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Miss Austen Investigates #1
Miss Austen Investigates
A witty, engaging murder mystery featuring Jane Austen as an intrepid amateur sleuth—the first book in a series Jane Austen—sparkling, spirited and incredibly clever—is suddenly thrust into a mystery when a milliner’s dead body is found locked inside a cupboard during the middle of a ball. When Jane’s brother Georgie is found with some jewellery that belonged to the deceased, the local officials see it as an open-and-shut case, one which is likely to end with Georgie’s death. Jane is certain that her brother is innocent, and that there is much more to the murder than meets the eye. Jane’s investigations take her on a lively journey through local society as her suspect list keeps growing—and her keen skill for observation will be put to the test in solving this crime and saving her brother.
368 pages, Paperback
First published February 27, 2024
256 people are currently reading
7686 people want to read
About the author
Jessica Bull
4 books96 followersJessica Bull lives in South East London with her husband, two daughters, and far too many pets. She’s addicted to stories and studied English Literature at Bristol University, and Information Science at City University, London. She began her career as a librarian (under the false impression she could sit and read all day), before becoming a communications consultant.
Her debut novel, MISS AUSTEN INVESTIGATES is published in 18 territories worldwide and was shortlisted for the Crime Writer’s Association ILP John Creasey First Novel Dagger. The second book in her Jane Austen murder mystery series, A FORTUNE MOST FATAL, was published in March 2025 and the third, THE AUSTEN CHRISTMAS MURDERS, in November 2025.
You can find her on...
Instagram: @jessicabullnovelist
Her debut novel, MISS AUSTEN INVESTIGATES is published in 18 territories worldwide and was shortlisted for the Crime Writer’s Association ILP John Creasey First Novel Dagger. The second book in her Jane Austen murder mystery series, A FORTUNE MOST FATAL, was published in March 2025 and the third, THE AUSTEN CHRISTMAS MURDERS, in November 2025.
You can find her on...
Instagram: @jessicabullnovelist
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 506 reviews
November 8, 2023
What a joy this was. A splendid, twisty historical mystery – great fun, compelling plotting, complete with all the Austen references.
August 1, 2024
Wrong book for me unfortunately
Miss Austen Investigates is about Jane Austen who after her brother is accused of k!lling a young woman steps in to try and solve the mystery and find out who the culprit is.
Aaaah having met this author in my local Waterstones, she was soooo lovely i really wanted to support her work. Sadly i had to hit the case of 'Its not you, its me'.
I really struggled to get into this story as Jane as an amateur sleuth just bored me and i struggled to maintain concentration with the storyline.
I love Historical Fiction but maybe taking it back to the 18th century is just too historical for me.
It was a little bit repetitive and it just felt like Jane was accusing any and everyone in this book so it didn't really entertain me.
Although a low rating for me, its more purely down to my preference and taste and not that i think its a total bad book.
2.5 ⭐
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⋆｡°✩pre read⋆｡°✩
I met this author in my local bookstore and she really sold this book to me!
Its giving cozy mystery, so fingers crossed for a 5 star read! ❤️🤍
Miss Austen Investigates is about Jane Austen who after her brother is accused of k!lling a young woman steps in to try and solve the mystery and find out who the culprit is.
Aaaah having met this author in my local Waterstones, she was soooo lovely i really wanted to support her work. Sadly i had to hit the case of 'Its not you, its me'.
I really struggled to get into this story as Jane as an amateur sleuth just bored me and i struggled to maintain concentration with the storyline.
I love Historical Fiction but maybe taking it back to the 18th century is just too historical for me.
It was a little bit repetitive and it just felt like Jane was accusing any and everyone in this book so it didn't really entertain me.
Although a low rating for me, its more purely down to my preference and taste and not that i think its a total bad book.
2.5 ⭐
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
⋆｡°✩pre read⋆｡°✩
I met this author in my local bookstore and she really sold this book to me!
Its giving cozy mystery, so fingers crossed for a 5 star read! ❤️🤍
June 3, 2024
reading vlog: https://youtu.be/WtBQWp107Vc
the gimmick got me gals!! i loved how the author drew from true events in jane austen's life (upbringing, family etc) to form the basis of this novel, and at the end of the day it's a cute lil murder mystery featuring jane austen what more could you want!
the gimmick got me gals!! i loved how the author drew from true events in jane austen's life (upbringing, family etc) to form the basis of this novel, and at the end of the day it's a cute lil murder mystery featuring jane austen what more could you want!
February 4, 2024
This is reportedly the first in a series of cozy historical mysteries with the author, Jane Austen, as the main character acting in the role of amateur sleuth. The story opens in December 1795 when Jane turns twenty. When her older, disabled brother, George, is accused of robbery and murder, Jane takes it upon herself to identify the real culprit.
The concept of the series by debut novelist Jessica Bull is fun, if not original. Writing Jane as a detective has been done before, and quite successfully, by author Stephanie Barron, whose Bantam and Soho Press published Jane Austen Mystery series was popular with readers and critics alike during its 25-year run (1996 to 2023). Unfortunately, Miss Austen Investigates is an unsatisfying attempt to use Stephanie Barron’s developmental framework and recreate it. It appears to be geared toward a younger, less sophisticated literary audience than Stephanie Barron's works.
Plotwise, the mystery of the Hapless Milliner itself is so derivative it’s cliché. It utilizes nearly every negative and careworn mystery novel trope concerning female characters. There is the victim blaming and shaming as everyone speculates about the deceased's profession, societal station, virtue, and marital status. The female suspects are also neatly categorized into those familiar boxes of Immoral, Calculating, Devious, and Hysterical.
Due to the shallow plot, there are so many needless words that don't serve any purpose other than to bring the word count to novel length. I lost track within the first few chapters of the number of random tangents that the author went off on. At one point I’m pretty sure I was told what some character’s grandmother’s favorite food was. There was a paragraph dedicated to a description of Jane’s favorite cat of the Austen family cats. This had the effect of slowing the pacing so significantly that it erased the possibility of any tension or suspense for the reader.
Similarly, there is a mind-numbing level of minutiae as far as descriptions and actions. If we’re told that someone is shown the door and heeds the request, the reader knows what that means. We don’t need to be told that the doorknob of the closed door was turned, the hinges squeaked, a burst of rose-scented air came into the room, the sky was blue outside, the character walked three and three-quarter steps onto the porch, turned around, and watched as the door shut again.
We are also hit over the head with endless detail about every single room (including every piece of furniture and object within it), every piece of clothing, every hairstyle, and every leaf on every tree. An example: “Jane dresses with great care. She suffers the dreaded curling irons rather than relying on the buoyancy of her natural waves, and gives herself permission to borrow Cassandra’s cornflower-blue gown. Jane has her own gown, made from the same bolt of cotton, but since she has not taken as much care of it, the colour is washed out.” FOR THE LOVE OF PETE WHO CARES.
One of the weirdest things about this novel is that is written in present simple tense. I don’t think I’ve ever read a historical novel written in any form but past tense. And because present simple is the most simplistic tense, there were times when I felt like I was reading a middle-grade book. For example, this passage from chapter one: “James pushes open the door. He balks. Jane sidles up beside him.”
Putting aside the issues of execution, in my opinion, the most egregious aspect of the novel is the author’s portrayal of the sober-minded, highly intelligent, clergyman’s daughter, Jane. The Jane in this story is moody (described as “glowering” and “furious” one minute, and “choking on her tears” the next). She is meeting secretly with her sweetheart, Tom LeFroy, while acting the flirtatious coquette on one hand, only to turn her back on him the next and dash down the lane when he says something she doesn’t like. She gets drunk at an assembly and nurses a hangover the next morning. She doesn’t have any compunction about disregarding the social graces of the day, so flounces around town rudely interrupting, interrogating, and openly accusing people of wrongdoing, (Only to be completely embarrassed and ashamed when she is proven wrong, repeatedly.)
Ironically, this Jane doesn’t really do any investigating at all other than finding out the victim's real name, and then gossiping and engaging in idle speculation with her friends and family. The historical and revered Jane Austen is known for her razor-sharp wit, yet in this book she is an irresponsible, impetuous, indecisive, insufferable busybody who only figures out who the murderer is by wrongly accusing every other possible suspect first.
In sum, this debut is so cringy I cannot believe that this author has ever written a full-length novel before. If the next manuscript is anything like this one, it needs a seasoned editor with plot development experience who can help the author come up with an imaginative crime for Jane to solve, and who isn’t scared to say that padding the manuscript with irrelevant detail only distracts the reader’s focus on the plot. I would also nix the present tense. It doesn’t work.
