I enjoyed this even more than Pride & Premeditation! I love Sense and Sensibility, and having the whodunit murdery twist to it made this so fun for me to read! I loved each sister and their personalities. Elinor being an amateur chemist made so much sense to me. And Marianne as an amateur detective was really fun. I also loved Margaret and her spunky, matter of fact attitude.

I hope Tirzah Price writes more of these, because I am interested to see what she would come up with next!

The third book in this amazing series of Jane Austen adaptations does not disappoint! I am an avid JAFF fan and Ms. Price does an excellent job of retelling the story as a tribute to Jane Austen's original. Marianne was just as frustrating as in the original and Elinor just as selfless. Bravo!

Overall Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
YES YES YES. Women in stem? Yes. Jane Austen retelling? Yes. Friends to lovers? Yes. Poison? Blackmail? Murder? YES.

Writing Style: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
I really love Tirzah’s writing style! It kept me engaged the entire time and I couldn’t put it down!

Plot: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
There were so many plot twists that I loved!!

World Building: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
I loved the regency era setting so much! The book definitely makes you feel like you’re journeying along with the two sisters throughout the book.

Characters: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
I found all the characters unique and overall the cast made for a very enjoyable read!

Read if you:
enjoy Jane Austen retellings
like friends to lovers
love murder! 👀

Thank you netgalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I fell in love with Tirzah Prices retelling a when I first read Pride and Premeditation. It was my first time reading a retelling. I loved seeing some of my beloved characters, making their own ways in a time where women did not have many choices. After reading her first book, I preordered her second retelling and it did not disappoint! I loved how this story had dual point of views. The mystery revolves around the Dashwood sisters’ father’s death. Upon first inspection, the girls are told their father has died of natural causes. But upon further investigation the witty sisters find things amiss. This story had me interested from the beginning. I couldn’t wait to find out who the murderer might be! Though it isn’t completely accurate, it tells a fun and engaging story of family, love and wit.

Sense and Second-Degree Murder was a great "Sense and Sensibility" retelling. I loved the mystery and murder investigation touch this retelling added to the original and just couldn't get enough of the book.

I haven't read the first book of this series but had no troubles at all following the storyline. Both titles can be read independently from one another. I will however read the first book in the near future because I liked the writing style of Price.

If you love classics and retellings then you absolutely have to read this novel. It is creative, witty and you have a murder investigation going on. What else do you need in a great book?

This book gives off Enola Holmes vibes!! Sure to be a hit for fans of her.

While I did enjoy reading this book it's not going to be one I pick up again. The daughters just didn't seem to fit into the time they were born in. Which yes who wants to read about people who hold the same values of the Victorian times. I just think they could have bit more of a Victorian air about them. All in all the story was actually very good. A prime mystery to be solved that many will enjoy.

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.

This book starts off interesting, and I love that! It does remind me of Stalking Jack the Ripper and a Jane Austin book which is the perfect vibe for this time. I thought this book was very interesting and fun to read!!

In full disclosure, I’ve never read Sense and Sensibility. I have, though, seen the movie twice (I know, I know) and I read a detailed summary of the book’s plot before picking this up (and I referenced it a few times throughout reading). So I have a basis for what should be going on and the characters’ personalities, without being so attached to the original novel that I couldn’t stand some of the rather drastic changes.

This isn’t the best book I’ve ever read, but it was a good time and I have a lot of respect for some of the things from the original that were altered for a murder mystery. It was all very clever, I think.

I had some problems with the writing style as it was very modern — and while I appreciate how accessible the writing makes the book, it pulled me out of the story a few times. I didn’t need it to sound like it was straight out of the Regency era, but I did need it to sound less like it belongs in the 21st century.

I also found the story to drag in the middle, but I was very much invested the whole time and I liked the characters. They seemed to me to be very faithful interpretations, and Margaret was the best.

All in all, I really appreciate what this was trying to do and how it executed it, and I’ll be reading the other books in the series.

Advanced Reader’s Copy provided by NetGalley, HarperCollins Children's Books, and HarperTeen in exchange for an honest review.

