I really enjoyed this follow-up to The Murder of Mr. Wickham, and the return of amateur sleuths Juliet Tilney and Jonathan Darcy. Juliet is once again charming as a young woman who wants to question, explore, and use her wits in a time when women are not encouraged to do so. If Jonathan was around today, he would probably be considered neurodivergent, and I cannot imagine how difficult it would be to feel so different in a time that does not celebrate difference. I think Gray has treated his character with care and love.

While the setting of the first book was in Emma's world, this one is set in Marianne and Elinor's world. Is it too much to hope that we will get a book in this series set in each of Austen's books's setting? Did that sentence make sense? Whatever. I loved the intrigue that came with Marianne, her husband Colonel Brandon, Willoughby, his new wife, AND the young woman Willoughby fathered a child with all living in the same area. The drama!

As the title suggests, a murder occurs, and I want to tell you that I guessed the murderer early...but while I did, I also suspected many others in quick succession so it still came as *somewhat* of a surprise when revealed. The investigation is a bit all over the place, but I was satisfied with how the mystery wrapped up.

Complaints? This story felt a bit slow-going in some areas, the beginning especially. While probably historically accurate, it definitely felt like it was just a lot of walking between houses for a while. Also...as a sucker for romance, I absolutely wanted more romance between Juliet and Jonathan. I really just wanted more interaction between Juliet and Jonathan. There was individual pining, but we got so many sweet, exciting moments between the two of them in book one, and I had hoped that would progress in this book? While in a way, each one's understanding of her/his own feelings towards the other (eventualllyyyy) becomes clearer, I just wanted more.

Overall, if you are a fan of Jane Austen, historical mysteries, etc, I would recommend! Do read The Murder of Mr. Wickham first, though.

The Late Mrs. Willoughby is the second installment in the loosely connected Mr. Darcy & Miss Tilney series and can be read as a stand-alone.

Juliet Tilney and Jonathan Darcy are reunited at the estate of John Willoughby, Jonathan’s boarding school nemesis. Although Jonathan isn’t thrilled about attending Willoughby’s house party, he is keen to see Miss Tilney again after they paired up as amateur sleuths (in the previous book) to solve a recent murder. The occasion is a party to welcome John Willoughby’s new bride. Unfortunately, she dies at the party, the victim of an apparent poisoning. Juliet and Jonathan combine their investigative skills to solve the murder which has twists and turns and puts their lives in danger.

Juliet and Jonathan are two smart and compassionate young adults with strong investigative abilities. Jonathan is neurodivergent and was bullied at boarding school by Willoughby and his group. Juliet understands Jonathan’s neurodivergence and appreciates him.

If you enjoy gently written historical fiction in an Austenesque style, you might enjoy this cozy mystery. Although difficult content is addressed, most of it happens off the page. The death of Mrs. Willoughby is described and a bit of bullying occurs in the present. There is no profanity and no open-door romance.

Juliet and Jonathan solidify their friendship and work well together as amateur investigators. As they become better acquainted, a hint of sweet romance is in the air. A definite cliffhanger for the next installment.

For readers who appreciate the Austenesque style of cozy histfic mystery, I enthusiastically recommend The Late Mrs. Willoughby. If you are looking for a gently-written series, you might enjoy this one!

Thanks #NetGalley @VintageAnchorBooks #AustenProsePR @AustenProse for a complimentary e ARC of #TheLateMrsWilloughby upon my request. All opinions are my own.

Jonathan Darcy and Juliet Tilney are back at it again in this book. Juliet has come to stay with the Brandons who she became acquainted with in the first book of this series, and coincidentally Jonathan Darcy is also in town to visit an old school friend, Mr. Willoughby. When the 2 come together for a dinner party the night will end in the death of Mr. Willoughby's wife. The cause? Poison. Juliet and Jonathan immediately decide to begin investigating again. They were able to solve a murder in the past perhaps they can do it again. I really enjoyed revisiting these characters and their relationship. I found it difficult to discern who was the culprit. I look forward to reading more about the antics of Mr. Darcy and Ms. Tilney in the future.