Thank you Netgalley and Union Square & Co for the opportunity to read and review this novel. All opinions are my own.
The concept of the series by debut novelist Jessica Bull is fun, if not original. Writing Jane as a detective has been done before, and quite successfully, by author Stephanie Barron, whose Bantam and Soho Press published Jane Austen Mystery series was popular with readers and critics alike during its 25-year run (1996 to 2023). Unfortunately, Miss Austen Investigates is an unsatisfying attempt to use Stephanie Barron’s developmental framework and recreate it. It appears to be geared toward a younger, less sophisticated literary audience than Stephanie Barron's works.
Plotwise, the mystery of the Hapless Milliner itself is so derivative it’s cliché. It utilizes nearly every negative and careworn mystery novel trope concerning female characters. There is the victim blaming and shaming as everyone speculates about the deceased's profession, societal station, virtue, and marital status. The female suspects are also neatly categorized into those familiar boxes of Immoral, Calculating, Devious, and Hysterical.
Due to the shallow plot, there are so many needless words that don't serve any purpose other than to bring the word count to novel length. I lost track within the first few chapters of the number of random tangents that the author went off on. At one point I’m pretty sure I was told what some character’s grandmother’s favorite food was. There was a paragraph dedicated to a description of Jane’s favorite cat of the Austen family cats. This had the effect of slowing the pacing so significantly that it erased the possibility of any tension or suspense for the reader.
Similarly, there is a mind-numbing level of minutiae as far as descriptions and actions. If we’re told that someone is shown the door and heeds the request, the reader knows what that means. We don’t need to be told that the doorknob of the closed door was turned, the hinges squeaked, a burst of rose-scented air came into the room, the sky was blue outside, the character walked three and three-quarter steps onto the porch, turned around, and watched as the door shut again.
We are also hit over the head with endless detail about every single room (including every piece of furniture and object within it), every piece of clothing, every hairstyle, and every leaf on every tree. An example: “Jane dresses with great care. She suffers the dreaded curling irons rather than relying on the buoyancy of her natural waves, and gives herself permission to borrow Cassandra’s cornflower-blue gown. Jane has her own gown, made from the same bolt of cotton, but since she has not taken as much care of it, the colour is washed out.” FOR THE LOVE OF PETE WHO CARES.
One of the weirdest things about this novel is that is written in present simple tense. I don’t think I’ve ever read a historical novel written in any form but past tense. And because present simple is the most simplistic tense, there were times when I felt like I was reading a middle-grade book. For example, this passage from chapter one: “James pushes open the door. He balks. Jane sidles up beside him.”
Putting aside the issues of execution, in my opinion, the most egregious aspect of the novel is the author’s portrayal of the sober-minded, highly intelligent, clergyman’s daughter, Jane. The Jane in this story is moody (described as “glowering” and “furious” one minute, and “choking on her tears” the next). She is meeting secretly with her sweetheart, Tom LeFroy, while acting the flirtatious coquette on one hand, only to turn her back on him the next and dash down the lane when he says something she doesn’t like. She gets drunk at an assembly and nurses a hangover the next morning. She doesn’t have any compunction about disregarding the social graces of the day, so flounces around town rudely interrupting, interrogating, and openly accusing people of wrongdoing, (Only to be completely embarrassed and ashamed when she is proven wrong, repeatedly.)
Ironically, this Jane doesn’t really do any investigating at all other than finding out the victim's real name, and then gossiping and engaging in idle speculation with her friends and family. The historical and revered Jane Austen is known for her razor-sharp wit, yet in this book she is an irresponsible, impetuous, indecisive, insufferable busybody who only figures out who the murderer is by wrongly accusing every other possible suspect first.
In sum, this debut is so cringy I cannot believe that this author has ever written a full-length novel before. If the next manuscript is anything like this one, it needs a seasoned editor with plot development experience who can help the author come up with an imaginative crime for Jane to solve, and who isn’t scared to say that padding the manuscript with irrelevant detail only distracts the reader’s focus on the plot. I would also nix the present tense. It doesn’t work.
Thank you Netgalley and Union Square & Co for the opportunity to read and review this novel. All opinions are my own.
January 8, 2024
This turned out to be a very good read even though I had been a little wary at the beginning. The first few chapters read like a biography of Austen and Jane was portrayed as very silly, even though she was nineteen. There are a lot of characters introduced early on and it's hard to keep track of them all. The author seemed to want to include every single think she knew about Austen but it was all interspersed throughout the story including things that the reader will recognise as coming from Jane's novels.
However, as the story progressed it became very enjoyable and the mystery was handled well. I kept changing my mind about who the murderer was but still I didn't get it right. I like that! I hate it if I guess the murderer too early in a novel. This meant I had to keep reading to see what happened and I did want to see the outcome.
It probably started out as a 2.5/3 stars but definitely deserved the 4 at the end.
It will interesting to see what happens next as this appears to be the start of a series.
Thanks to Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House and NetGalley for an early copy of this book.
However, as the story progressed it became very enjoyable and the mystery was handled well. I kept changing my mind about who the murderer was but still I didn't get it right. I like that! I hate it if I guess the murderer too early in a novel. This meant I had to keep reading to see what happened and I did want to see the outcome.
It probably started out as a 2.5/3 stars but definitely deserved the 4 at the end.
It will interesting to see what happens next as this appears to be the start of a series.
Thanks to Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House and NetGalley for an early copy of this book.
July 29, 2024
Jane straightens, eyes wide. "Are you saying Sir John is bedding his housekeeper?"
Yes, really. This book expects us to swallow the sentence above as coming from the mouth of Jane Austen. In public. To Mrs Lefroy, the mother of the young man she hopes to marry. And Jane herself has just turned 20 a few days ago and is in that sensitive phase of being decidedly in the market for marriage. It's a ludicrously inappropriate sentence to imagine coming from a well-brought-up young lady in 1795, a daughter of the local parson, no less, and quite an improper statement. We couldn't even imagine the most wayward Lydia Bennet coming out with something like this. Yet this book thinks this is ok - talk about not understanding, or caring for, historical context!
But, then, this is the same Jane Austen who leaves a ball in the first chapter in order to snog (no other word for it!) Tom Lefroy in a dark greenhouse without even a declaration, let alone an engagement having taken place; ditto under a tree, while he suggests they go into a locked barn for more privacy. This, finally, Jane declines.
I am just constantly puzzled as to why authors choose to write about historical periods and real-life people if they want to wrench them out of their time and personality. This is so absurdly ahistorical, awash with modern attitudes, ideas, even words and speech patterns. I get that Austen is being imagined here as young, spirited and sassy - but these qualities are conditioned by the time period. It's jarring to have a fictional representation of an author whose own most rebellious, troublesome and out of control characters behave less badly and sound more circumspect than 'Jane' herself does here.
This is not even a good murder mystery - very early on Eliza calls out Jane for assuming the murdered woman is French - but does that stop the wild speculations and assumptions that stand in for any kind of investigation? It does not! Sadly, this makes Jane a bit of a bumbling fool and calls into question her acutely observant eye and character judgement for which she is rightly famous.
There are books which stumble over the history but which are lively enough to get away with it - this doesn't even have the fun factor that might have made me forgive the bloopers.
January 24, 2024
Jane Austen is attending a society ball in her neighbourhood when a young girl is found murdered and stuffed in the linen cupboard. When her brother George is accused of stealing her necklace, ripped from her throat, it's up to Jane to find the real culprit, and clear his name.
I went into this with some trepidation, but had read some good reviews so I decided to give it a go. The author clearly knows her stuff and was keen to impart that knowledge, so there is a lot of biographical detail, and a large cast of characters which could perhaps be a bit daunting for someone who doesn't know much about the authors life, but for anyone who has read at least one biography, there is a lot of detail that is recognisable, and the characters will be familiar. I found once I'd settled into the story, it moved along quite easily, I just had to get past the absurdity of Jane Austen as a detective, (of sorts). I will look forward to the next instalment.
*Many thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a review copy in exchange for an honest opinion.*
I went into this with some trepidation, but had read some good reviews so I decided to give it a go. The author clearly knows her stuff and was keen to impart that knowledge, so there is a lot of biographical detail, and a large cast of characters which could perhaps be a bit daunting for someone who doesn't know much about the authors life, but for anyone who has read at least one biography, there is a lot of detail that is recognisable, and the characters will be familiar. I found once I'd settled into the story, it moved along quite easily, I just had to get past the absurdity of Jane Austen as a detective, (of sorts). I will look forward to the next instalment.
