The first thing to stand out to me when I started this book was the manner of narration and speaking- it so closely reflected Austen's own writing style, and it made me slow down and concentrate on each sentence rather than reading at my usual speed. I believe this enhanced my enjoyment and I felt immersed in the life of Jane Austen with real historical elements woven in to the fictional mystery. I'm not one to try to figure out the answers before the characters- I prefer taking the ride with them, and this was a journey that was nuanced with details from the author's research of Austen's life and untimely passing. Highly recommend to fans of Austen and Austenesque stories!

Disclosure statement: A complimentary copy of this book was provided from a tour group, publisher, publicist, or author, including NetGalley, OR was borrowed from the library, including OverDrive, OR borrowed from Kindle Unlimited, OR purchased. A review was not required and all views and opinions expressed are unbiased and my own.

Jane and her sister Cassandra are visiting Cheltenham Spa. The weather is dreadful as is, apparently, the spa water that Jane and Cassandra are urged to drink for their health, but they embrace both and make the best of their stay. Despite the weather, there are still plenty of opportunities for sightseeing, shopping expeditions, visits to the reading room and a masquerade ball at which a tragedy occurs, including a suspicious death.

With a lot of time spent indoors, Jane and Cassandra are able to observe and interact with the other guests. Some are difficult to like, others have interesting reasons for visiting Cheltenham Spa other than their health. Soon Jane and Cassandra are drawn into the lives of these people, with one of them assisting with a family matter troubling Jane.

Jane and the Year Without a Summer is a very engaging blend of fact and fiction. Written in a style similar to that of Jane Austen, and told from her perspective, made it very easy to become immersed in this story. Jane's observations are astute and witty, but sometimes tinged with sadness as she hides the true extent of her illness from her family.

Despite it being the fourteenth book in the series, Jane and the Year Without a Summer is a satisfying standalone. A fast-paced and intriguing read, it is sure to delight fans of Jane Austen and those who enjoy well-written cosy mysteries.

This excellent mystery is misnamed. It should have been entitled Jane and a Cheltenham Tragedy. While ash from the catastrophic Indonesian volcanic eruption of Tambora in 1815 blanketed the earth’s atmosphere throughout 2016, causing cold temperatures and major food shortages in Europe, the event plays only a peripheral role in the novel in the form of clouds, cool weather, and rain.

One of the truest characters in the book is Cheltenham, a spa town that Jane and Cassandra visited when she was experiencing symptoms of the illness that would eventually kill her. Using historical resources, Ms. Barron describes Cheltenham and her book’s characters in such detail that I felt that I’ve seen the town and met the characters. I had a great read trying to figure out who would die and the identity of the murderer. I usually don’t read fiction, but this was a good way to spend two cold winter days.

I oversee a Jane Austen blog and can attest that Stephanie's information about Jane Austen's life and the era in which she lived is spot on accurate. In addition, readers do not need to read Barron's previous 13 JA mysteries to enjoy this book.

When Jane Austen and her sister Cassandra go to Cheltenham to take the waters, they find that not all is as it seems in the little spa town. As the gray, cold summer rolls over England, an eccentric preacher predicts the end of the world, a trio of young ladies conceal their past, a debonair Captain pays his addresses, and an abandoned husband comes looking for a wife he does not seem to want. A dangerous fire at a masquerade leads to murder done. With wit, courage, and the help of her admirer Raphael West, Jane unravels the secrets surrounding her, only to realize that the secret nearest to her soul is the one she must conceal.

When I signed up for this blog tour, I was not aware that this was the fourteenth book in the Jane Austen Mysteries, a series I’ve never encountered before. In the initial chapters, I found it a little difficult to comprehend the backstory surrounding Jane’s family, but once she reached Cheltenham and met the cast of characters at the boarding house, it was smooth sailing. Cassandra with her outrageous love for gossip and Jane with her incisive wit and perspicacity both sparkle. The murder mystery rivals an Agatha Christie plot, and the unfolding of Jane’s personal life was believable and authentic. Recommended.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this title from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

In May 1816, Jane Austen and her beloved sister, Cassandra, embark on a two-week stay in the fashionable English spa town of Cheltenham to take the waters and stroll about the streets. Sadly, Jane has been plagued by illness, with little appetite, and suffering from backaches, fatigue, and an odd sallow complexion. If she can manage to distract herself from her poor health and her brothers’ personal problems, maybe Jane will find time to work on her manuscript-in-progress, “The Elliots,” while she’s away.

