Yes yes yes. It is a truth universally acknowledged that I absolutely love Jane Austin and Pride and Prejudice, I also adore a murder mystery! This book is Amazing.
The characters were absolutely spot on. Eliza is awesome but I must admit I want my own Great Aunt Iris and an Uncle Fitz wouldn't be to bad either.
The setting is perfection, I mean Pemberly 😍
This story had me on more than one occasion saying I just can't figure this one out. And that is what makes this book so good, it's not just a simple case, it's got things going on, I'm not going to spoil anything!
I cannot fault this book in anyway to me it was just too good. It was unputdownable (like Shakespeare I can also make up a word - thanks Eliza 😉)
One thing that I adored about this novel is the beginning of each chapter is a piece of Elizabeth Bennett's journal. So good.
I cannot wait to put this on my shelf next to my overflowing Jane Austin collection.

This book was pretty awful. I was really looking forward to reading it but the formatting of the text made it hard to follow. There were random numbers in the middle of a sentence and conversations blending into one another. I made it about 40% before I finally gave up.

This was such a fun concept. A cozy mystery starring the descendants of Jane Austen's characters? Yes, please! It sounded like a book I'd really love.

Unfortunately, I can't say I loved it. I liked it well enough. There were definitely some fun parts. My favorites were the excerpts from the "real" Elizabeth Bennet. I just wish the modern parts had entertained me as much as those did.

I read a copy of this book from NetGalley. All comments are my own.

This was a pretty cozy read. It kind of reminded me of madam Blanc, I think it's called. I think it's definitely worth a read

From the start, I was captivated. As a fan of Jane Austen, a lover of cozy mysteries, and someone who enjoys a touch of romance, this book initially felt like a perfect fit for me. The first few chapters drew me in effortlessly, and I didn’t even mind that there wasn’t a dead body right away. I adored the whimsical Aunt Iris, even if she was somewhat stereotypical, and I found the lively cousin Joy, who introduces our American sleuth to British life, quite charming. However, by the midpoint, I was put off by the overly saccharine and immature romance between Heath and Eliza. It felt more like a young adult romance novel than anything else, with the characters behaving more like teenagers than adults in their mid-twenties. Even Aunt Iris’s constant chatter about love and marriage started to grate on my nerves.

For a cozy mystery, it was all too much. At one point, I nearly put the book down because of the overuse and misuse of British expressions in the dialogue. It felt as though the author was trying too hard to showcase a superficial understanding of British vernacular. A few phrases here and there to highlight cultural differences would have been amusing, but this was over the top. During my time living in England, I never heard people speak the way Berg's characters do.

The predictability of the plot was another letdown. It was obvious from the outset who was involved, and the rest of the story was just piecing together the clues. Towards the end, there was an attempt to add a twist, but it veered into a darker, thriller-like territory, which felt out of place.

The effort to incorporate Pemberley and the Darcy/Bingley/Wickham lineage was commendable and could have provided a thrilling backdrop for Austen fans and a connection to the unfolding events. However, merely inserting Elizabeth Bennet’s journal entries fell short for me. I wished the sleuth had embodied more of Austen’s original Elizabeth Bennet's wit and intelligence, rather than being a clumsy, awkward character prone to stumbling into rose bushes. The cringe-worthy romantic moments with Heath were also off-putting.

On a structural note, there were discrepancies in the time of day and the settings, and some clues didn’t align with the narrative. A thorough review by a line and copy editor could have caught these issues. Berg relies heavily on dialogue to advance the plot, which sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t. The sudden shift from a cozy mystery to a thriller towards the end was jarring. While it added excitement and made the book a page-turner, it wasn’t true to the genre.

Is there anything wrong with blending genres? Not if it’s done well. But for me, this novel didn’t succeed. It seemed undecided about its identity but ultimately leaned towards being a cheesy young adult romance more than anything else.

I received an advance reader copy (ARC) in exchange for an honest review.

The pace of this book is too slow for me. At 15% in, there’s been no plot so far—just introducing characters. DNF.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

Eliza comes to merry old England to the home estate that her father came from. When murder happens, she decides to be an amateur sleuth and help solve the murder. She also wants to find out why her father was estranged from his family. Enjoyed this one, and a fun cast of characters. A good cozy mystery set in rural England, and one I highly recommend.