*Many thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a review copy in exchange for an honest opinion.*
November 5, 2024
2,5 ⭐️
‘Jane Austen investiga. La desdichada sombrerera’ es la primera novela de una serie de historias que tendrán como protagonista a nuestra querida Jane en una nueva versión… ¡como detective amateur!
La autora, Jessica Bull, es una apasionada de la obra de Austen y una estudiosa de su vida. De este profundo interés surgió la idea de estas novelas de cozy crime… porque, qué sepamos, Jane Austen no resolvió crímenes, pero conociendo su inteligencia y comprensión de la psicología humana… si lo hubiera hecho, ¡seguramente se le habría dado bien!
Así, esta novela mezcla realidad y ficción; su ambientación y personajes se nutren tanto de la documentación histórica sobre la vida en el tiempo de Austen como de la biografía de la autora, dando a conocer datos poco conocidos, curiosidades e incluye la aparición de personas importantes para Jane y que inspiraron algunos de sus personajes más queridos (concretamente mr. Darcy).
Esta primera novela (que puede leerse de forma independiente), se ambienta en 1795 cuando la autora tenía 20 años y vivía con su familia en el condado de Hamshire. La ficción incluye el asesinato de una mujer y la detención injusta de Georgy, uno de los hermanos de Jane. A pesar del shock y de las muchas limitaciones que encontrará, la autora hará todo lo posible por demostrar su inocencia y de paso, señalar al culpable.
Un misterio interesante y muy bien resulto, no obstante, la lectura se me hizo algo lenta en la parte central de la novela donde se dan vueltas y vueltas a detalles del día a día y de la vida de Jane, pero… el caso permanece casi olvidado. Si me gustó la inclusión de cartas de Jane a su hermana Cassandra, aligeran la lectura y son fieles a la realidad de la frecuente correspondencia entre ambas.
Hay muchísimos personajes, lo cual está genial para hacerte dudar de todos ellos y para mostrar diferentes problemáticas de la época, pero… todos son tratados de forma muy superficial y me costó bastante no liarme en el quién es quién.
Me duele decir esto, pero allá va: no me ha gustado mucho el personaje de Jane… ósea, es Jane Austen porque nos dicen que lo es, pero sentí que podría ser cualquier persona, nada carismática, apenas trabajada en su construcción más allá de los datos históricos que rodean su descripción. He sentido que sin que el lector vuelque todo lo que sabe de ella, podría ser cualquier persona anónima.
También decir que la mayoría de cozy crime que he leído tenían un componente de humor que disfruto mucho y aquí no lo hay, y personalmente lo he echado en falta y más cuando las novelas de Jane Austen son realmente divertidas y ácidas.
Sin que haya sido de mi gusto, también es verdad que yo sola me había puesto las expectativas por las nubes, es una novela que recomiendo a quienes les gusten las novelas de época o más clásicas. ¡Estoy segura que está será de su agrado!
‘Jane Austen investiga. La desdichada sombrerera’ es la primera novela de una serie de historias que tendrán como protagonista a nuestra querida Jane en una nueva versión… ¡como detective amateur!
La autora, Jessica Bull, es una apasionada de la obra de Austen y una estudiosa de su vida. De este profundo interés surgió la idea de estas novelas de cozy crime… porque, qué sepamos, Jane Austen no resolvió crímenes, pero conociendo su inteligencia y comprensión de la psicología humana… si lo hubiera hecho, ¡seguramente se le habría dado bien!
Así, esta novela mezcla realidad y ficción; su ambientación y personajes se nutren tanto de la documentación histórica sobre la vida en el tiempo de Austen como de la biografía de la autora, dando a conocer datos poco conocidos, curiosidades e incluye la aparición de personas importantes para Jane y que inspiraron algunos de sus personajes más queridos (concretamente mr. Darcy).
Esta primera novela (que puede leerse de forma independiente), se ambienta en 1795 cuando la autora tenía 20 años y vivía con su familia en el condado de Hamshire. La ficción incluye el asesinato de una mujer y la detención injusta de Georgy, uno de los hermanos de Jane. A pesar del shock y de las muchas limitaciones que encontrará, la autora hará todo lo posible por demostrar su inocencia y de paso, señalar al culpable.
Un misterio interesante y muy bien resulto, no obstante, la lectura se me hizo algo lenta en la parte central de la novela donde se dan vueltas y vueltas a detalles del día a día y de la vida de Jane, pero… el caso permanece casi olvidado. Si me gustó la inclusión de cartas de Jane a su hermana Cassandra, aligeran la lectura y son fieles a la realidad de la frecuente correspondencia entre ambas.
Hay muchísimos personajes, lo cual está genial para hacerte dudar de todos ellos y para mostrar diferentes problemáticas de la época, pero… todos son tratados de forma muy superficial y me costó bastante no liarme en el quién es quién.
Me duele decir esto, pero allá va: no me ha gustado mucho el personaje de Jane… ósea, es Jane Austen porque nos dicen que lo es, pero sentí que podría ser cualquier persona, nada carismática, apenas trabajada en su construcción más allá de los datos históricos que rodean su descripción. He sentido que sin que el lector vuelque todo lo que sabe de ella, podría ser cualquier persona anónima.
También decir que la mayoría de cozy crime que he leído tenían un componente de humor que disfruto mucho y aquí no lo hay, y personalmente lo he echado en falta y más cuando las novelas de Jane Austen son realmente divertidas y ácidas.
Sin que haya sido de mi gusto, también es verdad que yo sola me había puesto las expectativas por las nubes, es una novela que recomiendo a quienes les gusten las novelas de época o más clásicas. ¡Estoy segura que está será de su agrado!
April 5, 2024
Seems like this is not a year for me for anticipated releases and that makes me sad.
The Hapless Milliner, the first book of the Miss Austen Investigates series, starts off strong with a murder of a mysterious merchant whom only our main character Jane recognizes.
The first 30% of the book was enjoyable and I thought this has the potential to being a 4 star read. However the joy flew out of the window the moment you realize Jane is not exactly clever... at all. It's definitely not going to bother everyone as it is a matter of preference, but I do expect the main character of a murder mystery novel to have at least a few working (little grey) brain cells. Jane does not need much evidence to come to conclusions and accuse (publicly!) every character she starts to suspect. She does not take her time to think it through, she just points fingers to the point where even her own family is telling her off. She did that to every main suspect, making the mystery... not really that much of a mystery.
That is also why I felt the conclusion to the mystery was anti-climactic and didn't make sense to me personally. You really want me to believe that someone who doesn't think much through and is guided by emotion rather than logic suddenly solved the murder and found an extremely unlikely murderer? I personally could not, leaving me very disappointed by the end.
There was also so many side characters and they mostly read the same, which isn't a big problem but I did find it a tad boring.
I think there is potential in this series but sadly this book just didn't do anything for me.
Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Random House for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
The Hapless Milliner, the first book of the Miss Austen Investigates series, starts off strong with a murder of a mysterious merchant whom only our main character Jane recognizes.
The first 30% of the book was enjoyable and I thought this has the potential to being a 4 star read. However the joy flew out of the window the moment you realize Jane is not exactly clever... at all. It's definitely not going to bother everyone as it is a matter of preference, but I do expect the main character of a murder mystery novel to have at least a few working (little grey) brain cells. Jane does not need much evidence to come to conclusions and accuse (publicly!) every character she starts to suspect. She does not take her time to think it through, she just points fingers to the point where even her own family is telling her off. She did that to every main suspect, making the mystery... not really that much of a mystery.
That is also why I felt the conclusion to the mystery was anti-climactic and didn't make sense to me personally. You really want me to believe that someone who doesn't think much through and is guided by emotion rather than logic suddenly solved the murder and found an extremely unlikely murderer? I personally could not, leaving me very disappointed by the end.
There was also so many side characters and they mostly read the same, which isn't a big problem but I did find it a tad boring.
I think there is potential in this series but sadly this book just didn't do anything for me.
Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Random House for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
March 1, 2024
Janeites, put this one on your TBR now! Delightful book #1 in new series features young Jane as an amateur sleuth. Can she save her brother from being charged with murder? Great fun!
March 28, 2024
When a young Miss Jane Austen is attending a ball on a neighborhood estate and encounters a murdered woman whom she knew in life, the future novelist lays aside her pen to do some detecting.
I am a ready fan of historical mysteries set in the world of Jane Austen’s novels and in her own life. I was eager to take up a new to me author’s debut effort with Austen as detective in her home neighborhood.
