsies, so Jonathan and Juliet who are both above suspicion decide to investigate to prevent an innocent person from going to the gallows.

This is a delightful imagining of Jane Austen's favorite characters years later combined with an Agatha Christie plot and two new and unusual characters added to the mix. Jane Austen fans will enjoy seeing their favorite characters again and the threads of the mystery twine together in a satisfying ending.

I am the worst at mysteries. Every red herring I will fall for every time. When Mr. Wickham is murdered everyone has a motive and everyone is a suspect. When characters from previous Austen novels get together for a house party that gets crashed by Mr. Wickham then he's murdered everyone has a motive. I enjoyed seeing the characters later in their lives and marriages and while "happily ever after" gets complicated by life and a murder it was a pleasure seeing everyone again.

This book was so much fun. Highly recommended for Jane Austenites. A clever plot to include all of Austen's most beloved characters in one murder mystery. Jonathan Darcy as the sleuth was a great add. Hope this author writes a sequel!

Thanks to Netgalley, Knopf Doubleday Publishing House and the author for an ARC of this book. I have not been compensated for this review and am leaving it voluntarily.

Reading the first few pages of this book was like meeting old friends again. Being an Austen fan and having read almost all her books, seen nearly all the movies and television series and absorbed a good number of 'spin-offs', the idea of these well-loved characters descending on the Knightley's home for a house party filled me with delight.

Each couple are at varying stages of their relationships, and facing their own domestic challenges when they converge on the Abbey, all set for a month of relaxation and entertainment.

Chapter One concludes with the arrival of an uninvited guest, Mr Wickham, who seems to have ties to nearly everyone present, and characteristically immediately begins to sew discord. Given the title of this book, I think it's safe to say that things end badly for Wickham and it's up to the socially awkward Jonathan Darcy and the unconventional Juliet Tilney to discover what happened.

As awful as it is to contemplate which one of my favourite literary characters might be responsible for Wickham's demise, it was devlishly good fun speculating along with Miss Tilney and Mr Darcy, especially as their investigation brings them closer together. I wanted to rush to the end but then I would miss all the fun in between. This is such a well crafted story, with twists and turns and red herrings as well as deeply emotional moments.

All I can say is that I am glad there will be more to come - I eagerly await the next adventure.

So many characters were introduced in the first 20 pages that I couldn’t keep travk of any of them. That combined with the faux Jane Austen writing style made this more of a slog than what I wanted to finish

A delightful read for all fans of cozy mysteries, but especially Austen fans. It was especially fun to see what happens to our Austen couples after "happily ever after."

This book was such fun! Sure to appeal to any Jane Austen fan. Gray does an excellent job with well-known characters and the entire book rang true. This was so clever with a satisfying whodunit and ending. I look forward to reading more from this author. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

3 1/2 stars

It's been a long time since I read any Jane Austen besides Pride and Prejudice, so the nuances of the six-way crossover are probably lost on me, but I enjoyed this. The adolescent protagonists Juliet and Jonathan were compelling enough to hold my investment even when Emma was being extremely Emma and the pace of mystery stumbled.

I appreciated that Jonathan is written with what would now be called an autism spectrum diagnosis, and his POV both normalizes the way his brain works and demonstrates how he's entirely capable of managing his own needs. A++ depiction of a neurodivergent human!

I also liked that Juliet grows so much as a character. Her missteps are appropriate for her age and situation, and I really want to read more about her life to come. Plucky but not annoying, clever but not infallible, interesting but not a tragic space princess.

There are issues with pacing, as I said, as well as depth of story and a red herring so obvious that it all but screams THIS CHARACTER DID NOT DO IT! However, the mystery reveal is very well done. All in all a fairly satisfying read. And as the editor says in the preface, it is nice to see Wickham get what he deserves.


ARC

This is likely closer to 3.5 stars, because I did truly enjoy many aspects of The Murder of Mr. Wickham. These are all characters that I already love, save for Fanny and Bertram, of whom I’m ambiguous about. That means that I was already set up for success, and while I didn’t always agree with the choices being made regarding them, there’s still a comfort in reading about them all again.

While this isn’t a book that I believed I would necessarily revisit, it was fun while it lasted, and Jonathan and Juliet proved to be a great next generation.

