5-STAR REVIEW: THE MURDER OF MR. WICKHAM by Claudia Gray

A Mr. Darcy & Miss Tilney Mystery: Book 1
Publication Date: May 3, 2022

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.

Has there ever been a Regency villain more despised than George Wickham? Have not only Fitzwilliam and Elizabeth Darcy reason to revile the dastardly rogue but an ensemble of characters from Jane Austen’s other novels as well? Splendidly—the answer is yes. 

In The Murder of Mr. Wickham, author Claudia Gray cunningly brings the main characters from Austen’s novels together at a summer house party at Donwell Abbey hosted by George Knightley and his beloved wife, Emma. Arriving completely uninvited, unwanted, and rakishly rude, George Wickham sweeps into the first evening’s dinner with nothing but misdeeds on his mind.

Among the invited guests, which include Fitzwilliam and Elizabeth Darcy, Colonel and Marianne Brandon, Fredrick and Anne Wentworth, and Edmund and Fannie Bertram, are a couple of completely inspired additions by the author. 

Jonathan Darcy is the firstborn son of Fitzwilliam and Elizabeth Darcy. As handsome as his father, Jonathan is a shy, quiet young man not quite comfortable around strangers. Henry and Catherine Tilney are unable to come to the party but have sent along their daughter, Juliet, on her first trip outside her home parish. She and young Mr. Darcy hit it off almost immediately, and upon the murder of Mr. Wickham, they team up to discover the killer. 

Much to their angst, the local magistrate, Frank Churchill, assumes the investigation but his methods are not as thorough as Jonathan and Juliet decide they should be. All the guests, including the Knightleys, are suspects, all have reason to wish Mr. Wickham dead, and all have no solid alibi to account for their whereabouts the night of Mr. Wickham’s demise. 

Jonathan and Juliet combine their wits and powers of deduction to sift through clue after clue in their desire to discover the guilty party. It’s a tough case. Every single guest has reason to wish Mr. Wickham out of their lives, but which one is desperate enough to send him on his way—permanently?     

Splendidly written and excellently paced, The Murder of Mr. Wickham gives Jane Austen’s characters even more opportunity to shine by expanding their personalities and roles so vividly, you might assume Jane Austen is whispering in Claudia Gray’s ear as she writes. 

An excellent mystery with impeccable characters, The Murder of Mr. Wickham is a work that surely would have made both Jane Austen and Agatha Christie proud indeed.   

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, and Jane Austen-inspired series, A Mr. Darcy & Miss Tilney Mysteries. She makes her home in New Orleans with her husband Paul and assorted small dogs.