"The Late Mrs. Willoughby" by Claudia Gray is book 2 in the "Mr. Darcy & Miss Tilney" series. This was the first book I've read in the series. It is such an intriguing and fun read! I loved revisiting some of my favorite Jane Austen characters and getting to know, Jonathan Darcy and Juliet Tilney. The author has done great work in staying true to the personalities of Jane Austen's characters! The setting was great. It was so nice to revisit Barton Park, Barton Cottage, and Delaford! I really enjoyed seeing the continuation of Jane Austen's characters' lives. It was lovely to see Marianne and Colonel Brandon's love for each other continue to grow and to see Elinor and Edward happy. The speed of the plot was perfect and the twists and turns kept the story interesting and mysterious. I did not see the twist at the end of this book coming! This book is definitely a page-turner. the author's writing style is smooth along with detailed descriptions of the locations and events which help the reader to better picture what is happening in the story. The setting is familiar and interesting, the characters are three-dimensional, the plot is well paced and carried out, the writing style is smooth, and the friendship and romance is sweet. "The Late Mrs. Willoughby" will appeal to so many readers! Not only will Jane Austen fans and readers of Austenesque fiction enjoy this, readers of historical fiction and mysteries will too. I highly recommend this book! Thank you very much to Austenprose PR, Vintage Anchor Books, Penguin Random House, and NetGalley for providing me with the wonderful opportunity of being on the launch team and for providing me with both digital and physical copies of this book to read and review honestly.

I enjoyed this second installment even more than the first. I think it was because the new main characters, Jonathan Darcy, and Juliet Tilney and their connection was more greatly established. This was an excellent whodunit with an Agatha Christie feel. While I had my suspicions throughout the course of the novel, I was never entirely certain who it was until the big reveal.

The writing and language feel accurate to the time period and the characters, but there is a touch of the modern that also keeps it feeling fresh and new. I especially loved this aspect with the neurodivergent character, Jonathan Darcy, and how that translates into the timeframe.

Once again, I think this book is best enjoyed by those who are familiar with Jane Austen's books and characters, though Gray does a good job at incorporating their backstories into the novel.

I love the slow-brewing romance between Jonathan and Juliet, and how the ending of this one leaves us convinced there will be a third but not who it will involve or where. Since Book 1 covered the most notorious Austen villain in Wickham, and this one covers the 2nd great offender in Willoughby, I wonder if we head to Mansfield Park next and the Crawfords? That is only speculation on my part, but I will be eagerly awaiting the next installment.

Thank you to the author, the publisher, Austen Prose PR, and Netgalley for the free book and e-arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

Reading The Murder of Mr. Wickham was such a delight, that when I heard there would be a sequel I was both excited and worried about how I might receive the next story. I wish I had started reading sooner because I could not put it down. I found the story interesting and while I had clued into the suspect early I still had such a fun time seeing how the story developed and how loose ends were to be tied. I love how Claudia Gray makes every character so fleshed out and gives readers the necessary background to understanding the nature of the main characters from Jane Austen's work, even if you have not read the respective book or it has been a long time. I would have liked having the author's note from the first book about age and publication date, but that is a minor hiccup in my reading experience. I cannot wait to see what else Jonathan and Juliet get into, especially with such an ending. This was a great followup!! Thank you netgalley and Vintage for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I'll start by saying I read and Loved The Murder of Mr. Wickham, this style of storytelling, blending fiction into the stories we know and love, adding a dash of Christie-type mysteries, I just love all of it.

This book was seamless in picking up that feeling, our characters are even better than in the first book, and the story kept me engaged and wondering who killed Mrs. Willoughby until the very end. At this point I should just trust Juliet's hunches but where's the fun in that?

Juliet is one of those characters that just makes you think what is she getting into this time but you want to go along for the ride.

Jonathan gets pulled along again in this story and I love them together, the wit, the banter, the moments of electricity between them, it's just phenomenal.

Marianne, what can I say about her, my heart felt for her, being the center of the juiciest gossip of the day, not knowing who to trust, where to turn, or if she would be arrested for murder.

Spellbinding in its ability to blend characters, backgrounds, lifestyles, and well Murder this book is a must-read for fans of Jane Austin, or anyone that likes historical fiction with a side of snark and a sprinkling of romance.

I love this series and truly hope there are many books to come, I can think of so many characters from books that I would love to see Juliet and Jonathan tangle wits with.


Thank you to Vintage Anchor and NetGalley for providing a copy of this e-book, I have voluntarily read and reviewed it and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Loved, loved, loved Book 2 in this fab series with its Austenesque wit, mysteries that left me guessing, a neurodivergent sleuth (a Darcy no less!), Austen characters galore, and the hint of Regency romance. Perfect for Janeites and anyone who loves a well-done whodunit.

