Book Review

Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor
by Stephanie Barron

This is the first in a series of historical mysteries starring Jane Austen as the detective. It was very enjoyable. Jane is portrayed as very insightful and clever, which seems pretty realistic to those of us who've read her novels. In this one, Jane is staying at the country manor of her newly married friend Isobel. After a party celebrating the marriage, Isobel's husband dies of what at first appears to be an acute and severe gastrointestinal ailment but soon proves to be poison. This eventually leads to a second murder intended to cover up the first and frame Isobel. Jane must find out who the real murderer is in order to save her friend from the gallows. The murderer turned out to be much more conniving and devious that I'd originally thought, which made the unraveling of the mystery really compelling. As a bonus, Barron does an excellent job of mimicking Austen's writing style.