Death and Sensibility by Elizabeth Blake is the 2nd A Jane Austen Society Mystery. Erin Coleridge is in York with a few of her friends from the Jane Austen Society’s Northern Branch for a Jane Austen conference. The morning following a contentious cocktail party, their keynote speaker, Barry Wolf is found dead from what appears to be a heart attack. Erin has her doubts about the cause of death and decides to do a little sleuthing against the advice of Detective Hemmings. When another person connected to the conference ends up dead, Erin knows she is right. Erin just needs to prove it to her dishy detective. Death and Sensibility can be read as a standalone if you did not read Pride, Prejudice, and Poison. I enjoyed the lovely descriptions of Kirkbymoorside and York. The author provides detailed depictions that allow readers to visualize the scenes (I am starting with something positive). I really wanted to like A Jane Austen Society Mystery series, but I just do not like the characters (among other things). Erin comes across as a know-it-all (on Jane Austen trivia, Cockney rhyming slang, and so much more). She decides Barry Wolf was murdered despite evidence to the contrary (I agreed with her, but it was the way she went about it). Erin then goes about proving she is right. Erin is supposed to be British, but she comes across as American (at least to me). The mystery is one that I had figured out before Barry Wolf turned up dead (I could tell you who would die, who did it, and I even had an inkling as to why Barry Wolf was murdered). There are several suspects, misdirection, and pointed clues. I wish the whodunit had been more of a challenge. The resolution was disappointing and incomplete. I wanted a resolution with facts, not supposition. There are detailed descriptions of food, drinks, and clothing. I really did not need to know what each person ate at each and every meal. There are some comments that are borderline offensive. I believe some of them were supposed to be snarky, but they were still in poor taste. I thought there was too much romance. Erin likes Jonathan Adler as well as Detective Hemmings. She flirts and kisses both men while at the conference. I am not sure what she sees in the detective who warns her frequently to not investigate and keep your nose to herself. At times it felt I was reading a romance novel instead of a cozy mystery. In the book, Hemmings is referred to as Detective Hemmings. I believe in England, he would be a Detective Inspector. I am hoping that the details that are incorrect are fixed before the final release (there were other small things). I also found the pacing to be lethargic in Death and Sensibility. The first half of the book goes by at a snail’s pace. I was beginning to wonder if Barry’s death would ever be declared a murder. Jane Austen fans will enjoy the quotes and trivia (there is a quote about every other page). If you are in doubt about Death and Sensibility, I suggest reading a sample to see if it is the right book for you. What might not appeal to me, can be something loved by another person. We each have different reading tastes. Death and Sensibility is a cozy for Janeites with mouthwatering meals, a contentious cocktail gathering, a vile victim, a disgruntled detective, a bevy of bodies, exacting extracts, a welcoming waiter, one snoopy sleuth.

I love Jane Austen and I enjoy cozy mysteries, so this mystery set at an Austenesque convention in York would seem to be right up my alley. The keynote speaker being found dead when the convention has hardly started sets everyone atwitter, and Erin, bookstore owner and amateur sleuth, can’t resist the temptation to start her own investigation.

Okay. The first thing that got to me was how utterly unrealistic it was that Erin had all this free time on her hands. I’ve been on the managing committee for conventions, and all you have time to do is run around like a headless chicken dealing with everything that goes wrong - from speakers getting lost to delegates getting into fights - eat (if you’re lucky) and fall into bed utterly exhausted before getting up to do it all again. Erin attends I think two panels, both of which she’s moderating, and spends the rest of the week visiting the spa, gossiping with her friend Farnsworth, eating (so much eating) and sticking her nose in where it really doesn’t belong. I didn’t buy it for a second. Also, who was running Erin’s bookshop while she spent a week in York? Not one mention of it. Not one call to or from a staff member checking up on her business.