I truly enjoyed The Murder of Mr. Wickham, so I was glad to see this sequel from Claudia Gray. After reading it, I am eagerly watching for news of a third book in this series. I love the main characters, Juliet Tilney and Jonathan Darcy and hope to follow more of the adventures. I also enjoy the way that Claudia Gray manages to bring all our favorite Jane Austen characters together. She also does a very creditable job of writing in new characters that feel like they belong in Jane's world. Her mysteries are solid and the gentle romantic awakening between Juliet and Jonathan is delightful.

Loved the second installment of Gray's mystery set in the world of Jane Austen.

Ms. Tilney and Mr. Jonathan Darcy have a soft spot in my heart. I enjoy the uniqueness of their duo and that they break the mold in comparison to characters of that time. This one kept me guessing until the end!! Immediately after finishing I wanted to pick up the next book in the series!

If you like Jane Austen, regency period, cozy mysteries, brave women, and sensitive men, this one is for you!

If you like Jane Austen and Cozy Mysteries, this series is for you.

I enjoy all the different character motivations, and the main characters solving the murder while appeasing society norms during this time period.

Overall this is a fun unique take on cozy mysteries!

4.5 Stars

The Late Mrs. Willoughby is the second book in Claudia Gray’s Mr. Darcy & Miss Tilney Mystery series. And like its predecessor, The Murder of Mr. Wickham, the book is a delight. The series follows Jane Austen’s famous characters from multiple novels.

Gray has crafted a timeline in which all of Austen’s characters fit: Darcy and Elizabeth have a grown son, and Catherine Morland and Henry Tilney have a grown daughter, but Colonel Brandon and Marianne are recently wed. And, so too, is Mr. Willoughby.

This time around there are fewer intersecting books/characters, but the result is the same — the couples have grown, and there’s a sense that Gray’s world is an extension of Austen’s. In fact, Gray has done an admirable job adapting Austen’s writing style to her own while remaining familiar.

Though The Late Mrs. Willoughby has a fairly large cast of characters with multiple storylines unfolding at once, Jonathan and Juliet ground things. The duo interacts with characters throughout the book, making it a cohesive whole.

The Late Mrs. Willoughby is a smart, quick-moving read perfect for heading into the summer. Though the novel does stand alone, it’s much better in conjunction with The Murder of Mr. Wickham. They’re both great reads.

While not specifically a young adult novel, The Late Mrs. Willoughby is an enjoyable mystery perfect for Jane Austen fans of any age.

I really did not know what to expect but I love historical mysteries.. Ok, I am addicted. With that said, I have to say I did enjoy this light mystery.

Playing on the characters by Jane Austen made the reading even more interesting. Throw in a murder and the twist and turns begin!

I need to go back and read the first and hope there are more!

I really enjoyed the second installment in this next gen-Jane Austen fanfic of Claudia Gray's. Gray is a favorite author of mine particularly in the Star Wars fandom and it is so much fun to see her write in this extremely different space. She really understands these Austen characters and it is a thrill for me to read them in different context.

I enjoyed the previous installment although found the mystery element slightly lacking. The mystery in this book was a little more compelling even when I figured it out right away. I think this installment is better in that it is not juggling so many characters. I really love the tender friendship, slow burn between Jonathan Darcy and Juliet Tilney even if this book ends in a particularly excruciating place for them, my guess setting up a third installment in this series.

Like other Austen fanatics I find these characters particularly precious and I have a very high bar when reading spinoffs or other work and although I have some small quibbles with this work, it was very much fun to read. This book spends most of its time with the Dashwoods (I was glad to be rid of Fanny and the rest of the Mansfield crew). Focusing more on the relationship of Jonathan and Juliet is smart and I hope to see more of them in the future. This book is very wordy and while I appreciated the research and care that went into it I can see maybe other readers being slightly turned off or bored. I, however, enjoyed this book more than the first and look forward to more.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read an E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Looking for some murder mystery, intrigue
& little Romance then this is perfect
for you.  A sequel to The Murder of Mr Wickham this adventure reunites jonathan Darcy and Juliet Tilney.
They work together to solve the murder
of Willoughby's wife, not knowing the danger they could be in.
You will love this historical feel & setting of this intriguing mystery. I loved this story. It kept me guessing all the way to the end. I love the adventures!

Thank you so much for an advanced copy of this one! I loved it.

I'm a sucker for any "new" book that takes me back to characters I've known and loved in the past, and this book does just that! I love that this series combines the characters we love with the ones we love to hate.

I think what I enjoyed most about this book was the pacing. The story was never rushed or hurried; it unfolded the way it was supposed to, and the author nailed the timing. It kept me engaged from beginning to end!

