The Murder of Mr. Wickham

by Claudia Gray

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

Here’s the Jane Austen/Agatha Christie summer house party mash-up you’ve been dreaming about. The perfect locked-room mystery AND the elegance and literary pedigree of your favorite Jane Austen characters. You are cordially invited to this summer soiree.

A summer house party turns into a thrilling whodunit when Jane Austen's Mr. Wickham—one of literature’s most notorious villains—meets a sudden and suspicious end in this brilliantly imagined mystery from a New York Times bestselling author featuring Austen’s leading literary characters.

“Had Jane Austen sat down to write a country house murder mystery, this is exactly the book she would have written.” —Alexander McCall Smith

The happily married Mr. Knightley and Emma are throwing a party at their country estate, bringing together distant relatives and new acquaintances—characters beloved by Jane Austen fans. Definitely not invited is Mr. Wickham, whose latest financial scheme has netted him an even broader array of enemies. As tempers flare and secrets are revealed, it’s clear that everyone would be happier if Mr. Wickham got his comeuppance. Yet they’re all shocked when Wickham turns up murdered—except, of course, for the killer hidden in their midst.

Nearly everyone at the house party is a suspect, so it falls to the party’s two youngest guests to solve the mystery: Juliet Tilney, the smart and resourceful daughter of Catherine and Henry, eager for adventure beyond Northanger Abbey; and Jonathan Darcy, the Darcys’ eldest son, whose adherence to propriety makes his father seem almost relaxed. In this tantalizing fusion of Austen and Christie, from New York Times bestselling author Claudia Gray, the unlikely pair must put aside their own poor first impressions and uncover the guilty party—before an innocent person is sentenced to hang. 

A VINTAGE ORIGINAL

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593313817
Publisher:	Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Publication date:	05/03/2022
Series:	MR. DARCY & MISS TILNEY MYSTERY , #1
Pages:	400
Sales rank:	19,315
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.90(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

CLAUDIA GRAY is the pseudonym of Amy Vincent. She is the writer of multiple young adult novels, including the Evernight series, the Firebird trilogy, and the Constellation trilogy. In addition, she’s written several Star Wars novels, such as Lost Stars and Bloodline. She makes her home in New Orleans with her husband Paul and assorted small dogs.

Editorial Reviews

04/25/2022

This enchanting mystery from YA author Gray (Defy the Stars) answers the question long in the mind of every Jane Austen fan. Did all the couples from her novels live happily ever after? In 1820, Emma Woodhouse Knightley, social as ever after 16 years of marriage, decides to host a house party for her friends, including Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam Darcy and their 20-year-old son, Jonathan, and Juliet Tilney, the 17-year-old daughter of Emma’s good friend Catherine Tilney from Northanger Abbey. Emma definitely did not plan on George Wickham, despised widower of Elizabeth Darcy’s sister Lydia, showing up unannounced during a raging thunderstorm. Age has not improved Wickham’s character. He’s now a financial “advisor” whose latest investment scheme has brought several of his clients to the brink of ruin—including more than one of Emma’s guests. When Wickham is murdered, no one in the house party is above suspicion. The younger generation rises to the occasion when Jonathan and Juliet make a secret plan to uncover the murderer. The middle section drags a bit, but Gray perfectly captures the personalities of Austen’s beloved characters. This is a real treat for Austenites. Agent: Diana Fox, Fox Literary. (May)

Publishers Weekly

ONE OF THE WALL STREET JOURNAL'S BEST MYSTERY BOOKS OF THE YEAR

“Had Jane Austen sat down to write a country house murder mystery, this is exactly the book she would have written. Devotees of Austen’s timeless novels will get the greatest possible pleasure from this wonderful book. Immense fun and beautifully observed. Delicious!” —Alexander McCall Smith

“A well-done pastiche that balances menace with wit, recrimination with reconciliation, sin with redemption and justice with mercy.” —The Wall Street Journal