Miss Austen Investigates: The Hapless Milliner begins at the time of Jane Austen’s life when she’s fresh and nineteen. Her head is full of romantic thoughts about a dashing Mr. Tom LeFoy who is visiting family in the neighborhood. Jane is portrayed as a winsome girl untried and ripe for romance or adventure. What she gets is a murder that the authorities have decided to pin on her sweet, innocent older brother who has disabilities, George. To clear George of the crime of theft and murder, Jane is determined against opposition for a young lady involving herself to find the real culprit. She’s well-placed as someone who is familiar with many of the people who were at that ball as coming from her own neighborhood.
I was immensely curious how the author would do with a very familiar world to me. Jane Austen is a favorite author and I’ve read much on her life and the times she lived in. I was pleased to see from the first chapter that the author had done her homework. Oh sure, she interpreted the real life people’s characters in her own way including Jane herself and yes, there were occasional modern phrases slipping in now and again, but there was an establishing of Jane and the cast of characters, dialogue and actions in an historical setting that was done well.
The first half of the book was slow going and I confess that I struggled. The author had a written grammar style that I found distracting. I’m not sure exactly what, but the issue is related to tense and it seemed like Jane who is narrating is also referring to herself as Jane. Though, I do think authors should be able to write a character the way they wish, this can get tricky when the character is a real person. This Jane’s character was immature to me and more heedless of convention in the mode of a modern teenager at times which was also a distraction. It took a bit for me to settle into the book as a result. The last half portrayed an engaging mystery. I had no idea who was behind it all or why, but I did enjoy Jane’s sleuthing efforts and arriving at the mystery and I enjoyed Jane’s surrounding family being involved and being such colorful characters.
I think this was a good series opener and that the series will get stronger as it goes. Those who enjoy cozy mysteries set in historical eras and real life people made into fictional characters should give this one a go.
My full review will post at Caffeinated Reviewer 3.20.24.
I am a ready fan of historical mysteries set in the world of Jane Austen’s novels and in her own life. I was eager to take up a new to me author’s debut effort with Austen as detective in her home neighborhood.
Miss Austen Investigates: The Hapless Milliner begins at the time of Jane Austen’s life when she’s fresh and nineteen. Her head is full of romantic thoughts about a dashing Mr. Tom LeFoy who is visiting family in the neighborhood. Jane is portrayed as a winsome girl untried and ripe for romance or adventure. What she gets is a murder that the authorities have decided to pin on her sweet, innocent older brother who has disabilities, George. To clear George of the crime of theft and murder, Jane is determined against opposition for a young lady involving herself to find the real culprit. She’s well-placed as someone who is familiar with many of the people who were at that ball as coming from her own neighborhood.
I was immensely curious how the author would do with a very familiar world to me. Jane Austen is a favorite author and I’ve read much on her life and the times she lived in. I was pleased to see from the first chapter that the author had done her homework. Oh sure, she interpreted the real life people’s characters in her own way including Jane herself and yes, there were occasional modern phrases slipping in now and again, but there was an establishing of Jane and the cast of characters, dialogue and actions in an historical setting that was done well.
The first half of the book was slow going and I confess that I struggled. The author had a written grammar style that I found distracting. I’m not sure exactly what, but the issue is related to tense and it seemed like Jane who is narrating is also referring to herself as Jane. Though, I do think authors should be able to write a character the way they wish, this can get tricky when the character is a real person. This Jane’s character was immature to me and more heedless of convention in the mode of a modern teenager at times which was also a distraction. It took a bit for me to settle into the book as a result. The last half portrayed an engaging mystery. I had no idea who was behind it all or why, but I did enjoy Jane’s sleuthing efforts and arriving at the mystery and I enjoyed Jane’s surrounding family being involved and being such colorful characters.
I think this was a good series opener and that the series will get stronger as it goes. Those who enjoy cozy mysteries set in historical eras and real life people made into fictional characters should give this one a go.
My full review will post at Caffeinated Reviewer 3.20.24.
August 14, 2024
YOUTUBE / INSTAGRAM
Una obra estupenda para quienes adoramos a Jane Austen y el cozy mystery. Además, la autora consigue darle un toque verdaderamente distintivo a un libro de este género, porque sí, es un misterio de asesinato, pero también es ficción histórica y recuerda mucho al estilo de los libros de la época de Jane Austen.
Además, como fan de Austen, ver plasmados acontecimientos que sucedieron y personas que realmente vivieron junto a ella en el libro es muy entretenido.
Es cierto que al principio me costó un pelín entrar en la historia porque está narrada de una forma peculiar: en tercera persona del presente. Al ser una forma tampoco habitual, requirió un tiempo de adaptación, pero después de eso no supuso ningún problema. Además, es que la narración es buena y tiene un léxico muy rico.
Es cierto que algunos de los misterios o pistas son muy evidentes y que el lector capta las cosas bastante antes que Jane (que es una detective sin duda inexperta. Mete la pata en sus suposiciones y se precipita constantemente, de una forma que me ha recordado un poco a Catherine, la prota de La abadía de Northanger).
No obstante, la resolución global y final del misterio no es taan evidente, así que bien por ese lado. Por otro, la autora sabe recrear la atmosfera y perfilar a los personajes. Así que, teniendo en cuenta que es inicio de saga y su novela debut, la cosa promete.
Una obra estupenda para quienes adoramos a Jane Austen y el cozy mystery. Además, la autora consigue darle un toque verdaderamente distintivo a un libro de este género, porque sí, es un misterio de asesinato, pero también es ficción histórica y recuerda mucho al estilo de los libros de la época de Jane Austen.
Además, como fan de Austen, ver plasmados acontecimientos que sucedieron y personas que realmente vivieron junto a ella en el libro es muy entretenido.
Es cierto que al principio me costó un pelín entrar en la historia porque está narrada de una forma peculiar: en tercera persona del presente. Al ser una forma tampoco habitual, requirió un tiempo de adaptación, pero después de eso no supuso ningún problema. Además, es que la narración es buena y tiene un léxico muy rico.
Es cierto que algunos de los misterios o pistas son muy evidentes y que el lector capta las cosas bastante antes que Jane (que es una detective sin duda inexperta. Mete la pata en sus suposiciones y se precipita constantemente, de una forma que me ha recordado un poco a Catherine, la prota de La abadía de Northanger).
No obstante, la resolución global y final del misterio no es taan evidente, así que bien por ese lado. Por otro, la autora sabe recrear la atmosfera y perfilar a los personajes. Así que, teniendo en cuenta que es inicio de saga y su novela debut, la cosa promete.
January 21, 2024
When a young woman is found dead at the Harcourt's lavish ball, the local constable immediately jumps to the conclusion that a vagabond thief after the victim's jewellery is to blame. Very quickly, a local man is under accusation and faces hanging, but Jane Austen (present at the ball and identifier of the murder victim) is convinced they have the wrong man and takes it upon herself to find the true murderer. Who could be better placed to investigate a murder than a woman known to have an active imagination?!
Miss Austen Investigates is a brilliant whodunnit, with an intelligent but haphazard protagonist, who lives in a time where, of course, she is classed as "hysterical" rather than possibly being right! Interspersed between Jane's investigation and her sometimes misplaced questioning, we learn about her parents and siblings - I particularly loved her playful relationships with her brothers, Henry and James. And (oh, my heart!), her beloved Tom Lefroy (no more said, my lips are sealed!).
Anyone who reads my reviews will know I'm not a big reader of crime or thrillers, but I thoroughly enjoyed this fun romp of an investigation with a can't-help-but-adore-her impromtu investigator! And as you can expect from 18th century rural England, there's allsorts of underhanded shenanigans going on!
I believe there's another book coming and I'll be on tenterhooks when it's release is impending! Highly recommend!
Miss Austen Investigates is a brilliant whodunnit, with an intelligent but haphazard protagonist, who lives in a time where, of course, she is classed as "hysterical" rather than possibly being right! Interspersed between Jane's investigation and her sometimes misplaced questioning, we learn about her parents and siblings - I particularly loved her playful relationships with her brothers, Henry and James. And (oh, my heart!), her beloved Tom Lefroy (no more said, my lips are sealed!).
Anyone who reads my reviews will know I'm not a big reader of crime or thrillers, but I thoroughly enjoyed this fun romp of an investigation with a can't-help-but-adore-her impromtu investigator! And as you can expect from 18th century rural England, there's allsorts of underhanded shenanigans going on!
I believe there's another book coming and I'll be on tenterhooks when it's release is impending! Highly recommend!
