Death and Sensibility: A Jane Austen Society Mystery

by Elizabeth Blake

Overview

Bookstore owner Erin Coleridge seeks the scoundrel who silenced a conference's keynote speaker in Elizabeth Blake's second charming Jane Austen Society mystery.

When the quaint English town of York hosts a Jane Austen Society conference, bookseller Erin Coleridge is glad to get out of Kirkbymoorside for a while—until featured speaker Barry Wolf suddenly perishes from what appears to be a heart attack.

Erin is suspicious, since Barry had no history of heart disease. But who did him in? Was it the decedent's assistant, Stephen, who was observed chatting to Barry's young wife Luca earlier that night? Might it have been Barry's ex-wife Judith, who was seen arguing with her erstwhile betrothed at the bar? Meanwhile, conference co-chairs Hetty and Prudence have been at one another's throat since the conference. Is one of them the culprit?

Matters of the heart are putting Erin off her guard. Both Detective Inspector Peter Hemming and schoolteacher Jonathan Alder have made gestures of romantic interest, but Erin isn't sure who is her Willoughby and who is her Colonel Brandon. DI Hemming tries to persuade Erin that her entanglement in the murder investigation is far from sensible, but his entreaties come to naught. Dauntlessly, Erin joins forces with Kirkbymoorside's cat lady, Farnsworth, to ferret out the guilty party.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781643857305
Publisher:	CROOKED LANE BOOKS
Publication date:	08/10/2021
Series:	A Jane Austen Society Mystery , #2
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Elizabeth Blake has written fifteen published novels, six novellas, and a dozen or so short stories and poems under other pseudonyms. Many of her works appear in translation internationally. Winner of both the Euphoria Poetry Competition and the Eve of St. Agnes Poetry Award, she is a two time Pushcart Poetry Prize nominee and First Prize winner of the Maxim Mazumdar Playwriting Competition, the Chronogram Literary Fiction Prize, Jerry Jazz Musician Short Fiction Award, and the Jean Paiva Memorial Fiction Award. She was a finalist in the McClaren, MSU, and Henrico Playwriting Competitions. She is a Hawthornden Fellow and Writer in Residence at Bydcliffe, Lacawac, and Karun Colonies.

Editorial Reviews

08/02/2021

Blake’s uneven sequel to 2019’s Pride, Prejudice, and Poison takes Kirkbymoorside bookstore owner Erin Coleridge, a member of the Jane Austen Society’s Northern Branch, to York, England, for a Jane Austen conference. At the meet and greet in the packed bar of the conference hotel, Erin observes middle-aged Oxford don Barry Wolf, the keynote speaker, looking at his assistant, Stephen Mahoney, with an expression of “pure malice” as Stephen chats in an overly familiar way with Wolf’s much younger wife. The next morning, Wolf turns up dead of an apparent heart attack in a hotel cloakroom. Or is it a case of foul play? Not just Stephen might have had reason to murder Wolf, who had a knack for making enemies. Det. Peter Hemming, with whom Erin tangled in the previous book, investigates, as does Erin, despite being warned off by Peter. An ingenious plot and an appealing setting help compensate for a nebulous time frame and a sequence of events that can be hard to follow. Jane Austen fans will look forward to seeing more of Erin and friends. Agent: Paige Wheeler, CMA Lit. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for Death and Sensibility:
“Christie-style plot . . . A good time.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“An ingenious plot and an appealing setting . . . Jane Austen fans will look forward to seeing more of Erin and friends.”
—Publishers Weekly

“Enjoyable . . . solid mystery.”
—Gumshoe Review

Praise for Pride, Prejudice, and Poison:
"[A] winning series launch from Blake...The village is rife with scandals and secrets, as well as both shocking and delightful romances."
—Publishers Weekly

“Wickedly devious...highly recommended for mystery connoisseurs.”
—Midwest Book Review

 “With a perfect English setting and characters who leap off the page, Elizabeth Blake’s Pride, Prejudice, and Poison is one of the most delightful and bookish books I’ve ever read. Don’t miss this debut.”
—Paige Shelton, New York Times bestselling author of the Scottish Bookshop mysteries
 
“Utterly charming, and as cozy as a cup of tea by a crackling fire. A must read for Jane Austen fans—and anybody else who enjoys a witty, well-crafted mystery. I loved it!”
—Laura Levine, author of the Jaine Austen mysteries

"Elizabeth Blake hits the ground running with this new series...A fast read with believable characters and good pacing. If you are a Jane Austen fan, you will love this book."
—MyShelf

"For Austen fans, the liberal scattering of Austen quotes and references will delight."
—Booklist

From the Publisher

2021-05-19
When an Austen conference brings fans to town, a bookstore owner finds herself trapped in a Christie-style plot.

A fan of all things Austen, Erin Coleridge is delighted to go to the York Grand Hotel to help plan the Jane Austen Society’s conference. Her nearest and dearest friend, Farnsworth Appleby, is delighted too, but part of her excitement is seeing that York detective Peter Hemming has sent Erin a welcome bouquet complete with an Austen pun. Farnsworth loves the idea that the two may have a chance at romance after pairing on a previous mystery in Pride, Prejudice, and Poison (2019). This time around, mystery blooms before any romance can get started when conference speaker Barry Wolf dies, apparently of a heart attack, before his keynote address. Erin, who must find a replacement speaker, suspects that Barry’s death may be murder. As in so many quaint English mysteries, there are more suspects than crimes. Barry appears to have been unpopular with both his ex-wife, Judith, and his current wife, Luca, but Erin is pretty sure he has more acquaintances with motives. Before she can dig in too deep, a member of the hotel staff is killed. Could Barry have connections to the hotel? Is this an unfortunate coincidence? Or is something else afoot? Even though Hemming implores her to stay safe and stay out of it, Erin can’t resist poking around with Farnsworth, only dimly aware that the two may dig up more than they can handle.

It’s no Austen, but it still does the job of providing a good time.

Kirkus Reviews