And what was with all the eating? We got an intimate description of every piece of food that passed Erin’s lips for an entire week. Think I’m kidding? I can tell you she ate trout almandine for dinner at least three times, and guess what: I didn’t care. This isn’t a culinary mystery. The food should be an aside at the most, not the focus of every second chapter!

Erin, I’m afraid, got right up my nose. There’s one point where a police officer tells her “You’re what my mother would call a curtain twitcher”. And this is where I realized that the author is NOT English, because that is the kind of insult that would have any Englishwoman storming out of the room in high dudgeon, after probably having slapped your face, and Erin doesn’t even react. She is a curtain twitcher, though. Even when plainly told to stay out of the investigation, she ignores all advice and instructions and starts interviewing the hotel staff!

A good cozy mystery has the main character stumbling into the plot, unable to avoid it because it’s happening all around her. Erin inserts herself into a mystery that’s nothing to do with her, one that I’m fairly confident the police would have solved with some decent detective work even without her nearly getting herself killed. We never even got a real answer about the killer’s motives for one of the three murders which take place during the course of the book.

There’s a token diverse character, a Senegalese woman who has no effect on the plot and is literally just there for Erin to demonstrate how friendly and not at all racist she is, and how nobody in Austen spaces could ever possibly be racist. It’s a transparent play for Woke Points and it annoyed me more than anything else in the book.

This dragged, badly, but I rarely DNF books because I like to critique things in the knowledge that I have considered it in full. Having finished the book, therefore, I can say with absolute certainty that I hated it, and I’ll be avoiding this author in the future. One star.

I wasn't a fun of the first book but i liked this one as it was entertaining and engrossing.
It's slow burning and there's plenty of references to Jane Auster.
Good character and plot development.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

A first by me by This author and I can't say how much I loved it! Though I read as a standalone just fine I can't wait to read book one now! A slow build up but great ending and storyline. I loved the characters and look forward to reading more books by This author and soon!

I don't know if it's because I'm not a Jane Austen fan but I don't think this is the series for me. I find the MC, Erin, a little annoying and all the quoting. I get it. She writes books that people love. But quoting letters she wrote? A little much for me. The mystery wasn't even a mystery until almost halfway through the book. And by then I was just so not into this book that it made it hard to get through. The writing, though, flows well and I got somewhat caught up in their lives but it was all eating and taking about dates and no real mystery. This was just OK and barely that.

First time reading this author. I didn't feel lost even though this is the 2nd book in the series. I liked the characters and the setting of a conference outside of the town the characters live. The mystery kept me guessing and the book moved at a nice pace.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This charming cozy mystery and murder story was full-flavoured and moreish! Set in Kirkbymoorside, a North Yorkshire English village, the local Jane Austen Society comprises a contrary group of fans. During a conference in York (a place I've frequently visited), an event has been mostly organised by the Society's northern branch. The featured speaker, Barry Wolf has brought his wife along and suddenly dies from what appears to be a heart attack, found by one of the hotel staff in a cloakroom.

The main character, Erin Coleridge, runs the local secondhand bookshop back in Kirkbymoorside, also selling coffees and teas. There are plenty of eclectic characters in this novel. As well as Erin, the York-based detective, DI Peter Hemming is a superbly drawn character within his role - winsome and yet also serious. The subtle plot and the effervescent conversation made for a few hours of very enjoyable, worthwhile reading complete with a satisfactory end.

A delightful, cozy mystery, Death and Sensibility is the perfect book to read, curled up on the sofa after grabbing a cup of tea and a huge piece of cake. There are many food-related bits and a lot of romance is thrown into the mix. It's a novel that any Jane Austen fan should adore, with plenty of quotes and references along the way. A great continuation of a new series, and I'm eager for the next one!

Disclosure: Thank you to Crooked Lane for providing a digital ARC of Death and Sensibility by Elizabeth Blake, via Netgalley for review. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Death and Sensibility turned out not to be the best cosy I have ever read but not that bad either. The Yorkshire setting was nice and the idea of having all the characters gathered in one hotel for a Jane Austen Society Conference worked well. The usual things happen - there is a murder, the main character decides to investigate, there are more murders, the MC puts herself in danger and is only saved by good luck, the case is solved.