November 28, 2024
Una manera diferente de ver a mi autora favorita. Es un libro bastante cozy, habían partes en las q me hubiera gustado leer un poco más de acción, pero ha estado bien leer parte de la vida de Jane mezclada con el suspense de un crimen.
No obstante, algo que no me gustó fue que la autora mostrara a una veinteañera Jane Austen ingenua, dramática con un toque de prepotencia al sugerir en varias ocasiones que “no se fijaba en los sirvientes”. Es su primer libro, pero de seguro su pluma madurará.
Todo un acierto si amas a Jane Austen.
No obstante, algo que no me gustó fue que la autora mostrara a una veinteañera Jane Austen ingenua, dramática con un toque de prepotencia al sugerir en varias ocasiones que “no se fijaba en los sirvientes”. Es su primer libro, pero de seguro su pluma madurará.
Todo un acierto si amas a Jane Austen.
December 30, 2024
Поставила цій книзі 4 бали з 5, але це десь 4,5, бо мені вона загалом сподобалась.
November 26, 2025
Δείτε επίσης και στο Chill and read
Όλοι γνωρίζουμε τη συγγραφέα Τζέιν Όστεν που έχει γράψει κάποια από τα πιο αγαπημένα κλασσικά ρομαντικά βιβλία. Ποιος όμως γνωρίζει την Τζέιν Όστεν ως την ηρωίδα ενός βιβλίου; Μα φυσικά, όποιος διάβασε το βιβλίο για το οποίο σας μιλάω σε αυτές εδώ τις γραμμές! Η συγγραφέας Jessica Bull αποφάσισε να γράψει μια σειρά βιβλίων με πρωταγωνίστρια την αγαπημένη συγγραφέα, σε ρόλο ερευνήτριας και με έμμεσο τρόπο να μας μιλήσει για τη ζωή της αλλά και για τα αγαπημένα μας βιβλία όσο εκείνη ακόμα τα έγραφε!
Ταξιδεύοντας πίσω στο 1795, γνωρίζουμε την νεαρή Τζέιν Όστεν, πού αλλού, μα φυσικά σε έναν χορό! Όλα πήγαιναν καλά και η Τζέιν ένιωθε ότι είχε έρθει η ώρα της να κάνει το επόμενο βήμα στον έρωτα, μέχρι που ο μπάτλερ της οικίας άρχισε να ψάχνει για γιατρό κι έπειτα για κληρικό! Ακολουθώντας τον ιερέα αδερφό της, η Τζέιν θα έρθει άμεσα σε επαφή με το πτώμα μιας γυναίκας, την οποία και θα αναγνωρίσει, όταν κανείς δε φαίνεται να ξέρει ποια είναι. Τα πράγματα περιπλέκονται όταν κατηγορείται ο αγαπημένος της αδερφός Τζόρτζι.
Αποφασισμένη να ξεδιαλύνει την υπόθεση, αναλαμβάνει να αναζητήσει την αλήθεια μέσα από ένα πλέγμα κουτσομπολιού, προκαταλήψεων και κοινωνικών κανόνων που δεν συγχωρούν εύκολα τις «ανάρμοστες» πρωτοβουλίες μιας νεαρής κυρίας. Η Τζέιν δε θα διστάσει να θεωρήσει όλους τους γνωστούς και τους γείτονες των Όστεν ένοχους, αν αυτό τη βοηθήσει να ανακαλύψει την αλήθεια και να σώσει τον αδερφό της από την τραγική τιμωρία που τον περιμένει. Πολλές φορές ένιωθα ότι η ηρωίδα φτάνει σε κάποια πολύ βιαστικά συμπεράσματα, ενώ θα ήθελα να σκεφτεί λίγο παραπάνω τα στοιχεία που έχει.
Η ατμόσφαιρα είναι γοητευτική, οι περιγραφές της καθημερινότητας πιστές στην εποχή και η Τζέιν έξυπνη και παρατηρητική. Ωστόσο, η πλοκή προχωρά αργά, σχεδόν αργοπορημένα σε σημεία, και το μυστήριο δεν φέρνει τις μεγάλες ανατροπές που μπορεί να περιμένει κανείς από ένα αστυνομικό μυθιστόρημα. Ο ρυθμός αφήνει χώρο για χιούμορ και κοινωνικές παρατηρήσεις, αλλά το γεγονός ότι η υπόθεση κυλάει τόσο αργά μπορεί να κάνει κάποιους αναγνώστες να νιώσουν ότι κάτι λείπει σε ένταση ή αγωνία.
Οι χαρακτήρες δευτερεύουσας σημασίας προσθέτουν χρώμα και λεπτομέρεια, αλλά και πάλι η αφήγηση επικεντρώνεται περισσότερο στην ατμόσφαιρα και στην προσωπικότητα της Τζέιν παρά στην ένταση του μυστηρίου. Το φινάλε είναι ικανοποιητικό και λύνει τα βασικά ερωτήματα, χωρίς όμως να προσφέρει συγκλονιστική ανατροπή.
Συνολικά, το «Η δεσποινίς Όστεν ερευνά» είναι ένα ήρεμο, κομψό cozy mystery με ιστορικό αέρα, ιδανικό για αναγνώστες που απολαμβάνουν την ατμόσφαιρα και τους χαρακτήρες περισσότερο από τις ανατροπές. Αν ψάχνεις ένα βιβλίο που να σου κρατάει σταθερά την καρδιά σε αγωνία, εδώ η εμπειρία μπορεί να φανεί πιο ήρεμη από ό,τι περίμενες — αλλά η γοητεία της εποχής και της Jane Austen παραμένει.
Όλοι γνωρίζουμε τη συγγραφέα Τζέιν Όστεν που έχει γράψει κάποια από τα πιο αγαπημένα κλασσικά ρομαντικά βιβλία. Ποιος όμως γνωρίζει την Τζέιν Όστεν ως την ηρωίδα ενός βιβλίου; Μα φυσικά, όποιος διάβασε το βιβλίο για το οποίο σας μιλάω σε αυτές εδώ τις γραμμές! Η συγγραφέας Jessica Bull αποφάσισε να γράψει μια σειρά βιβλίων με πρωταγωνίστρια την αγαπημένη συγγραφέα, σε ρόλο ερευνήτριας και με έμμεσο τρόπο να μας μιλήσει για τη ζωή της αλλά και για τα αγαπημένα μας βιβλία όσο εκείνη ακόμα τα έγραφε!
Ταξιδεύοντας πίσω στο 1795, γνωρίζουμε την νεαρή Τζέιν Όστεν, πού αλλού, μα φυσικά σε έναν χορό! Όλα πήγαιναν καλά και η Τζέιν ένιωθε ότι είχε έρθει η ώρα της να κάνει το επόμενο βήμα στον έρωτα, μέχρι που ο μπάτλερ της οικίας άρχισε να ψάχνει για γιατρό κι έπειτα για κληρικό! Ακολουθώντας τον ιερέα αδερφό της, η Τζέιν θα έρθει άμεσα σε επαφή με το πτώμα μιας γυναίκας, την οποία και θα αναγνωρίσει, όταν κανείς δε φαίνεται να ξέρει ποια είναι. Τα πράγματα περιπλέκονται όταν κατηγορείται ο αγαπημένος της αδερφός Τζόρτζι.
Αποφασισμένη να ξεδιαλύνει την υπόθεση, αναλαμβάνει να αναζητήσει την αλήθεια μέσα από ένα πλέγμα κουτσομπολιού, προκαταλήψεων και κοινωνικών κανόνων που δεν συγχωρούν εύκολα τις «ανάρμοστες» πρωτοβουλίες μιας νεαρής κυρίας. Η Τζέιν δε θα διστάσει να θεωρήσει όλους τους γνωστούς και τους γείτονες των Όστεν ένοχους, αν αυτό τη βοηθήσει να ανακαλύψει την αλήθεια και να σώσει τον αδερφό της από την τραγική τιμωρία που τον περιμένει. Πολλές φορές ένιωθα ότι η ηρωίδα φτάνει σε κάποια πολύ βιαστικά συμπεράσματα, ενώ θα ήθελα να σκεφτεί λίγο παραπάνω τα στοιχεία που έχει.
Η ατμόσφαιρα είναι γοητευτική, οι περιγραφές της καθημερινότητας πιστές στην εποχή και η Τζέιν έξυπνη και παρατηρητική. Ωστόσο, η πλοκή προχωρά αργά, σχεδόν αργοπορημένα σε σημεία, και το μυστήριο δεν φέρνει τις μεγάλες ανατροπές που μπορεί να περιμένει κανείς από ένα αστυνομικό μυθιστόρημα. Ο ρυθμός αφήνει χώρο για χιούμορ και κοινωνικές παρατηρήσεις, αλλά το γεγονός ότι η υπόθεση κυλάει τόσο αργά μπορεί να κάνει κάποιους αναγνώστες να νιώσουν ότι κάτι λείπει σε ένταση ή αγωνία.