She and Cassandra take lodgings at Mrs. Potter’s, a boarding house on the High Street whose other guests are an eccentric and motley bunch, including a beautiful invalid heiress with a waspish temper, the companion who attends her in her wheeled chair, a middle-aged brother-sister pair whose self-centeredness knows no bounds, a young woman who gives elocution lessons to actors, and more. Meanwhile, Jane has trouble setting aside thoughts of Mr. Raphael West, a handsome past admirer, and wonders why he hasn’t renewed their acquaintance.

In her fourteenth Jane Austen mystery, Stephanie Barron smoothly interweaves real events from Jane Austen’s life with a fictional crime scenario involving her fellow lodgers, at least one of whom has murder in mind. You may be excused for forgetting, early on, about the novel’s intended genre, since the plot ambles along nicely for a while without any deadly happenings.

Jane and Cassandra sample the waters at the Pump House (which taste absolutely vile!), and her visit to a local physician gets her blood boiling, a reaction that women especially will identify with. The Austen sisters become curious about the mysterious “Beauty in the Bath Chair” and her reasons for being in Cheltenham. Make no mistake, though, this genteel mystery has teeth, and Jane, with her famously astute observations on human nature, is there to untangle it all.

The novel is written in the form of a period piece authored by Jane herself, complete with Regency-era diction, vocabulary, and spellings, plus historical footnotes contributed by the book’s “editor.” Through them, we’re told (or reminded, for those in the know) about the meaning of the title: following the eruption of Mt. Tambora in the Dutch East Indies the previous year, the weather across Europe in 1816 was unnaturally cold and dismal. Footnotes in historical fiction only work well in certain instances, and this is one of them.

Despite Jane’s literary brilliance (and deductive success, as imagined here), it’s impossible, while reading this story, to set aside the sorrowful fact that her life—and by implication, perhaps this series as well—is drawing to a close. The ending, while bittersweet, feels just right for the book, and for readers who haven’t sampled Jane’s previous adventures, there are thirteen others to anticipate.

This is the first book I read by Stephanie Barron but it will not be the last one. I am curious about the other Jane Austen mysteries to also compare with this one.
I have to start saying that I have enjoyed the book but I believe it was too slow at the beginning. I understand that we need to get things sorted before the engaging mystery appears but I would say that it was around 40% of the book until I got more engaged. After that, there was more "movement". Despite its slow start, there are many good points in this mystery.
Regarding the characters: I loved how Cassandra behaves and her love of gossip, it is quite funny but eventually useful too. I have liked to be reminded of Jane Austen's family with all her brothers and their children.
Captain Pellew and Mr West are two characters that I have enjoyed for different reasons. Mr West is in a way the romantic hero but we can read that he is kind and protective of everyone he loves, not only romantically love. Captain Pellew is a bit Captain Wentworth, do not try to make her jealous :D
I did not really like a certain lady: too annoying and too entitled, and treating her friend/carer pretty badly, really badly! Let's face it, that was the idea and Stephanie wrote her very well.
When it comes to similarities to bits and bobs of Jane Austen's works, be it words used on her speech or resemblances of characters, I have found quite a few and I have enjoyed them immensely even if it may have been more my "obsession" than anything. As I have mentioned, Captain Pellew has that point of Captain Wentworth for instance.

Review will be posted on 2/18/22

Jane isn't feeling well, so she and her sister, Cassandra, escape to Cheltenham Spa. This will be the relaxing time that they most desperately need. Jane has been under extra stress lately thanks to her family. Her brother, Charles, lost his ship and now has to deal with Admiralty Board; the financial burdens are piling up. She did make some money with the release of Emma, so going to the spa is just what her apothecary ordered. However once she is there, it proves to be just as stressful as her everyday life. Most of the other people visiting the spa are just down right disagreeable and a nuisance, especially Miss Garthwaite and her brother, Robert. Things take a major turn for the worse once a crime (a murder!) is committed during a costume ball and Jane fancies herself an amateur sleuth. Can Jane figure out who the killer is before it's too late? Stephanie Barron's Jane and the Year without a Summer is a compelling mystery for Janeites.

It was an absolute delight to imagine Jane as an amateur detective. While at the Cheltenham Spa, Barron conjures up an interesting group of visitors, some sinister and some just downright strange. Of course, there is a possible love interest at the spa, but the recent turn of events takes Jane down a different path. Once the crime is committed, it was fun to re-imagine Jane as a sleuth. In fact, it isn't a far off stretch as Barron truly brought Jane to life. Her writing style is very reminiscent of Austen's, so it was a delight to visit this mysterious world and put myself in Austen's place. When I was reading, there were times I forgot that Jane and the Year without a Summer wasn't written by Jane Austen herself; that is how convincing Barron's voice was!