I had trouble all the way through with the way everyone gave five pound notes as tips for the hotel staff. At first I thought things must have really changed in the UK since I was there last. Later I discovered many little things which indicated the author was American. It was not really a big issue but it pulled me out of the story repeatedly.

On the whole this was a good story, nicely written and containing lots of references to Jane Austen and her books.

This is the 2nd installment in the Jane Austen Society Mystery. Erin Coleridge owns a bookstore and is excited to get out of her little town to attend a Jane Austen conference in York along with a few of her friend Farnsworth and hopefully she gets a chance to see Detective Hemmings who she helped solve a murder with before. Shortly after they arrive the keynote speaker Barry Wolf is found dead of an apparent heart attack. Erin suspects that it is foul play as there were so many people on that first night who had an apparent dislike to him. Everyone at the conference assume Erin is looking into the case as she helped solve a murder before, however, Detective Hemmings immediately tells her not to get involved. Erin also has another love interest in Jonathan Adler and Farnsworth also has a love interest in this story. A waiter is soon killed as well as someone else at the conference and Erin is knocked out on a trip into town. This was a good mystery and I did enjoy it, looking forward to the next installment.

This was the coziest of cozy mysteries. I didn't get a lot of the references, or understand much of the Queen's English, but I enjoyed it. I was kept guessing till the very end. Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for a free ARC of the book in exchange for an honest review.

The Kirkbymoorside chapter of the Jane Austen society is hosting a Jane Austen conference in York. Before the first full day of the conference, the keynote speaker is found dead. The death is ruled natural causes. Erin believes the speaker was murdered and says about to prove it. A second murder shows that she is right.

Since the book takes place away from Kirkbymoorside, I like how a majority of the secondary characters is worked into this one. The killer gives us the clue that he will be the killer at one point when he is talking to Erin. Erin has a bad habit of interfering with the investigation. As much as the lead investigator seems to like Erin, he needs to arrest Erin and let her spend some time in jail cell.

I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher and/or author via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The town of York is hosting the Jane Austen Society conference at the fanciest hotel in town but things start downhill when the featured speaker Barry Wolf dies of what looks like a heart attack. But Erin Coleridge, one of the organizers, along with her friend Farnsworth Applesby think that it was poison. When the waiter from the evening of Wolf's death is found dead, Erin is even more convinced when the waiter from the night of Wolf's death is found dead as well.

Erin and Farnsworth's investigation is surrounded by the Regency convention and numerous quirky characters and panel discussions.

Not sure how this series will progress with the Jane Austen theme.

A cozy series for the fans of Jane Austen. As a cozy, though, I couldn't decide if it was a cozy trying to be a romance or a romance trying to be a cozy. For this reader it was neither one. The main character, Erin, didn't ring true to my ear. I couldn't "hear" her as a Brit - the voice came across to my ear as American. For many that might not be an issue but it took me out of the pacing too often and became annoying. As for the mystery it was average but had way more of the Jane Austen quotes than it needed - just this reader's opinion. My knowledge of Jane Austen quotes wasn't up to the necessary level. The setting was lovely and York is one of my favorite cities so visualizing the surroundings made for some good reading.
The character of Erin? I fear she and I would not hit it off at this Jane Austen convention. She seemed to be too much of a know it all and too certain that she knew more than the investigating officer. While typical of a cozy sleuth - being nosey - this was a bit much. The mystery was fine but it took a long time to get it going.
As I said at the start of my review, this series is for serious fans of Jane Austen and cozy mysteries and I advise giving this series a try. It may very well be the perfect mystery for you.
My thanks to the publisher Crooked Lane and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Synopsis:
In book 2 of the series (following the first book: Pride, Prejudice, and Poison), Erin Coleridge finds herself yet again in the middle of a murder mystery, this time during a Jane Austen Society Conference held in a swanky hotel in York, England.  When the conference's keynote speaker is found dead, Erin suspects he was poisoned and sets out to determine who is responsible.  But the closer she thinks she gets to finding an answer, the more tangled the web she is weaving becomes.  It doesn't help that Erin has feelings for the detective over the case, who tells Erin to keep out of it in case she ends up being the next victim herself.  But no amount of dissuading will stop her from trying to get to the bottom of things, even if it means she has to do it herself. 