Οι χαρακτήρες δευτερεύουσας σημασίας προσθέτουν χρώμα και λεπτομέρεια, αλλά και πάλι η αφήγηση επικεντρώνεται περισσότερο στην ατμόσφαιρα και στην προσωπικότητα της Τζέιν παρά στην ένταση του μυστηρίου. Το φινάλε είναι ικανοποιητικό και λύνει τα βασικά ερωτήματα, χωρίς όμως να προσφέρει συγκλονιστική ανατροπή.
Συνολικά, το «Η δεσποινίς Όστεν ερευνά» είναι ένα ήρεμο, κομψό cozy mystery με ιστορικό αέρα, ιδανικό για αναγνώστες που απολαμβάνουν την ατμόσφαιρα και τους χαρακτήρες περισσότερο από τις ανατροπές. Αν ψάχνεις ένα βιβλίο που να σου κρατάει σταθερά την καρδιά σε αγωνία, εδώ η εμπειρία μπορεί να φανεί πιο ήρεμη από ό,τι περίμενες — αλλά η γοητεία της εποχής και της Jane Austen παραμένει.
February 24, 2025
I thought this was an excellent book. Well written, great murder mystery which kept me guessing and Jane Austen is the main character. Can’t wait for the next one 😊
May 1, 2024
Jane Austen als detective in een spannende mystery thriller met Bridgerton vibes? Hit me up.
Dat dacht ik in ieder geval. Helaas vond ik het boek iets te veel in gaan op de Bridgerton vibes, schandalen, wie met wie moet gaan trouwen en andere bijzaken, dan het zoeken van de moordenaar. De uiteindelijke dader was voor mij daarom ook veel te voorspelbaar. Maar dat heb je al gauw met een cosy mystery.
Ik heb wel echt genoten van de Bridgerton vs Downton Abbey achtige scènes en alle Jane Austen referenties. Er komt zo veel 'overeen' op een eigen manier. Maar ik wilde spanning, want het wordt gezien als 'thriller'. En die spanning is er niet echt van gekomen.
Wel interessant genoeg om door te lezen, want je wilt weten hoe het precies zit. Maar het was wel echt heel traag. Adverteer het boek als een historische drama met mystery aspect en je bent al een stuk dichterbij! Ik heb me voor een dag ermee vermaakt :)
Dat dacht ik in ieder geval. Helaas vond ik het boek iets te veel in gaan op de Bridgerton vibes, schandalen, wie met wie moet gaan trouwen en andere bijzaken, dan het zoeken van de moordenaar. De uiteindelijke dader was voor mij daarom ook veel te voorspelbaar. Maar dat heb je al gauw met een cosy mystery.
Ik heb wel echt genoten van de Bridgerton vs Downton Abbey achtige scènes en alle Jane Austen referenties. Er komt zo veel 'overeen' op een eigen manier. Maar ik wilde spanning, want het wordt gezien als 'thriller'. En die spanning is er niet echt van gekomen.
Wel interessant genoeg om door te lezen, want je wilt weten hoe het precies zit. Maar het was wel echt heel traag. Adverteer het boek als een historische drama met mystery aspect en je bent al een stuk dichterbij! Ik heb me voor een dag ermee vermaakt :)
March 4, 2024
There's plenty of historical mysteries featuring Jane Austen but this is one of the best: witty, well plotted, a solid mystery that kept me guessing.
I loved the well rounded characters, the vivid historical background, the good storytelling.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine
I loved the well rounded characters, the vivid historical background, the good storytelling.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine
November 4, 2025
Στην Τζέιν Όστεν αρέσει το διάβασμα κι οι δυνατές ιστορίες. Μάλιστα, γράφει κι εκείνη τις δικές της- ή τουλάχιστον προσπαθεί. Όταν μια νεαρή γυναίκα δολοφονείται κατά τη διάρκεια ενός χορού, η Τζέιν, θεωρεί ότι ο δικαστής προσπαθεί να κλείσει την υπόθεση χωρίς πολλά πολλά. Κι οταν κατηγορούν τον αδερφό της, τότε δεν υπάρχει περίπτωση να κάτσει με σταυρωμένα τα χέρια. Θα παλέψει να βρει το δολοφόνο για να σώσει τον Τζορτζι - άραγε θα τα καταφέρει;
Ένα μυθιστόρημα εποχής με στοιχεία cosy mystery…γιατί όχι; Ειδικά όταν η ηρωίδα ονομάζεται Τζέιν Όστεν και γράφει ιστορίες - πείτε μου, ότι δεν σας θυμίζει κάτι;
Αγγλική επαρχία, περί τα 1795. Η Τζέιν θέλει να ζήσει το φλερτ και να ασχοληθεί με τις ιστορίες της. Η άδικη κατηγορία εναντίον του αδερφού της την πεισμώνει - το ίδιο και το γεγονός ότι τη θεωρούν ανόητη. Ακόμη κι αν τα συμπεράσματα που βγάζει την οδηγούν σε λάθος μονοπάτια, εκείνη δεν το βάζει κάτω.
Ενα ανάλαφρο ανάγνωσμα που θα σας κάνει να περάσετε ευχάριστα με τις περιπέτειες της νεαρής Τζέιν Όστεν.
3,5 αστέρια
September 6, 2025
I enjoyed this novel. Loved imagining Jane Austen as a young girl with her quick intellect & engaging perspective!!
3.5 ⭐️ rounded up to 4 ⭐️
3.5 ⭐️ rounded up to 4 ⭐️
February 15, 2025
I didn't go into this expecting a masterpiece, and yet I was still disappointed. While it was nice to be around Jane and her family, the Jane in this book bore very few resemblances to the real Jane Austen we get in letters, memoirs etc. The real Jane had a sardonic wit, she could be biting, satirical, laugh at herself and those around her, while the Jane in this book is sometimes cruel to people's faces, she is clueless, has no strategic thinking, blunders in and accuses every breathing creature around her of murder, is at best ambivalent towards the church and priests, and flaunts several social rules and etiquettes. That bothered me, but I have other grievances, you know I have:
- Repetitions abounds. Variations on "Time is running out and I have to save my poor, innocent brother from a crime he didn't commit" is in almost every chapter. Descriptions of clothes, their fabrics and colours, are also plentiful.
- The pacing is off. The plot itself moves slowly as melting snow on a cold day, but there are also instances where it just seems absurd. At one point, father Austen is getting into a carriage, and in the second that movement takes him, Henry takes the bag from his father's shoulder, hands it to Jane who opens the bag, takes out his sermon, replaces it with another, closes the bag and hands it back to Henry who gives the bag back to the father, who has noticed nothing! Later on, Jane tells a stableboy to fetch a Mr Craven, then she walks into a house and has a short conversation with a woman, and then mr Craven shows up! So the stableboy has ridden across lanes heavy with freshly fallen snow, got hold of mr Craven, who had to be interrupted in whatever he was doing, get his coat and boots on, saddle his own horse, ride across the snowy lanes to the house and walk in the door, and all this has taken only a minute?!
- Jane doesn't really do much sleuthing, but she does miss some pretty obvious clues. In chapter one she finds her brother George looking for something in a hedge, and for the rest of the book she wonders where he found the necklace he is accused of stealing. I effing wonder where! Could it be in the hedge, you think? It also doesn't count as sleuthing if you just go about accusing everyone and everything of murder with no real evidence. Jane does this repeatedly, and every time she feels awful for throwing an accusation in an innocent person's face, yet it doesn't stop her from doing it again the next day. Even when the time comes to reveal the murderer, Jane still gets it wrong, despite the real killer being perfectly obvious (I hardly ever know who the murderer is in crime stories, but come on! The victim was found in a locked cupboard, and we are told only one person has the keys to that cupboard. It happens to also be a person with means and motive, and the only person not on Jane's list of suspects...)
- Jane is too naive for me. At one point she sees a young woman enter a barn. Shortly after a young man enters the same barn. Jane, convinced that every man is a murderer, thinks that the young woman will be murdered and rushes in on the sexy time they are obviously having. Later on, her father asks her to be a witness to a wedding. The same young man is waiting outside the church, and when they all enter, the same young woman enters with all her sisters. Jane thinks the young man and woman are there for a secret rendezvous and wonders who the bride and groom will be. I mean...*screams in frustration* When Jane finds out that the murder victim was expecting, she wonders for a long time where the victim's husband is, not even considering that there might not have been a husband until her cousin mentions it. Her blindness was frustrating, as it made her seem not only naive, but actually stupid. And she is supposed to be a clever woman.