The time period of 1816 was also truly interesting in Jane and the Year without a Summer. Of course, Janeites are familiar with the early 1800s; however, Barron puts us in the "year without summer" when an Indonesian volcano erupted causing quite literally a volcanic winter. This definitely added to the gloom and mystery that enveloped the conflict in the story.

While Jane and the Year without a Summer is part of the well-developed Jane Austen Mysteries series, readers don't have to be familiar with the previous books to enjoy this one. I thoroughly enjoyed visiting Barron's re-imagined world complete with Jane as a detective; this book was the wintertime escape I most desperately needed. Fans of Jane Austen won't be disappointed.

Have you read Jane and the Year without a Summer or any of the other Jane Austen Mysteries? Are you a fan of Stephanie Barron? Let me know in the comments below.

Jane and the Year without a summer

Review by Syrie James

I have a soft spot in my heart for the Being a Jane Austen Mystery series by Stephanie Barron. Reading them is a bit like time traveling back in time. The books are all expertly researched, a seamless blend of fact and fiction full of fascinating period and personal details. Because they are written in the first person, and because Austen’s voice is so impeccably done, we have the great pleasure of living for a little while inside Jane Austen’s mind.

Jane and the Year Without a Summer is the 14th book in the series, and a welcome addition to the canon. The title refers to the bleak state of the weather that affected the entire planet that year, caused by a distant volcanic eruption. It is the summer of 1816 and Jane, not feeling up to snuff, visits the spa town of Cheltenham to try its curative waters (which prove to be undrinkable). Having been to Bath many times myself but never to Cheltenham, I was intrigued to learn about this city, and to recognize the many similarities between the two places.

While in Cheltenham, Jane of course has a series of adventures that involve murder and mayhem and the solving of mysteries. We are treated to a reappearance of Mr. Raphael West, a charming gentleman and romantic interest of Jane’s, as well as a cast of new, intriguing characters, most of whom are entirely the product of Barron’s imagination—and all so realistically depicted that they come to brilliant life on the page.

We get among other things a pugnacious pug named Thucydides, a Doomsday-predicting Evangelist, a gallant Royal Navy Captain, a Viscount who formerly served in Her Majesty’s Dragoons, a beautiful but petulant Wollstonecraft devotee, a mysterious theatre dialect coach named Mrs. Smith (you know that has to be an alias, right?), an eventful masquerade ball in honor of the King’s birthday and Princess Charlotte’s nuptials, and enough secrets to keep you on the edge of your seat, wondering what Ms. Barron has up her sleeve.

I really enjoyed this novel. It is, I suppose necessarily, a bittersweet read because Jane’s illness permeates the story, and it’s hard not to think about the fact that she is going to die from that same illness about a year later. It’s always a delight, however, to spend time with Stephanie Barron’s Jane Austen, a woman whose cleverness and wit goes beyond the writing of novels, and who employs her gifts and talents to the solving of mysteries. I will be so sorry to see this series end!

Jane and the Year Without a Summer is a page-turning story, imbued with fascinating historical detail, a cast of beautifully realized characters, a pitch-perfect Jane Austen, and an intriguing mystery. Highly recommended.

I enjoyed this novel, my first of Stephanie Barron's Jane Austen Mysteries. Although this is book 14 in her series, it easily reads as a stand alone novel. This is a bit outside my usual genre but it was a fun change of pace for me.

What I loved most was the engaging voice that Barron gives to Jane Austen. I love Austen's books and her writing style. This story fits so well into her own written work. I loved the subtle phrases that come from Austen's works and the connections between the people she encounters and the characters I remember from her books. We meet her always ailing sister in law, a pair of lovers who have been parted for years, spinsters, doctors, and love interests. It's such a fun story to experience as an Austen lover.

Barron has certainly done her research and offers a incredibly detailed account of life in Regency England. I appreciated her footnotes about historical details and people. She created her whole world based on research. the Potter Boarding House, the Cheltenham Assembly Rooms, the York Hotel, the governing magistrate, the Battle of Waterloo, even the weather caused by a distant volcano are all based in what really happened back then. I loved getting to know Jane Austen within her time period. I was really intrigued by how Barron incorporates details like anorexia and divorce in this time period. She weaves this tough issues into her story with grace and aplomb. Seeing her interact with her dear sister Cassandra, observing her failing health, understanding how anonymous she still was in her lifetime. The details create an engaging story that is hard to put down.

