The Late Mrs. Willoughby by Claudia Gray on May 16, 2023
Genres: Fiction / Adaptations & Pastiche, Fiction / Mystery & Detective / Historical, Fiction / Romance / Historical / Regency
Pages: 320
Format: Paperback
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The suspenseful sequel to The Murder of Mr. Wickham, which sees Jonathan Darcy and Juliet Tilney reunited, and with another mystery to solve: the dreadful poisoning of the scoundrel Willoughby’s new wife.
In all honesty, I didn’t read the first book and it didn’t affect my ability to enjoy this book. This can definitely be read as a stand-alone. I may go back and read the first one just because I did really like this one though.
Juliet Tilney and Jonathan Darcy are reunited at the estate of John Willoughby, Jonathan’s boarding school nemesis. Jonathan isn’t thrilled about attending Willoughby’s house party, as his parents made him attend. But he is excited to see Miss Tilney again after they paired up as amateur sleuths (in the previous book) to solve a murder. They all come together to celebrate the nuptials of John Willoughby & his new bride. Unfortunately, she dies at the party, the victim of an apparent poisoning. Juliet and Jonathan combine their investigative skills to solve the murder which has twists and turns and puts their lives in danger.
I loved that Jonathan Darcy was the son of Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam Darcy and Juliet is the daughter of Catherine and Henry Tilney of Northanger Abbey. I was in Jane Austen heaven! This book combined the historical with mystery and a hint in whimsy. The premise is that all the characters in Austen’s six major works are somehow all in each other’s social orbits. This book is such excellent fun for Austen fans and mystery lovers. Gray did a great job with Austen’s style but a touch of her own flair.