I'm so glad I read this one!

Rating: 4⭐️

This is the second book in the series and was another fun read. My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC. Mr. Darcy and Miss Tilney find themselves again investigating s murder when they encounter one another at the residence of Lord Middleton celebrating the local tradition of drinking port to a new home. Mr. Darcy is there visiting the Willoughbys, and Miss Tilney is there visiting the Bartons. All is going well until Mrs. Willoughby collapses and dies after drinking the port.

With suspects aplenty, the duo again investigate. They must navigate the complexities of societal norms while narrowing the list. The other characters are navigating their own concerns, making for a more complex plot. The characters are interesting, their relationships engaging. The mystery is not overly complex. I do like these characters and the meshing of Austen's novels. This is a light, fun read. I look forward to more in this series.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Vintage Books for this opportunity to review “The Late Mrs. Willoughby.” All opinions and comments are my own.

Mr. Jonathan Darcy of Pemberley and Miss Juliet Tilney of Gloucestershire are back, after the exciting adventure of “The Murder of Mr. Wickham.” The two aspiring sleuths will be tasked to put their newfound investigative skills to good use in “The Late Mrs. Willoughby,” author Claudia Gray’s second homage to Jane Austen and her fictional characters in a “detective story” setting.

This time, we have “Sense and Sensibility” to thank as our source. And soon, yes, indeed, horrid Mr. Willoughby is introduced, and yes, Mrs. Willoughby, Sophia Gray as was, is dead. Poisoned. Of course, Jonathan and Juliet will do their best (they have been brought together in a lucky happenstance) to find out why Mrs. Willoughby was murdered -- and indeed, was she the intended victim?

It definitely helps to have a knowledge of Jane Austen and her works to make reading “The Late Mrs. Willoughby” fully enjoyable, I suppose. Jonathan and Juliet are “new to the scene,” as it were, but the others named throughout will be familiar to any who have read Miss Austen’s books. Be that as it may, each character is fleshed out and made real, especially the unpleasant ones. And there are quite a few of those.

“It is a truth, universally acknowledged” that Jonathan and Juliet will get to the bottom of this, and they do, in quite an interesting and well thought-through fashion, which our author knows to keep within the societal conventions of the time, while allowing for some dramatic license. In between we get the introspective passages that are such a part of the book, such as Miss Austen would have done. One that is especially applicable to much that goes on within these pages is Juliet’s assertion that “…every village is centered up on one constant, irrepressible force: gossip.” And so important for murder mysteries! We also learn more about Jonathan’s personality and “quirks,” which modern readers can probably recognize as being on the autistic spectrum.

The book ends with a hint for a future story. Which is a good thing, because Jonathan is coming to grips with how he feels. We have come to know how Juliet feels. “The Late Mrs. Willoughby” is a delightful homage to the works of Jane Austen, with an intriguing mystery which will keep you guessing until the exciting finish.

This book was wonderful! If you’re a fan of Jane Austen, you’ll probably like this one and the first book in the series. The author does a fantastic job capturing the essence of Austen’s classic characters.

Jonathan Darcy and Juliet Tilney are back and have another mystery to solve. Someone has killed Mrs. Willoughby. But who? The book is a delightful read and keeps you guessing about the murderer. I truly enjoyed it. It comes out May 16. Thank you to Vintage Books and Netgalley for my copy.

Claudia Gray's Mr. Darcy & Miss Tilney series is such a creative mashup of two things I love: Jane Austen characters and Agatha Christie locked-room style murder mysteries. I REALLY enjoyed the first book, The Murder of Mr. Wickham. The two main characters, Jonathan Darcy and Juliet Tilney are a wonderful duo. After rooting for their likely courtship in the first book, I was very excited to jump back in and follow along as they solve another murder mystery while pining for one another.

And yet, I didn't quite love The Late Mrs. Willoughby as much as the first book. I found this book to be more slowly paced, I predicted the murderer quite early and I found the romance/chemistry between Juliet & Jonathan to be largely absent. Usually when I read a murder mystery I love discovering clues throughout, allowing me to actively try to crack the crime. In this respect, the first book kept me guessing and guessing the murderer's identity. I felt like that wasn't the model for this book. There weren't many clues to be revealed or discovered, it was mostly the characters speculating and it made it less fun for me. It didn't feel like a puzzle I needed to solve.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

I do recommend this book for Jane Austen fans and readers who love Regency era novels.