The action in this story is fast paced and never lets up. From the beginning of the story, we are thrown into a thrilling murder mystery. I was surprised by how easily this story kept my attention. I was engrossed in discovering who had committed the murders. In fact, I couldn't turn the pages fast enough at times. What was going to happen? Would Jane be safe? How would she uncover the villain? While the amount of violence was a bit over the top for my taste, I relished the adventure of discovering the murderer alongside Jane. I enjoyed how her skills that we see in her novels were on display in this one. She is very good at reading people and expressions. She understands the importance of details. And she is able to gain accurate pictures of others' character. It was really fun to see Jane Austen in a murder mystery -- much different than her novels!

Like in Austen's novels, this book offers readers an engaging cast of characters. People from various walks of life all converge on Cheltenham Spa for relief from a variety of ailments. (Can I just say that the spa water sounds disgusting! How far we have come in the medical world!) I was immediately drawn to Captain Pellew and Mrs Smith and enjoyed unearthing their connections and histories. I was surprised by the histories of some and mystified by others. Some read just like the annoying or social inept characters of Austen's novels. And others celebrate the best of humanity and of love. I enjoyed getting to know them and seeing how they interacted and worked together.

This exciting murder mystery takes us through countless twists and turns with a surprise ending too! I am impressed that after 14 books, Barron can still offer readers plenty of surprises. While I enjoyed this novel, this genre remains not a favorite of mine. I enjoyed the story but the violence was a bit intense for me especially within a Regency setting. A few details didn't get wrapped up completely for me. But overall, an engaging story with well developed characters.

This is my first introduction into this series, and I must say I was delighted. Jane, along with her sister are pulled into a murder mystery while staying at Cheltenham Spa. With help from an old beau, Jane works to find who is responsible for a murder that occurs at the boarding house they are staying at.

Although, this seems to be set during towards the end of Jane Austen's life, it appears that there should be at least one more installment. I will definetly need to go back and read the others before it comes out.

A great potrayl of Jane and her sister, with a great plot, quick banter and an intriguing mystery; as well as a strong sense of time and place.

I would definetly recommend this series to fans of Jane Austen, and fans of historical mysteries in general.

What a fascinating look into Jane Austen's life. Set in 1816, Jane isn't feeling well and goes to a resort town to partake of the waters. Accompanied by her sister, they meet a wide array of characters and not all is what it seems. The weather is wet and cold due to an eruption in the Pacific the year before.

It is fantastic the way the author has researched letters and accounts to piece together where Jane was and what she would be doing in this time period. It gives readers a glimpse at the Jane Austen that we know only through her books.

I found myself indignant on her behalf a time or two when opinions were expressed about women that were less than complementary, showing the real truths of women at that time.

The author has done an amazing job capturing Jane and her contemporaries, whether real or imagined. The characters were rich with background and nuance and the mystery weaved itself in slowly until it was no longer able to hide in the pages. This is a fantastic read for Jane Austen fans that want to get to know her a little better.

I received an early copy through the publisher and through NetGalley and this is my honest review.

A brilliant read for fans of murder mysteries and Jane Austen!

A fast-paced plot line, well written characters and witty dialogue.

May 1816. Jane feels unwell, and added to this the problems of her family, she intends to visit Cheltenham Spa for a rest. Accompanied by her sister Cassandra, they stay at an Inn which contain a number of people with their own concerns. But is there a murderer in the area. Jane decides to investigates.
A historical mystery, entertaining and well-written. With its cast of varied and likeable characters it is another good addition to the series, which can easily be read as a standalone story.
An ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

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.

Jane and the Year Without a Summer
By Stephanie Barron
Thanks to @stephaniebarronfrancinematthews, @soho_press, @austenprose

Hello Fellow Janeites and those who are sadly missing out ♡

Jane and the Year Without a Summer
By Stephanie Barron is the fourteenth installment in a impressive Jane Austen inspired mystery sleuth series.