All criticisms aside, The Murder of Mr. Wickham, at the very least, killed a man who we have all wished dead. And for that, I am more than thankful.

3.5 stars rounded up.

You do not need to know all of Austen's characters (I'd actually venture to say that you may enjoy this more if you only know them in passing) to enjoy this Clue-remake in Donwell Abbey. The cast of characters is broad but I liked how it settled in on Juliet and Jonathan, and mostly told through their interactions. Pure Janeites I can see having issues with certain plots, but as someone who takes any and all adaptations to read AND who has loves all things Sherlockian, I fully enjoyed this.

What literary villain would you like to be the victim in a murder mystery?

The Murder of Mr. Wickham is a creative cozy murder mystery that selects one of my favorite villains, Mr. Wickham, from Pride and Prejudice and makes him the victim of a murder at a regency country house party at the Knightley estate of Donwell Abbey. Mr. Wickham was not invited to the party, but there are plenty of people at the party who would love to see him dead. His life has been one of taking advantage of people for his own financial gain or pleasure. Who murdered Mr. Wickham and why?

I loved the premise of this book and how it put together most of the main Jane Austen characters at their age in the chronological order that Jane Austen wrote her novels. That makes Darcy and Elizabeth the parents of a young man, while Marianne and Colonel Brandon are newlyweds. The Knightleys have invited the Darcys, Brandons, Wentworths, and Bertrams for a house party. They have also invited Juliet, the daughter of Henry and Catherine Tilney. While I missed Henry Tilney’s humor, I loved that Juliet and young Jonathan Darcy teamed up to solve the mystery. Jonathan is on the spectrum and is trying to navigate life and social situations. I found this part of the story to be really interesting. Jonathan and Juliet had a great relationship and I hope that there is a follow-up novel so that I can read more about them.

Claudia Gray did a wonderful job of capturing the original Austen characters and making them believable as their older selves. I didn’t really like Edmund and Fanny Bertram, but as they are my least favorite Austen couple, I was okay with it. I did not guess the ending, mainly because everyone had a really good motive.

Favorite Quotes:
“Do not be ashamed of caring for another creature. Would that the world contained more such feeling, rather than less.”

“Mrs. Elton preferred to express her piety through disapproval rather than charity. She was never more pleased when finding a new thing to condemn, particularly when the thing could in some way be connected to Emma Knightly.”

Overall, The Murder of Mr. Wickham is the perfect mystery for fans of Jane Austen. I can’t wait for a new book in this series!

A Review Copy from Netgalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing. Thank-you! I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Overall, it is a good writing. It is a little slow-paced and it is good to see all the old characters and new characters.. I was a bit anxious to find out the murder and the ending finally made me feel relieved.

The Murder of Mr. Wickham is a well written mystery. Claudia Gray’s clever idea to revisit Austen’s characters and bring them together for a house party seems inspired. An unwelcome George Wickham arrives, and as Austen fans know, no one deserves an untimely end more than George Wickham.

Yet, even after his murder, Wickham was still a huge presence in the book. His shadow cast a pall over everyone and everything. The author was perhaps using this to further the idea that everyone was a suspect with valid motives, yet it made the book’s tone gloomy and grim.

Perhaps the tone could have been more along the lines of a cozy mystery where the murder is secondary to the lives of the characters. I was sad to see beloved Austen characters so unhappy. There wasn’t the wit and humor I associate with Jane Austen.

The new characters of Jonathan Darcy and Juliet Tilney were nice additions. The way the author handled Jonathan’s spectrum depiction was well done. I liked the burgeoning romance between these two characters.

I liked The Murder of Mr. Wickham okay, but I wanted to love it.

Thank you NetGalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Reader friends, when I say I squealed upon getting approved for this arc, I mean I SQUEALED. This was one of my most anticipated books of 2022 and for me, it didn't disappoint!

I will say, the story does start a bit slow as it introduces all of the characters of the house party. Those who are Austen fans will recognize (and be thrilled by) the cast of characters who show up to Emma and Mr. Knightley's home! It definitely picks up when the murder occurs and I spent the remainder of the book riveted. It was already easy to loathe Mr. Wickham and in this story, there is literally nothing redeeming about his character left. By the time it occurs, I felt ready for someone to get him "out of the way"!