- Repetitions abounds. Variations on "Time is running out and I have to save my poor, innocent brother from a crime he didn't commit" is in almost every chapter. Descriptions of clothes, their fabrics and colours, are also plentiful.
- The pacing is off. The plot itself moves slowly as melting snow on a cold day, but there are also instances where it just seems absurd. At one point, father Austen is getting into a carriage, and in the second that movement takes him, Henry takes the bag from his father's shoulder, hands it to Jane who opens the bag, takes out his sermon, replaces it with another, closes the bag and hands it back to Henry who gives the bag back to the father, who has noticed nothing! Later on, Jane tells a stableboy to fetch a Mr Craven, then she walks into a house and has a short conversation with a woman, and then mr Craven shows up! So the stableboy has ridden across lanes heavy with freshly fallen snow, got hold of mr Craven, who had to be interrupted in whatever he was doing, get his coat and boots on, saddle his own horse, ride across the snowy lanes to the house and walk in the door, and all this has taken only a minute?!
- Jane doesn't really do much sleuthing, but she does miss some pretty obvious clues. In chapter one she finds her brother George looking for something in a hedge, and for the rest of the book she wonders where he found the necklace he is accused of stealing. I effing wonder where! Could it be in the hedge, you think? It also doesn't count as sleuthing if you just go about accusing everyone and everything of murder with no real evidence. Jane does this repeatedly, and every time she feels awful for throwing an accusation in an innocent person's face, yet it doesn't stop her from doing it again the next day. Even when the time comes to reveal the murderer, Jane still gets it wrong, despite the real killer being perfectly obvious (I hardly ever know who the murderer is in crime stories, but come on! The victim was found in a locked cupboard, and we are told only one person has the keys to that cupboard. It happens to also be a person with means and motive, and the only person not on Jane's list of suspects...)
- Jane is too naive for me. At one point she sees a young woman enter a barn. Shortly after a young man enters the same barn. Jane, convinced that every man is a murderer, thinks that the young woman will be murdered and rushes in on the sexy time they are obviously having. Later on, her father asks her to be a witness to a wedding. The same young man is waiting outside the church, and when they all enter, the same young woman enters with all her sisters. Jane thinks the young man and woman are there for a secret rendezvous and wonders who the bride and groom will be. I mean...*screams in frustration* When Jane finds out that the murder victim was expecting, she wonders for a long time where the victim's husband is, not even considering that there might not have been a husband until her cousin mentions it. Her blindness was frustrating, as it made her seem not only naive, but actually stupid. And she is supposed to be a clever woman.
June 24, 2024
En esencia no creo que sea un mal libro, quizá fue que lo leí en un mal momento, pero se me hizo horriblemente tedioso. Sufrí las primeras 300 páginas de su lectura al punto de que me quedaba dormida, literal, cada vez que lo empezaba a leer.
Cuando una sombrerera extranjera aparezca muerta en un baile y el hermano de Jane Austen sea, en parte, responsabilizado, la chica hará todo lo que sea posible para encontrar al verdadero asesino y así salvar a su hermano de la muerte.
El libro se promocionó como un cozy mystery y sí lo fue, fue uno de esos libros en el que hubo asesinatos y misterio, pero sin que realmente como lectores sintiéramos algún tipo de tensión relacionada. Un misterio en el que la gracia era, efectivamente, ir develando la verdad como si fuera un puzzle con una protagonista novata e ingenua.
Jane estuvo bien, era su versión joven de 19 años e ingenua, una que apenas entendía el funcionamiento del mundo y pecaba de ser demasiado impulsiva. Si bien no me encantó, si aprecié que tuviera una personalidad única, con sus defectos asociados y no fuera la clásica protagonista "perfecta". Como dije, Jane era impulsiva, se le ocurría una idea y actuaba en el mismo instante sin pensar en las consecuencias e incluso sin siquiera analizar qué tan coherente era lo que estaba diciendo.
Quizá por la misma juventud de Jane, mucho del descubrir al verdadero responsable no fue tan coherente y se sintió un poco como al azar. Jane armaba sus teorías y se aferraba a ellas para intentar probarlas, al mismo tiempo que hablaba con cierto conocimiento sobre el procedimiento de detectives como alguien que leería libros actuales relacionados. Creo que, retrospectiva, me jugara en contra lo poco interesante que se me hizo el libro porque no presté tanta atención a las pistas que fue encontrando. Así que puede que sea mi culpa.
Me gustó la dinámica familiar con sus hermanos, especialmente Henry, y que se nos presentara el cómo funcionaban sus relaciones internas. Lo único en este sentido que no me aportó mucho fueron las cartas que Jane le escribía a su hermana Casandra. Cada vez que salían las cartas me aburrían pues era Jane diciendo lo mismo que ya habíamos leído a lo largo del capítulo y ni siquiera me resultaron tan encantadoras.
Disfruté que viéramos a la Jane que estaba escribiendo sus primeras historias, aquellas que les leía a su familia para entretenerlos y que ellos la animaban a seguir escribiendo, no profesionalmente claro. Al mismo tiempo, vimos a Jane teniendo un breve romance que ella creía que la llevaría al matrimonio, aunque si saben de su vida, sabrán que nunca se casó. El famoso Tom a quien se le consideró como "el gran amor perdido" de Jane Austen. Eso sí, como serán más libros, la autora dejó pistas de un nuevo posible romance con quien Jane consideraba casi como su enemigo, lo que podría ser entretenido de leer.
Jane Austen investiga es un miserio redondo cuyo mejor punto es la joven detective que intenta desesperadamente resolverlo, una protagonista ingenua e impulsiva que comete varios errores, pero que sus defectos forman parte de su encanto.
Cuando una sombrerera extranjera aparezca muerta en un baile y el hermano de Jane Austen sea, en parte, responsabilizado, la chica hará todo lo que sea posible para encontrar al verdadero asesino y así salvar a su hermano de la muerte.
"Su ingenio es el arma más afilada de su arsenal y no tiene intención de que nadie la vuelva roma".
El libro se promocionó como un cozy mystery y sí lo fue, fue uno de esos libros en el que hubo asesinatos y misterio, pero sin que realmente como lectores sintiéramos algún tipo de tensión relacionada. Un misterio en el que la gracia era, efectivamente, ir develando la verdad como si fuera un puzzle con una protagonista novata e ingenua.
Jane estuvo bien, era su versión joven de 19 años e ingenua, una que apenas entendía el funcionamiento del mundo y pecaba de ser demasiado impulsiva. Si bien no me encantó, si aprecié que tuviera una personalidad única, con sus defectos asociados y no fuera la clásica protagonista "perfecta". Como dije, Jane era impulsiva, se le ocurría una idea y actuaba en el mismo instante sin pensar en las consecuencias e incluso sin siquiera analizar qué tan coherente era lo que estaba diciendo.
"Nunca te vuelvas demasiado dócil, ¿de acuerdo? Toda mujer tiene un límite hasta el que doblegarse sin romperse".
Quizá por la misma juventud de Jane, mucho del descubrir al verdadero responsable no fue tan coherente y se sintió un poco como al azar. Jane armaba sus teorías y se aferraba a ellas para intentar probarlas, al mismo tiempo que hablaba con cierto conocimiento sobre el procedimiento de detectives como alguien que leería libros actuales relacionados. Creo que, retrospectiva, me jugara en contra lo poco interesante que se me hizo el libro porque no presté tanta atención a las pistas que fue encontrando. Así que puede que sea mi culpa.
Me gustó la dinámica familiar con sus hermanos, especialmente Henry, y que se nos presentara el cómo funcionaban sus relaciones internas. Lo único en este sentido que no me aportó mucho fueron las cartas que Jane le escribía a su hermana Casandra. Cada vez que salían las cartas me aburrían pues era Jane diciendo lo mismo que ya habíamos leído a lo largo del capítulo y ni siquiera me resultaron tan encantadoras.
"No veo por qué una dama debería sentirse obligada a aceptar una oferta de matrimonio solo porque un hombre se lo pide. Disfruto de la compañía de un caballero tanto como la más coqueta, pero hay otras cosas que valoro por encima de eso, como mi independencia".