I'm not sure if it's just that I don't enjoy SENSE AND SENSIBILITY as much as I do PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, but SENSE & SECOND-DEGREE MURDER didn't click with me as much as PRICE AND PREMEDITATION did. I felt like for the majority of the book, the plot dragged along, the last 20% was really good and was hard to put down, but it took a long time to get there.

Fanny is appropriately horrible, the injustices that the Dashwood women experience after the death of Mr. Dashwood is significant for the time period where women have to rely on the financial support of the men in their lives. Personally, I find Marianne annoying and appreciate Elinor way more as a protagonist. I thought the overall mystery and how all the pieces connected was interesting, it just didn't hook me until the action picked up.

Even though SENSE & SECOND-DEGREE MURDER didn't hit the same mark as PRIDE AND PREJUDICE for me, it was a good read. I loved how Price has connected this series together by subtly bringing in PRIDE AND PREJUDICE into this second book in the Jane Austen Murder Mystery series. Wouldn't it be amazing if the Bennets and Dashwood could meet for tea?

I received this ARC from NetGalley. This was such a great book. All of the romance and fun of Jane Auaten with Murder mixed in. Jane Austen's characters are updated in this retelling of Sense and Sensibility where the three sisters have to solve the murder of their father. Any lover of Jane Austen novels or mystery novels will love this books.

I just want to start by saying that I absolutely ADORE the Dashwood sisters!! Elinor, Marianne, and Margaret all have their own distinct personalities and aspirations, and I love how well they work together. The way that both Elinor and Marianne are pursuing careers that are seen as unladylike was the cherry on top! I have never actually read Sense and Sensibility, so I don’t know what they are like in the original, but I do know that this book has made them one of my favorite book families!

This is the second Jane Austen Murder Mystery I have read by @tirzah.price , and I can say that neither of them have disappointed me! Her mysteries have left me second-guessing everyone, and the last 100 pages of this book had so many amazing twists and turns! I loved the way everything played out in the end, and I honestly think that I loved this one more than her first book!

If you love historical fiction, strong women, and a good mystery, this book is for you!

This series is a lot of fun.

I loved the sisters and their relationship with one another. The romantic relationships were cute too, but I wish we had more time for them to develop.

It’s interesting how the plots of Jane Austen are turned into murder mysteries! However, the bad guy can be a bit easy to guess. On that note, the final reveal was a tiny bit disappointing. I didn’t completely understand how the villain’s motivations.

Overall, I liked this quite a bit and hope there will be more in the series!

Sense and Second-Degree Murder is a Sense and Sensibility retelling with a murder mystery twist. When Elinor and Marianne's father, who runs a detective business, dies suddenly, they (and their mother and younger sister) are left in dire financial straits, as their house is entailed away to their half-brother and the most recent copy of their father's will dates back to before they were born, so no money is left to their family. Marianne grows suspicious of the circumstances surrounding their father's death, and the sisters are soon attempting to solve the mystery.

I'd like to start off by saying that I absolutely adored every aspect of the book (except maybe Marianne, but even she was more bearable here than usual).

Marianne is impulsive and emotional. She was her father's apprentice while he was alive, and thus takes the lead on the mystery. I never liked Marianne in the original book, and, while I don't love her here, it is still a marked improvement upon her original character. I really enjoyed her passion for her father's business, and her hopeless romantic personality did grow on me a tad.

Elinor is sensible and pragmatic. She plans and overthinks everything (I relate to her a lot in those aspects). She wants to be a chemist, but believes that that would be almost impossible for a woman during her time period. She and Marianne are perfect foils for each other. I prefer her immeasurably to Marianne; she's smart and humble, self-conscious in many ways but bold and confident when it counts.

The other characters were all wonderful too. I loved Margaret (the youngest sister) much more than I was expecting. All of the other side characters were so fun and distinct as well. I particularly loved Edward (Elinor's love interest), but they were all interesting and dynamic.

