Friday, December 24, 2010

AUSTEN-tacious Mysteries!

by Anna Campbell

I seem to be on a cozy mystery kick at the moment! I blame Bandita Kate Carlisle who writes charming contemporary cozies based around a book restorer called Brooklyn Wainwright.

Anyway, I thought this month I'd share with you one of my latest obsessions, the Mr. and Mrs. Darcy Mystery series by Carrie Bebris. My other current cozy mystery obsession is Carola Dunn's Daisy Dalrymple stories set in high society 1920s Britain and there's a review coming up of that series as well.

So if you like cozies, come back and see me sometime! I promise not to kill you with the kitchen knife in the konservatory or ding you with the duck lure in the dining room.

I must say I've let the craze for Jane Austen sequels pass me by. I haven't read any of the numerous Darcy takes on his romance with Lizzie. The zombies in PRIDE AND PREJUDICE are making mayhem completely unsupervised by A. Campbell Esq. Jane Austen as a sleuth in her own right is solving mysteries without my involvement (although I hear she's right on top of who mashed Colonel Mustard in the maze with a mallet!).

But when I was in Orlando for RWA this July (which was the last time I caught up with the fabulous Romance Dishes - man, I wish you girls lived closer!), another Bandita friend Anna Sugden or Vrai Anna as we call her in the lair told me how much she loved the Mr. and Mrs. Darcy mysteries.

Anna and I share similar tastes so I ordered the first of the Carrie Bebris mysteries, PRIDE AND PRESCIENCE, or A TRUTH UNIVERSALLY ACKNOWLEDGED (you've probably noticed from the covers that one of the fun elements in these books is the clever titles).

I was hooked. These books aren't mere pastiches of Jane Austen but develop the Lizzie and Darcy relationship with wit and warmth so that you become completely involved with the characters and the story for their own sake. What an achievement, given how powerful both those characters are in the original novel.

In the first two books (the second is SUSPENSE AND SENSIBILITY, or FIRST IMPRESSIONS REVISITED), there's a wonderful dialogue between Darcy's belief in reason and science and Lizzie's openness to the paranormal - a reference to the craze for gothic novels in the Regency. Each chapter starts with a quote from an Austen work (usually the novel referenced in the title but not always) that sets the tone beautifully. Characters from the Austen universe feature in each story. In P and P, the horrible Jane Bingley comes unstuck when she falls for a fortune hunter (a comeuppance long deserved!). In S and S, Bebris very cleverly takes advantage of the fact that SENSE AND SENSIBILITY concerns the Dashwood sisters and Sir Francis Dashwood is the rake and scoundrel who founded the famous Hellfire Club in the 18th century. Some genuinely creepy goings on follow! It's fun to check in with other characters like Lady Catherine de Bourgh or Wickham and Lydia (all as awful as in their original incarnations).

I've just recently read NORTH BY NORTHANGER, or THE SHADES OF PEMBERLEY. My favorite title and actually I think, by a whisker, my favorite book of the series so far. The paranormal elements are gentler in this story which at its heart is about reconciliation and acceptance. While the tone of the books is generally light and elegant, there's a huge emotional punch in this story that had me teary at the end.

I immediately turned to THE MATTERS AT MANSFIELD or THE CRAWFORD MYSTERY which (Jane Austenites are allowed to shoot me!) I enjoyed considerably more than I enjoyed MANSFIELD PARK itself. Fanny doesn't make an appearance - for me, definitely an improvement! This book marks a bit of a shift in the series - it's a straightforward murder mystery with no paranormal elements at all.

One of the delights of reading these books is watching Darcy and Lizzie settle into their marriage (although with all the mayhem, I'm wondering if they'll ever get any peace!). I'm a sucker for sexy, sparky dialogue and there's wonderful humor in the exchanges between Darcy and his high-spirited young wife. I can't wait to see that relationship develop further in the next instalment in the series, THE INTRIGUE AT HIGHBURY or EMMA'S MATCH, which is out in hardback now and in paperback 1st March, 2011.

I think these books are the perfect read for Christmas! They're funny and smart and not so gruesome that they'll turn you off the idea of having your turkey at dinner. My verdict? Huge fun and well worth a look!

Thank you to everyone who has checked out the reviews this year - I look forward to sharing more of my favorites with you next year. Thank you to the wonderful Romance Dishes for having me as their guest. Happy Holidays to you all - it's Christmas Eve today and I hope you all have a joyous festive season! See you in 2011!

26 comments:

  1. I'm so glad I started you on that journey, Anna! It's such fun to share such a delicious vice *g*.

    The thing that drew me into these books is Carrie Bebris' ability to make the characters' voices sound like the originals. The stories then seem to flow seamlessly from P&P in a wonderful ongoing epilogue!