Taking the advice of an apothecarist, Jane and her sister, Cassandra, travel to
Cheltenham. Jane uses a little of her profits from her book Emma. Here Jane is hopeful the Cheltenham Spa will relieve some of her pressing physical aliments, that she has been suffering with. It’s early summer of 1816, and unbeknownst to the people of Europe and other places throughout the world. A devastating disaster hd accrued in Indonesia, when an eruption on Mount Tambora in April 1815 caused a climatic change. An unseasonable chill, settled in with unrelenting dampness and literally no sun to speak of.
The sisters plan to stay a fortnight at Mrs. Potter’s boarding house.
Jane and her sister are presented an interesting diverse cast of characters, along with a twisty murder mystery to be solved. The author adds a little Regency romance, and stunning characterization to create one of the best Jane Austen inspired books I have read. This book is my very first read in this incredibly beloved series, and I had no problem jumping in and enjoying it immensely. No wonder this author has and incredible book following. It’s meticulously researched the characters are well developed and period details and mystery was stunning.

I Loved everything about Jane Austen being skillful sleuth.
I will be starting this book series posthaste.

A book I highly recommend to my family and friends. ♡


My full review is on my blog @gwendalynsbooks and featured on my IG @gwendalyn_books_ during the blog tour hosted by Austenprose PR.
Thanks so much for the print ARC from the author via Austenprose PR to read in exchange for an honest review. ♡♥︎

#janeandtheyearwithoutasummer #gwendalynbooks
#JaneAndTheYear #HistoricalMystery #NewBooks #Bookstagram #JaneAusten #StephanieBarron #BookTour #AustenprosePR

From my blog: Always With a Book

I am a huge fan of Jane Austen’s books so it was a no-brainer for me a say yes to be part of this tour, even though this book is the 14th installment in Stephanie Barron’s Jane Austen Mysteries series. It’s a series I’ve seen around before but hadn’t yet picked up and now I can say without a doubt I definitely will be going back to the beginning to read.

This book grabbed my attention right from the start. The fact that it’s a historical mystery was a huge bonus but added to that we also have the fact that we get to learn a bit about Jane herself. I have yet to read an official biography on Jane Austen, though that is definitely on my list, but it’s reading books like this that really bring the author to life. I love that the author was able to take real events from her life and craft a story around that. The afterward in this book is most definitely a must-read!

Being that I was new to this series, I was not sure what to expect, but I should not have worried. The way the author writes Jane as a character is so endearing and relatable. I feel that she really got her personality and wit just right. I also loved that throughout the book, there were notes in the text to explain the history as needed.

The cast of characters we meet at the boarding house were quite a crew and I loved that they all had their fair share of secrets. The boarding house itself lent nicely to the murder mystery and I found myself stumped in trying to figure out who was behind everything – those twists and turns really kept me guessing.

I really enjoyed this charming historical mystery and am quite eager to go back and read the earlier books in this series. Because I know the timeline of Jane’s life, I do know that this book is possibly nearing the end of the series…but who knows. I’m glad I read it and definitely recommend it to all Austen fans as well as fans of historical mysteries.

Stephanie Barron rarely fails to delight, and this new book meets the gold standard. I have not been to the Sp that she describes, but have been to Bath, where Austen herse;f lived for a time, and the similarities are striking.

I don't want to give away plot details and spoil the fun of reading it, but her Jane this time is somehow both sadder and more upbeat - her illness is not all that becomes her. I found the historical details fascinating, the characters well-rounded, and am going to suggest to my book club that we read this together for our next meeting!

I adore the author's writing and this 14th in her Jane Austen Mystery series can easily be read as a standalone, but made me want to go back and savor every title. What I especially love about the author's work is her meticulous research and deftly written characters, who live on long after the last page is turned.

Here, Jane is ill and heads with her sister to the healing waters at Cheltenham Spa in Gloucestershire. They find not rest but a tense atmosphere where murder occurs and the skies are dark due to the eruption of Mount Tambora in the Dutch East Indies. Taking place shortly before Jane's death, Barron's readers will take pause knowing the series must end soon.

Highly recommended for avid Janeites and lovers of fine histfic mysteries. Out Feb. 8.

Thanks to the author, Soho Press, Soho Crime, and NetGalley for the ARC; opinions are mine.

#JaneandtheYearwithoutaSummer #NetGalley

Why haven’t I read anything from this series before?!? I have been missing out!

Seriously, Barron’s meticulous research into both Austen’s history and the history of the time and place is incredible. Especially considering that Austen’s sister destroyed most of Austen’s letters after her death.

The book is written in a style that is very close to Austen’s own. If you are not a fan of the writing of that period, it might be a bit of rough going. It also is based very closely into Austen’s actual history, while creating fictional events and conversations. And adding a mystery as well—in this case, about a viscount’s runaway wife. As with any good mystery, just as you think you’re onto something, another surprise appears.

