Austen University Mysteries: Book 2
Publication Date: July 5, 2023
After George Wickham is found tied up, naked, on the Austen University Campus Square, President de Bourgh gives student journalist Lizzy Bennet an ultimatum: Find out who committed the crime, or be expelled from the school. Lizzy must team up with some old friends (like the Austen Murder Club) and some new (like…Karoline Bingley?) to get to the bottom of the truth.
Complicating matters is the fact that the prime suspect is Fo-Hian Darcy. Darcy and Lizzy have a messy history, but even so, Lizzy just can’t accept that Darcy committed the crime. An anonymous whistleblower tips off Lizzy about a secret website called the Portraits of Pemberley that may help her get to the bottom of the mystery–but discovering the truth about who’s involved may very well challenge everything that Lizzy believes.
The Portraits of Pemberley is Book 2 of the Austen University Mysteries series but can be read as a standalone novel. It combines plot points of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice with Sense and Sensibility (and characters from all of Austen’s novels) in a modern-university setting, with mysteries.
The Portraits of Pemberley is a wonderfully-imagined combination of characters from Jane Austen’s novels, all living in the present day and attending college at Austen University. Elizabeth Gilleland’s clever blending of plots and character personalities from the books into this modern-day story is delightfully fun and witty reading at its best.
Lizzy Bennett, along with Nora and Marianne Dashwood, comprise the Delta sorority—just the three of them unless, of course, you count Lucy Steele, who has been hoisted upon them, much to their dismay. But Lizzy, Nora, and Marianne manage to attract a crowd at their Friday pizza nights with the likes of Tilney and his close friend, Caty, Brandon, Karoline (yes, that’s Bingley), and not leaving out Charlie Bingley and Darcy or Emma and Knightley, who, of course, usually run with a different crowd.
The issue at hand is Wickham, otherwise known to Lizzy as Sexy Pants TA (Teacher’s Assistant), in one of her classes. Someone left Wickham on the college green one night naked and tied up. But who would do such a thing? The list is lengthy, and President DeBourgh tasks Lizzy, as lead reporter on the campus newspaper, Juvenilia, with discovering the culprit or face being expelled.
Through a series of events, including a whirlwind romance between Willoughby and Marianne, Charlie Bingley’s supposed liaison with Lucy Steele, and Karoline Bingley and Rushworth’s surprise relationship along with, and of course, the realized and inevitable attraction Lizzy discovers for Darcy, the search continues for the culprit. In a move that surprises everyone, Darcy admits to being the perpetrator and faces expulsion at the hand of his aunt, who is desperate to keep that from happening.
Was it really Darcy who exacted well-warranted revenge on Wickham when others had their reasons as well, or did Darcy have another motive? With so many entertaining side stories happening simultaneously, the pace is engagingly quick and fun as the reader sorts through the modern-day take on so many time-honored characters.
If you enjoy the entertaining wit of Jane Austen, you will enjoy The Portraits of Pemberley and its plethora of well-concocted plots and schemes with which the novel teems. Well-written and engaging, the novel will have you eagerly turning the pages but be ready—surprise twists and character personalities might just upend your preconceived notions.
The Portraits of Pemberley is spunky, fresh, and delightfully told with its cast of characters with whom Jane Austen herself might have enjoyed a chuckle or two.
Elizabeth Gilliland is a writer, Dr., wife, mom, and lifelong Jane Austen fan. She is a playwright (whose plays have appeared off-off Broadway), a screenwriter (with a master’s in screenwriting and production), an academic (with a PhD and a dissertation on Jane Austen adaptations), and now a published author! When she isn’t writing or grading papers, she is most likely reading a good book, binge watching the latest hit, working on a puzzle, or hanging with her cute kid.
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I somehow missed this post during the tour, but a very belated thank you so much for reviewing and hosting!!