Review:
This book was a charming, fun read with loads of Jane Austen-ness throughout and enough intrigue mixed in to keep you hooked.  This genre is a considered to be a "cozy mystery" (where the ugly details are kept to a minimum and the crime is solved by an amateur sleuth who seems like they could be your friendly next door neighbor who's seen a few too many crime shows on TV).  This book does have a romantic undertone but that is not the main point of the book, in fact I think the friendships between the ladies of the Jane Austen society is really the highlight of the story.  These ladies just "get" each other, and they are not afraid to be true to themselves (although I could do with a few less mentions of "pet" as a term of endearment).  Erin's romantic interests take a back burner in the story, even though she has 2 eligible gentlemen who fancy her, she doesn't seem to be too taken with either and spends the majority of her time focusing on solving the murder mystery and ignoring the mystery of what's truly in her own heart.

In addition to the mystery which keeps you guessing right up until the end, there is also so much more to enjoy throughout the book - the gossip and banter between the members of the society, Erin's love of poetry (founded in the fact that she is a descendant of the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge and also writes poetry herself), and the adorable "britishisms" that make the characters so endearing.  My only complaint is that when you do finally get to the climax of the story, the rest of the book feels rushed from there.  I would have enjoyed learning more about what happened after the fact.  But all in all, if you're a Jane Austen fan and enjoy mysteries, don't hesitate to give this one a try!

Thank you to #NetGalley and #CrookedLaneBooks for an #eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun installment in the Jane Austen Society series. The characters are great, and the murder mystery was a lot of fun to solve. There were some things that bothered me, such as incorrect names for things, that kept me from giving it a higher rating.

This is the second book in this series and it is even better then the first. This series has great characters and is set in a wonderful location. I cannot wait for the next book.

This is the 2nd release in the new cozy series "Jane Austen Society" . I had enjoyed the first in series and looked forward to this next in series. Thank you to the publisher and to Net Galley . My review opinions are my own.

Our protagnist Erin and her friend Farnsworth are in the City of York in Yorkshire for a Jane Austen convention. When murders occurs Erin wants to solve the mystery as she is both curious and good at figuring out clues. When clues abound and suspects add up Erin and Farnsworth find they may be close to the truth.

I enjoy the Jane Austen references and love the charcters. The setting of York was fun to read about and experience through the author's eyes. I look forward to the next in series. A enjoyable cozy series .

Erin thinks a Jane Austen Society meeting in York will be fun. Unfortunately, things turn early on when an Oxford don, meant to be a speaker at the event, is murdered. In a classic cozy way, she decides to investigate with her friend Farnsworth, despite the disapproval of DI Peter Henning. It's a fairly standard plot so enjoy this for the Austen references. Know in advance that editing missed any number of American terms and that there are incongruous things. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Fine as a standalone but frankly I think the first one was better.

Looks like I'm starting a new series and I'm nkt made about it at all. Because cozy mysteries are my go to books when i jist want a lazy day of just reading . and this book is one of those.

First I would like to thank Crooked Lane Books and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this story. Rounded up to 4 stars from 3.5

This is the second book in the Jane Austen Society series and I felt like I enjoyed it a bit more than the first simply because I knew the characters already. This time the society head to York for a conference and of course there is murder.
Farnsworth's head gets turned by a handsome man and Erin is trying to see which man is the right one for her. All while ferreting out the information she feels is missing in the suspicious death of the guest speaker.
All round an enjoyable read with enjoyable characters. I look forward to reading more in this series.