While the story is primarily told through the point of view of Jonathan Darcy (son of Lizzie and Darcy) and Juliet Tilney (daughter of Catherine and Henry), you get the point-of-views of all of the other characters as well. I will say, I do wish the POV had stayed just with Jonathan and Juliet because I think having the POV of everyone slowed it down a bit. However, I absolutely loved seeing Gray's take on "where are they now." Not all is sunshine and roses and many, if not most, of the characters experience some sort of growth of sorts.

If you are a fan of Austen, or Christie, or both, I highly recommend! I'm not sure if a sequel is intended, but I do think it was left open enough at the end to suggest a possibility!

Yes, yes, yes! Finally an Agatha Christie-style “who-done-it?”, but with all our favorite (and less so) Jane Austen character. This is the book I didn’t know I needed but now I want more more more!! When the Darcy’s host a country party and the villainous Mr. Wickham is found dead, our heroine, Juliet Tilney is compelled to find the murderer. The pacing and ambiance reminded me deeply of Northanger Abbey, which was fitting for a Tilney heroine. Juliet is wide-eyed and naive, but also clever and she balances our hero, Jonathan Darcy well. Our young Mr. Darcy was an apple off his father’s tree for certain. Maybe neurodivergent/neuroatypical? Darcy struggles with socializing and is hyper-focused on the rules, more than how to properly navigate them. He is quirky and charming, just as his father was. You too will fall in love and won’t want to put this down!

Thank you so much NetGalley & the publisher for this advanced copy, in exchange for my unbiased opinion!

Such a fun murder mystery, with a dash of wit and romance! It kept me guessing all the way to the end and I was honestly shocked to find out who committed the crime. It was a treat to see all of Austen’s beloved characters again and a few new ones that would do her proud.

I've read every Jane Austen book except for Sense and Sensibility, although it's been a while since I picked one up. The main couple from almost every one of these books appears here, and everyone has a POV to some extent. Even with my prior knowledge of the characters, I had to pause pretty frequently in the first few chapters to remind myself who was who. All this to say that this book had a fairly slow start. But once it got going, I was hooked. There are some books you can't put down. This is one that I put down, tried to switch to another book I'm currently reading for a little while, but just had to come back because I couldn't get it off my mind.

The mystery element wasn't perfect - there are a couple of clues taken as fact that seemed uncertain to me - but it unfolds in such a satisfying way. When the murder is finally solved, everything makes so much sense.

One thing that bothered me a bit is that there's a lot of (eventually challenged) homophobia for a book with no on-page queer characters (there's one off-page). Normally my problem with heavily allocishet books is that they don't allow space for even the possibility of queerness. However, I think I'd have preferred that to queerness being brought in for the sake of straight characters' development.

CW: homophobia (including homophobia rooted in Christianity), sexual harassment, murder, past family member deaths (illness), referenced past miscarriage, repeated use of an anti-Roma slur

Imagine a house full of guests for a month-long house party and then there is a murder! What a great premise for a whodunit.
The characters alone are reminiscent of Jane Austen: the Darcys, the Wentworths, the Bertrams, and the Knightleys . Mr. Wickham is a nefarious character who shows up uninvited and is not well liked by some guests in attendance. To top it off, he gives a bad first impression as an arrogant, selfish, and greedy man. A perfect villain. When a storm brews shortly after his arrival, it traps all the guests in the house, but they try to carry on and play by the accepted and expected rules of society. It takes a bit of time to get a gist of the plot and to understand the connections of all the characters to Mr. Wickham and how they are all threatened by his presence. This was confusing. Then, the youngest guest, Juliet Tilney, discovers Mr. Wickham has been murdered. Together with the young Jonathan Darcy, who is pretty socially inept, Juliet and Jonathan set out to figure out just who is the murderer and form a lovely friendship as well.

I really love a good mystery especially with twists and turns, but I had a hard time with this one. It took a lot of time to set up the mystery and the murder. With so many narrators in this story and side plots, that it became a bit difficult to keep track. I loved the premise however and the cleverness of the Austen characters themselves. But with all the false leads and side stories, I just wanted to know who killed Mr. Wickham and why. Not giving away the end, I felt disappointed with the end the characters reactions.

Many thanks to #netgalley #themurderofmrwickham #knopfdoubledaypublishinggroup for the opportunity to read and review this book.