This book was honestly just so fun. The murder mystery was obviously a big part of that; I don't read many mysteries, but thoroughly enjoy them on the occasions that I do read one. However, the Sense and Sensibility retelling aspect was almost as fun. The source book is honestly my least favorite Jane Austen book I've read (although I read it 3-4 years ago, so I don't remember it that well), but I really did absolutely love all of those aspects of the book too,

I truly can't recommend this book enough. Whether you're an Austen fan, a murder-mystery fan, or just want a historical fiction book with some really cool heroines, you'll find what you're looking for in this book. It isn't lacking in any respect, and I definitely recommend picking it up if you feel even slightly inclined to.

I read this a couple of weeks ago, after getting Pride and Premeditation for Xmas and loving it. This is without having read any Jane Austen books 🙈

We follow the Dashwood family, their father dies and the sisters decide that it is not natural causes. We go on a journey of discovery with the girls about what their father was up to and what it's like to have feelings about a boy.

I love @tirzah.price 's storytelling and how she transports us back in time. I feel like I'm there either as one of the sisters or as a fly upon the wall and I adore it.

Sense and Second-Degree Murder is a fantastic book and I cannot wait for Manslaughter Park.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's Books for a digital ARC of 'Sense and Second-Degree Murder'. I've had the review typed up in a Doc for awhile, but I kept forgetting to post it.
For my students I'm always looking for ways to make "the classics" exciting, or find a different take on an older story in order for it to be more engaging for current high school students. Even though this book was still set in Regency times and still followed the plot of the novel by Austen I felt it still checked those boxes for engagement and interest --- Bonus that it was a murder mystery AND had female leads that broke away from societal norms!

This was such a fun read! The Dashwoods lost their father but the girls lost no time in trying to figure out what happened, especially since they were kicked out so soon after his death.
The book was fast paced, much faster than I thought, but its what kept pulling the investigation forward and I was all for it! I also loved that it was the girls that were both the brave ones and evil ones, and the men were just the cowards in the background (minus Mr. Brandon)! So we got to see different sides of what we normally see. Absolutely LOVED this book! And loved the little Easter egg connecting it to Pride and Premeditation!

Sense and Second Degree Murder
Tirzah Prince

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
You want to follow in your fathers footsteps but your father ends up murdered, and he doesn’t leave anything to your family in the will? This book shows if you believe it in your gut go for it until you find the answers! The majority of the time your gut is always right!

This was an absolute delight! I really enjoyed Pride and Premeditation, but this one topped it. I loved the way the villains of the classic were used to tell a new story that also brought new depth to the sisters we know and love. I do want a series of Margaret’s novels though because I think they would be quite entertaining. If you are looking for a way to visit your favorites in a new light, I definitely recommend this!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to receive an advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own!


This is such a fun series. I’m always cautious on any sequel but I’m loving it so far. All the characters are either love able or written as the enemy perfectly well. I love twists on classics and this was one of the better ones I’ve read! Excited to see where Tizrah Price goes with “manslaughter park” next!!!

This book was received from the Author, and Publisher, in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

This is a non spoiler review, because you as reader need to read this book. Also, I feel sometimes I have in the past gave away to much of the plot line. This has diminished the pleasure for would be readers.

Hello gracious readers

Tirzah Price once again continues to delight readers in her second installment in the Jane Austen Murder Mysteries. Fans of her previous work will find this just as captivating as Pride and Premeditation. As well as new readers and Janeite devotes, will find this fresh new take a rewarding reading experience.

The Dashwood sisters lives take downward turn for the worst, with the sudden death of their father. Mr Dashwood, a private investigator is found dead, in his study by his daughter Elinor. This turn of events the Dashwood sisters lives take downward turn for the worst.Cast out of their home by their half brother and his greedy wife, all because of an outs dated will. All three Dashwood Daughters and their Mother are left penniless.

Marianne Dashwood aspiring to follow in her father’s footsteps, notices something is not right, and foul play maybe afoot. The Dashwood’s are determined to uncover exactly what their father really died from and why. Strong willed Marianne, brainy Elinor, and the youngest Daswood, intrepid Margaret.All must work together as this twisty turvy mystery is to be unraveled.

This was such a delightful fun read. The characters,and the Jane Austen spin was really delightful to read. The romance was just as it should be considering the the time and era. I also enjoyed that this installment was a little more true in its time period details.

Happy Reading