Visit Book Beginnings by Rose City Reader for this weekly Friday meme.
Jane and the Twelve Days of Christmas: Being a Jane Austen Mystery by Stephanie Barron
To be published October 28, 2014; Soho Crime
Genre: mystery
Book beginning:
Christmas Eve, 1814: Jane Austen has been invited to spend the holiday at The Vyne, the ancestral home of the politically prominent Chute family. Jane and her circle are in a celebratory mood: Mansfield Park is selling nicely; Napoleon has been banished to Elba; British forces have seized Washington, DC; and on Christmas Eve, John Quincy Adams signs the Treaty of Ghent, which will end a war nobody in England really wanted.
Jane, however, discovers holiday cheer is fleeting. One of the Yuletide revelers dies in a tragic accident, which Jane views with suspicion. With clues scattered, dark secrets coming to light, and old friendships returning to haunt the Christmas parties, whom can Jane trust to help stop the killer from striking again?
This latest novel in the mystery series will be released next month. I am looking forward to reading this as a stand-alone novel, and my first in this series.
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| Jane and the Twelve Days of Christmas |
To be published October 28, 2014; Soho Crime
Genre: mystery
Book beginning:
Saturday, 24th December, 1814
Steventon Parsonage, Hampshire
"Jane," said my mother over the lolling head of he parson slumbering beside her,"be so good as to shift your bandbox and secure my reticule. I cannot manage the hamper with one hand, to be sure."
"No, indeed," I pressed my bandbox - already crushed from the confines of the stage, which was crowded beyond bearing - into my friend Martha's lap, and seized my mother's purse. She had netted it from silk, an effort demanding considerable invention and time; none of us should hear the end of it if Mrs.Austen's work were ruined well before it could be universally admired. I braced my booted feet against the unsteady coach's floor and cradled the reticule as tenderly as a newborn babe.Book description:
Christmas Eve, 1814: Jane Austen has been invited to spend the holiday at The Vyne, the ancestral home of the politically prominent Chute family. Jane and her circle are in a celebratory mood: Mansfield Park is selling nicely; Napoleon has been banished to Elba; British forces have seized Washington, DC; and on Christmas Eve, John Quincy Adams signs the Treaty of Ghent, which will end a war nobody in England really wanted.
Jane, however, discovers holiday cheer is fleeting. One of the Yuletide revelers dies in a tragic accident, which Jane views with suspicion. With clues scattered, dark secrets coming to light, and old friendships returning to haunt the Christmas parties, whom can Jane trust to help stop the killer from striking again?
This latest novel in the mystery series will be released next month. I am looking forward to reading this as a stand-alone novel, and my first in this series.
Somehow I don't like the tone of this one at all. I'm not quite sure whether the author is trying to write in the style of Jane Austen, but it isn't really working for me :( But then I haven't really found a Jane Austen adaptation/spin-off/thing that I did enjoy, so it's probably me! Thanks for sharing :) Have a great weekend!
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Juli @ Universe in Words
Sounds like a good one for the holidays....thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHere's mine: “CROOKED RIVER”
I'm curious about this one. I like the premise and the beginning has the right kind of old fashioned feel. I'll definitely have to look at my library for this one.
ReplyDeleteSounds like this could be a good story. I'd have to be in the right mood to read it, however, since I sometimes get impatient with flowery and formal writing. I hope you enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteHere's the link to my Friday post: The Merry-Go-Round.
This sounds like a really good mystery series. I hope you enjoy the book, Harvee!
ReplyDeleteI've been seeing this book all around; lucky you to have a copy!
ReplyDeleteI am not a Jane Austen fan, but I love the cover, and the book doesn't sound bad.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing, and have a wonderful weekend.
Elizabeth
Silver's Reviews
My Book Beginnings
I must admit that I have some mixed feelings about placing a real life author in such a fictional setting. I am not being completely negative as I think something like this can work in the right circumstances. I am curious to know what your thoughts are on this.
ReplyDeleteI'm that rarity: a well-read reader who doesn't read Jane Austen books :(
ReplyDeleteJust can't put my finger on why.
I do like the holiday feel of this story for the right audience, so I hope you enjoy it!
Enjoy Jane and the Twelve Days of Christmas. I am picky with the Austen spinoffs as I love her work. If done well though, I think they can be enjoyable stories.
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