Disfruté que viéramos a la Jane que estaba escribiendo sus primeras historias, aquellas que les leía a su familia para entretenerlos y que ellos la animaban a seguir escribiendo, no profesionalmente claro. Al mismo tiempo, vimos a Jane teniendo un breve romance que ella creía que la llevaría al matrimonio, aunque si saben de su vida, sabrán que nunca se casó. El famoso Tom a quien se le consideró como "el gran amor perdido" de Jane Austen. Eso sí, como serán más libros, la autora dejó pistas de un nuevo posible romance con quien Jane consideraba casi como su enemigo, lo que podría ser entretenido de leer.
Jane Austen investiga es un miserio redondo cuyo mejor punto es la joven detective que intenta desesperadamente resolverlo, una protagonista ingenua e impulsiva que comete varios errores, pero que sus defectos forman parte de su encanto.
March 12, 2024
Miss Austen Investigates - Jessica Bull
A murder mystery centred around fictionalized Jane Austen and her family members in the small town. Heinous crime of a murdered victim found in a closet with head injury so grave and sickening, it shock the entire town as it happened in a ball attended by many. Jane was one of the few people who discovered the grisly corpse & she becomes more determined to solve the murder case when her innocent brother Georgy was accused of stealing & perhaps accidentally killed the poor woman
To be honest, I wasnt expecting much of the story but this turned out to be a pretty decent cozy murder mystery. Making Jane Austen as the main character in this novel was entertaining as fictionalized or reimagined. I like that the story followed her deductions of trying to find the real murderer of a woman found dead in the Deane house and she was desperately trying to avert the guilty charge from her special needs younger brother Georgy. It highlight the perception or lack of knowledge on the developmental disorder of Georgy in the society (i assumed he is probably a neurodivergent child). The plot moves slowly yet it was to shed on some backgrounds of the people involved. Jane was also in a hot flirtations with a dashing Irish man named Tom Lefroy whom she had a mind of marriage with him. Throughout the story, Jane showed perseverance & hotheadedness as she crafted theories upon theories with her imagination, being a writer also contribute to the dramatic flairs of her theories. She is obviously not the smartest detective as she kept making blunders with her assumption and her brashness can sometimes get her into trouble more than once but all in all, it showed that she wasnt afraid of taking the first leap. Knowing that the Austen's family are desperate to do anything to find the truth before Georgy is thrown into gaol for a crime he did not commit, its understandable that Jane doesnt think about everything clearly. I love her dynamics with her alluring widowed cousin, Eliza and her friend Mary as they make a pact to solve the case.
The twists are not surprising but it worked somehow with the story and how devastating it actually is.
Thank u to Times Reads and Ms Putri for the review copy in exchange for an honest review
A murder mystery centred around fictionalized Jane Austen and her family members in the small town. Heinous crime of a murdered victim found in a closet with head injury so grave and sickening, it shock the entire town as it happened in a ball attended by many. Jane was one of the few people who discovered the grisly corpse & she becomes more determined to solve the murder case when her innocent brother Georgy was accused of stealing & perhaps accidentally killed the poor woman
To be honest, I wasnt expecting much of the story but this turned out to be a pretty decent cozy murder mystery. Making Jane Austen as the main character in this novel was entertaining as fictionalized or reimagined. I like that the story followed her deductions of trying to find the real murderer of a woman found dead in the Deane house and she was desperately trying to avert the guilty charge from her special needs younger brother Georgy. It highlight the perception or lack of knowledge on the developmental disorder of Georgy in the society (i assumed he is probably a neurodivergent child). The plot moves slowly yet it was to shed on some backgrounds of the people involved. Jane was also in a hot flirtations with a dashing Irish man named Tom Lefroy whom she had a mind of marriage with him. Throughout the story, Jane showed perseverance & hotheadedness as she crafted theories upon theories with her imagination, being a writer also contribute to the dramatic flairs of her theories. She is obviously not the smartest detective as she kept making blunders with her assumption and her brashness can sometimes get her into trouble more than once but all in all, it showed that she wasnt afraid of taking the first leap. Knowing that the Austen's family are desperate to do anything to find the truth before Georgy is thrown into gaol for a crime he did not commit, its understandable that Jane doesnt think about everything clearly. I love her dynamics with her alluring widowed cousin, Eliza and her friend Mary as they make a pact to solve the case.
The twists are not surprising but it worked somehow with the story and how devastating it actually is.
Thank u to Times Reads and Ms Putri for the review copy in exchange for an honest review
June 13, 2024
Nachdem Jane bis 85% wahllos einfach nur Leute verdächtigt und ohne auch nur einen Hauch von Beweis "Sie waren es!" brüllt, ist es mir jetzt egal, wer es war. Das war mir einfach zu blöd. Vor allem wenn jedes Mal die Person sagt "Nein, war ich nicht!" und sie sich dann jedes Mal für ihre "Narretei" schämt. Und nichts davon lernt.
Die Übersetzung ist auch leider eine Zumutung. Highlights:
"Ein guter Christenmensch" (good Christian?) Oder "Christus Jesus" (gibt es das so rum?)
"Declare" im Sinne von "propose" wird mit "Sich erklären" übersetzt, was einfach null Sinn macht.
"Tändelei". Einfach nur. Unpassend. Vor allem im Bezug auf Jane...
Irgendjemand leidet an "Halsbräune" (scheinbar eine Form von Dyphterie). Mehrere Seiten später kommt dann der Satz "Die Bräune ist keine Kleinigkeit. Ich habe junge Landarbeiter gekannt, die binnen zwei Wochen daran zugrunde gegangen sind." Bis dahin hatte ich das nur leider wieder vergessen und habe verzweifelt überlegt, wie man an sonnengebräunter Haut sterben kann 🙈
"Fröstelnd geht sie hügelan". Just. No.
*Leseexemplar vom Verlag via NetGalley erhalten*
Die Übersetzung ist auch leider eine Zumutung. Highlights:
"Ein guter Christenmensch" (good Christian?) Oder "Christus Jesus" (gibt es das so rum?)
"Declare" im Sinne von "propose" wird mit "Sich erklären" übersetzt, was einfach null Sinn macht.
"Tändelei". Einfach nur. Unpassend. Vor allem im Bezug auf Jane...
Irgendjemand leidet an "Halsbräune" (scheinbar eine Form von Dyphterie). Mehrere Seiten später kommt dann der Satz "Die Bräune ist keine Kleinigkeit. Ich habe junge Landarbeiter gekannt, die binnen zwei Wochen daran zugrunde gegangen sind." Bis dahin hatte ich das nur leider wieder vergessen und habe verzweifelt überlegt, wie man an sonnengebräunter Haut sterben kann 🙈
"Fröstelnd geht sie hügelan". Just. No.
*Leseexemplar vom Verlag via NetGalley erhalten*
January 11, 2024
When Janes’ brother Georgy is accused of theft and indirectly of the murder she must do all she can to find the real culprit. It is obvious that a lot of research and love has gone into the writing of this novel as many of Jane Austin’s family and friends play a part within the story. The description of regency England with its balls but also its poverty is done extremely well but unfortunately the one character that I just couldn’t get to grips with was Jane herself who I found naive and overly dramatic. Unfortunately her detective skills seemed to depend on accusing each suspect in turn and waiting for their reaction rather than actually thinking about the clues and I had worked out the solution way before she did. That said it was an enjoyable read and I will be interested to see how she matures. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read the ARC of this novel in return for an honest review.
April 21, 2025
the author calls jane austen a genius in their author's note but somehow still portrays her as one of the most clueless detectives i've ever read, this book is about 5% detective work and 95% jane randomly accusing everyone based on vibes until she finally gets to the culprit through process of elimination (and only because the murderer randomly decides to confess? they could've easily gotten away with it lol) there's one scene where two known lovers turn up to the church and even though her father has asked her to be a witness to a wedding, jane still can't figure out that THEY'RE getting married but somehow i'm supposed to believe she's a brilliant detective. if you're going to write a book about a clueless detective go ahead, but leave jane austen's name out of it!
February 24, 2024
DNF. I did not care for any of the countless characters. The romance between Jane and Tom was dull. Book could have been a 100 pages shorter; the needless descriptions and background tidbits about the various characters dragged down the plot.
If you're doing to write a book about Jane Austen, I am going to read your book expecting at least some of the humor and social commentary that Jane Austen was so good at. This had neither.
If you're doing to write a book about Jane Austen, I am going to read your book expecting at least some of the humor and social commentary that Jane Austen was so good at. This had neither.
November 21, 2024
3.5 (RTC)
April 13, 2025
Too many flat characters in an unconvincing story.
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