As an Austen fan, I really can’t praise Barron’s work enough. Of course, the fact that this particular book takes place during the visit to Cheltenham Spa for her health, which Austen took about a year before her death, is very meaningful to me. My grandparents retired to Cheltenham, and I have been to several of the places mentioned—and even drunk the (very alkaline and nasty) waters.

Possible Objectionable Material:
A wife runs away from her husband, who calls her his “property” in his attempts to get her back.

Who Might Like This Book:
Austen fans. Mystery lovers. Those who love the literature and history of the era.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book also reviewed at http://biblioquacious.blogspot.com/2022/02/february-8-releases.html

Jane Austen—that lauded, shrewd observer and chronicler of humanity—was also a skillful sleuth. Or so readers are thoroughly convinced in the fourteenth book of acclaimed historical mystery author Stephanie Barron’s Being a Jane Austen Mystery series, Jane and the Year Without a Summer.

Off to the Less-Celebrated Watering Hole

It is 1816, and Jane Austen is facing ill health of unknown cause. In an attempt to treat her ailments, she travels with her sister Cassandra to drink allegedly restorative mineral waters, attracted to the remedy along with others of failing health, because “novelty will always draw those hopeful of cure.” (Loc 292) However, they do not seek their cure at Bath, the ancient and unrivaled pleasure destination of the upper classes. Instead, they aim for Cheltenham, which “is to Bath what a heedless country maid is to a dowager; lacking in refinement and dignity, and prone to a good deal of untempered noise.” (Loc 230)

Boardinghouse Bystanders

At their rented lodgings, as well as about the town in Cheltenham, Jane and Cassandra mingle with intriguing new acquaintances and deepen their appreciation for old ones. Love is in the air, but so are countless mysteries. Speculation abounds as secrets are revealed and loyalties and motives questioned. When tragedy strikes—repeatedly—Jane’s considerable powers of rational observation come to the rescue. But will she succeed in saving herself from the irrational powers of her yearning, anguished heart?

A Confession

Be not alarmed, dear readers, but I must confess that I am possibly one of the last Janeites not to have read any of the Being a Jane Austen mysteries before now. There, I said it, and now we can be rational again.

Although I entered this lengthy series near the end, I easily picked up the time and place and people, and it was lovely to be immersed with Jane there amongst them. Her keen observations of those around her felt like she was confiding in me as a trusted friend, while I simultaneously sensed how she gleaned inspiration for the characters created by her pen. I smiled when I recognized Mrs. Bennet’s nerves in Jane Austen’s sister-in-law Mary’s histrionics. A lady “who generally met the happiness of her friends with indignation.” (Loc 177)

“How like James’s wife to languish in misery in a cold parlour, like an heroine in a Gothic novel, in the hope her husband should discover her in a swoon, and exclaim all his remorse romantickly over her insensible head!” (Loc 186)

Plot Twists Aplenty

Since I knew this was a mystery, I was surprised when I was more than one-third of the way through the story before anything particularly mysterious occurred. Although the pace was slower than I expected or prefer, I cannot say it was unrealistic, and I did enjoy observing the secondary characters with Jane’s writer’s eye. There were plot twists aplenty, with a conclusion that I did not predict.

Impressively Pitch-Perfect

There is something almost soothing about reading Jane discussing the mundane elements of her life with her sister and witnessing the sometimes complicated interactions with their family members and acquaintances. Knowing how her life will end so prematurely, it’s comforting to know how well she was loved. The author captured Jane’s voice and temperament perfectly. Impressively pitch-perfect, in fact, and certainly related to the extensive historical and biographical research that is infused into the story.

I thought I would be sad reading this tale that takes place in the year before her untimely death, but Jane herself did not obsess over her deteriorating condition. Instead, I felt oddly hopeful, although there is a subtle sense of denial in her lack of desperation. She was ailing, but not yet completely debilitated. She convinced me—as well as her beloved sister Cassandra—that all was yet well, her health complaints a mere fleeting trifle to be addressed with leisure and the taking of the foul waters at Cheltenham.

“I know now that I must cherish every day, and use each as wisely as I am allowed.” (Loc 3030)

In Essence

Historical mystery and Jane Austen fans alike will enjoy the artful suspense and poignant moments in Jane and the Year Without a Summer.

5 out of 5 Stars

Stephanie Barron's Jane Austen novels are well researched, and I enjoy the accompanying mystery in each one. In this story, Jane and her sister Cassandra spend a week taking the waters, hoping to improve Jane's declining health. They meet each of their fellow boarders at the rooming house, and when the body count starts rising, it's up to clever Jane to identify the murderer.