“Satisfying.... Readers looking for a charming mystery will adore this book. Gray captures Austen’s tone perfectly, allowing fans to step back into the Regency author’s beloved world.” —BookPage

“An astonishingly convincing and tremendously entertaining pastiche.... Written elegantly, with a keen eye for Regency detail as well as a deep knowledge and affection for Ms. Austen’s oeuvre, this is an entirely plausible continuation of the Austen canon that stands as a worthwhile read in its own right.” —Criminal Element

“What a splendid conceit! ... Gray provides plenty of backstory and enough depth to her characters that even those who mix up their Pride and Prejudice with their Sense and Sensibility will delight in the Agatha Christie–style mystery.... There’s so much fun to be had in this reimagined Austen world—and the mystery is so strong—that one can only hope, dear reader, that more books will follow.” —Booklist (starred review)

“The Murder of Mr. Wickham illuminates Jane Austen’s best-loved (and lesser loved) characters, introduces a dynamic sleuthing duo, and delivers a most satisfying murder mystery in the grand tradition of Clue.” —Jane Pek, author of The Verifiers

“Jane Austen is spinning in her grave: she’s trying to climb out and shake Claudia Gray’s hand. The Murder of Mr. Wickham delivers in spades—and in diamonds, hearts, and clubs!” —Alan Bradley, author of the Flavia de Luce series

“Claudia Gray’s The Murder of Mr. Wickham is a charming, sharp, and engrossing mystery that evokes the meta wonder of League of Extraordinary Gentlemen with the evocative depth of the Jane Austen library—delivered in a voice and tone that is modern and mesmerizing. Gray has crafted a book that one won’t easily forget.” —Alex Segura, author of Secret Identity

“[An] enchanting mystery.... Gray perfectly captures the personalities of Austen’s beloved characters. This is a real treat for Austenites.” —Publishers Weekly

“Who would NOT want to read a book in which one a literature’s most notorious rakes meets his final demise? ... A delightful Agatha Christie meets Jane Austen romp.” —Laurel Ann Nattress, Austenprose

From the Publisher

Narrator Billie Fulford-Brown's sparkling character portrayals and expressive tone create a theatrical experience of this enchanting Regency mystery. Favorite characters from beloved Jane Austen novels are featured. At Donwell Abbey, Emma Woodhouse-Knightley (EMMA) hosts a month-long gathering of her friends, including Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam Darcy (PRIDE AND PREJUDICE), Captain Frederick and Anne Wentworth (PERSUASION), and Fanny and Edmund Bertram (MANSFIELD PARK). Interrupting the festivities is the unexpected and unwelcome arrival of Mr. Wickham. When he is found dead, it becomes clear that nearly everyone had a motive for his murder. Elizabeth and Darcy's romance is echoed in the attraction between their reserved son, Jonathan, and the vivacious Juliette Tilney as they work together to solve the murder. Fulford-Brown's multidimensional characterizations are a marvel, and her male voices are especially impressive. M.J. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2023 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine

JUNE 2022 - AudioFile

Narrator Billie Fulford-Brown's sparkling character portrayals and expressive tone create a theatrical experience of this enchanting Regency mystery. Favorite characters from beloved Jane Austen novels are featured. At Donwell Abbey, Emma Woodhouse-Knightley (EMMA) hosts a month-long gathering of her friends, including Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam Darcy (PRIDE AND PREJUDICE), Captain Frederick and Anne Wentworth (PERSUASION), and Fanny and Edmund Bertram (MANSFIELD PARK). Interrupting the festivities is the unexpected and unwelcome arrival of Mr. Wickham. When he is found dead, it becomes clear that nearly everyone had a motive for his murder. Elizabeth and Darcy's romance is echoed in the attraction between their reserved son, Jonathan, and the vivacious Juliette Tilney as they work together to solve the murder. Fulford-Brown's multidimensional characterizations are a marvel, and her male voices are especially impressive. M.J. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2023 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine

JUNE 2022 - AudioFile