    I also love how she intertwines characters and plot lines from the other Austen novels into each book so cleverly.

    Like you, I'm not a fan of people who write follow on books to famous series, but this is one exception I'll happily make! I can't wait for the next one to come out.

    Wishing the wonderful Dishy Dames and all who visit here a wonderful Christmas and a fabulous new year. May 2011 bring all you wish for. (I can see Anna peering out of her window for a glimpse of Richard Armitage!)

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  2. Hi Anna! Thank you for another great review in a year of great reviews. We're all looking forward to another year of your monthly blogs here at the Dish.

    Wishing you a very Merry Christmas!

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  3. Sending wishes to you for the same, VA!

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  4. I've read the first two and loved them. I need to catch up!

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  5. Merry Christmas, Anna!

    I'm a Bebris fan too. I haven't read The Intrigue at Highbury yet, but I loved the first four. I'm eager to see what you have to say about Daisy Dalrymple too. Carola Dunn is another favorite.

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  6. Wow, Anna, these sounds good! You've already sold me on the Carola Dunn books (I can't wait for that review!) and these sound just as interesting. And I, too, love the twist on the titles. I wonder how many have sold just on the titles alone? Thanks for this terrific review, Anna!

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  7. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to my two favorite Annas!

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  8. Another fabulous blog, Anna! But that is such the norm for you!!!

    This books sound wonderful! And the titles are just great. Guess I'll be adding these to my list. How will ever get everything read??? LOL!

    Wishing you a very Merry Christmas! I can't wait to see what you have in store for us in 2011.

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  9. These books sound wonderful! I love the titles. I'll definitely have to check them out! Thanks for sharing! :)

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  10. Firstly, everyone, it's already Christmas in Australia SO MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL!!!!

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  11. Is that...

    Oh, wow...

    Oh, no, just an early morning jogger. Not Richard. Sigh.

    Hiya VA! Thank you so much for recommending these books to me. As you can probably tell from the review, I think they're wonderful. I've had such a good time reading them!

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  12. Hi PJ! Right back atcha about the great reviews. I love swinging by the Romance Dish to see what you girls are talking about every day. Thanks so much for making me part of this wonderful site!

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  13. MJ, aren't they fun? So glad you're another fan. Perhaps because a lot of my friends mainly read romance not crime, Carrie Bebris is a new name to them.

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  14. Ha ha, Janga! I should have realized you'd be here before me with these books. Aren't they wonderful? I was worried I'd be there wincing because it was 'cod' Austen (is that an American term, I'm thinking probably not!) but I don't at all. And I love the way the relationship between Darcy and Lizzie is deepening and strengthening through their marriage. Oh, and wonderful you love Daisy Dalrymple too! I just ordered another half a dozen from the Book Depository. Seriously, I'm addicted!

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  15. Andrea, aren't those titles the bee's knees? I think they're so clever! So glad I've lured you to try these books - and I can't wait to see what you think of Daisy Dalrymple.

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  16. Buffie, thanks for saying you enjoyed the review! It was a fun one to do and I'd only JUST finished the Matters at Mansfield when I did it too so that one squeaked in as a bonus. I hear you on how will you ever get the books read. I've promised myself a reading binge over the next week (I'm taking the week between Christmas and New Year off to gird my loins for what looks like a really big year ahead). Hopefully the TBR pile will be a little smaller by the time I finish. Pity about the six Daisy Dalrymples about to hit me in the post! ;-)

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  17. Trisha, they're well worth checking out. I think you'll love them. And in their subtle way, they're also really sexy! Thanks for swinging by.

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  18. Merry Christmas to you too, Runner! I hope you have a wonderful day!

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  19. OMG! I jadore these books! My favorite is the one with Emma. ^^

    Merry Christmas everyone!

    Melissa

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  20. I've never read any Austen-esque mysteries yet, but I just might have to check these ones out!
    Margay

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  21. Jedisakora, the Emma one is the latest one and I haven't read it yet. Thanks for the recommendation!

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  22. Margay, definitely give these a go. I think they're terrifically entertaining. Happy Christmas!

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  23. Thanks for the recommendation Anna, I will definitely check out Carrie Debris. Have you read the Stephanie Baron Jane Austin mysteries? They are wonderful and just saw that she finally came out with a new one in Sept. I just ordered it for my Kindle.

    Happy New Year everyone!

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  24. Dude, your reviews are so delicious, it almost tempts ME to read a mystery novel--and I'm anti-cozy mystery novel. ANTI. Because there's rarely any sex...or romance, and I never like taxing my little brain to figure out who did what. :)

    But if any book would tempt me to the dark side, these would be it.

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  25. I had not heard of this series, so I am most grateful for the reviews. It sounds like a delightful way to spend more time with characters we have come to love -- or not. I'll have to look for them and make sure our local library carries them.

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