#mr darcy & miss tilney mysteries

[junewongapologia]

Catherine Moreland is certainly the type to saddle her kid with an unfortunate name.

Even so Albion Tilney is absolutely the name of a future Victorain politician, sorry Catherine.

[kammartinez]

I believe that the smallest hatred is a greater sin than the most misguided love.

-- The Murder of Mr. Wickham (Mr. Darcy & Miss Tilney #1), by Claudia Gray

[kamreadsandrecs]

Title: The Late Mrs. Willoughby (Mr. Darcy & Miss Tilney #2) Author: Claudia Gray Genre/s: historical, mystery, Jane Austen pastiche Content/Trigger Warning/s: murder Summary (from author's website): 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. Catherine and Henry Tilney of Northanger Abbey are not entirely pleased to be sending their eligible young daughter Juliet out into the world again: the last house party she attended, at the home of the Knightleys, involved a murder—which Juliet helped solve. Particularly concerning is that she intends to visit her new friend Marianne Brandon, who’s returned home to Devonshire shrouded in fresh scandal—made more potent by the news that her former suitor, the rakish Mr. Willoughby, intends to take up residence at his local estate with his new bride. Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam Darcy of Pemberley are thrilled that their eldest son, Jonathan—who, like his father, has not always been the most socially adept—has been invited to stay with his former schoolmate, John Willoughby. Jonathan himself is decidedly less taken with the notion of having to spend extended time under the roof of his old bully, but that all changes when he finds himself reunited with his fellow amateur sleuth, the radiant Miss Tilney. And when shortly thereafter, Willoughby’s new wife—whom he married for her fortune—dies horribly at the party meant to welcome her to town. With rumors flying and Marianne—known to be both unstable and previously jilted by the dead woman’s newly made widower—under increased suspicion, Jonathan and Juliet must team up once more to uncover the murderer. But as they collect clues and close in on suspects, eerie incidents suggest that the killer may strike again, and that the pair are in far graver danger than they or their families could imagine. Buy Here: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-late-mrs-willoughby-claudia-gray/18822240 Spoiler-Free Review: And yet another delight of a novel in this series! The mystery is a little less structured now because it's happening within the context of a small town instead of just one manor house, but it just opens up more opportunities for twists, and this book DEFINITELY takes advantage of that. The way rumors were used, in particular, was interesting: they opened up alternate ways of viewing the suspects, but also breathed life into the town, showed its dynamics: who was loyal to whom, and who was connected to whom. It also made the true culprit a bit less obvious, which is always fun. While the mystery at the heart of the plot is pretty fun, I was a lot more focused on the character dynamics this go-round. Marianne and Brandon were a delight to read about, especially after what happened in the previous novel, and it was just as lovely to see Elinor (Ferrars now, given that she's married), and to see the rest of the Dashwood clan. It was nice to read how Elinor and Marianne get on after their respective marriages, as well as to see how well Elinor and Edward have settled into married life. And of course, there's Jonathan Darcy and Juliet Tilney. As a second murder brings them together again, it becomes immensely clear to the reader that these two have Feelings for each other - but keep on being unable to express it. This can get a bit frustrating in a good way, especially because Jonathan and Juliet keep on making entirely mistaken assumptions about what the other is thinking or feeling. It's true they can read each other very well, often able to discern each other's intent from just a glance, but they are most definitely NOT mind-readers. Please note that all of this is a GOOD thing: I like me a slow-burn romance, and the kind of misunderstandings these two have about each other are pretty much par for the course of a Regency novel - and, given that Jonathan is neurodivergent, make sense.

Given how this book ended, of course, I'm fairly sure that there's going to be at least one more in the series, because the protagonists need to get together - and this time, hopefully, in matrimony.

Rating: five glasses of port

[nzbookwyrm]

June 2024

[ghostmaggie]

not me investing all my pre nancy drew free time and emotions into binge reading a book and then just as obsessively immediately devoting all my attention to the sequel and THEN taking the time to notice that the sequel in question came out a whopping TWENTY SEVEN DAYS AGO and the next book (??? there must be another but I can't find an official announcement yet) will, based on precedent, not be out until next may 🥴🙃🥲

[bargainsleuthbooks]

The Late Mrs. Willoughby (Mr. Darcy & Miss Tilney Mystery) by Claudia Gray #ARC #BookReview #NewBooks #JaneAusten

There's a new mystery featuring Jane Austen's characters' children. I thoroughly enjoyed #TheMurderofMrWickham, would it be the same for #TheLateMrsWilloughby #NetGalley #ARC #BookReview #Jane Austen #newbooks #MrDarcyandMissTilneyMystery #vikingbooks

Catherine and Henry Tilney of Northanger Abbey are not entirely pleased to be sending their eligible young daughter Juliet out into the world again: the last house party she attended, at the home of the Knightleys, involved a murder—which Juliet helped solve. Particularly concerning is that she intends to visit her new friend Marianne Brandon, who’s returned home to Devonshire shrouded in fresh…

[devotionsforconfession]

Semi spoilery ramble about the Mr Darcy & Miss Tilney Mysteries:

OK right so I read The Murder of Mr Wickham like when it came out last year and I finished The Late Mrs Willoughby yday and!! I still love both oc main characters and have never been more frustrated by an ending as I have been w TLMW bc I was so desperate for them to just!!! Confess their feelings!!!

Also more than anything I kind of love the fact that it's a deconstruction of the Magical Autistic Detective Trope. Literally the last thing I expected these books to be but it's like top 3 reasons why this book is so good.

Esp bc it's set when autism just... wasn't understood to be a thing, it's shown to be hard for Jonathan!! He doesn't have magical powers, he has special interests in mostly obscure stuff! People are mean to him or confused by him or don't understand him and he is just convinced that he's never going to have friends who he can ever really be himself around.

And like there have not been many scenes that made me more visceral uncomfortable that the bit in book 2 when he's at a dinner party and one of his old schoolmates clocks that he has a crush, and intentionally asks him abt his special interest so he'll humiliate himself by going on and on about it without noticing. Like I felt that IN MY BONES I think we all have an experience like that if we don't mask carefully enough.

Sometimes Juliet gives neurodivergent vibes too, she just seems to be more adept at masking so it's less obvious to the reader, herself, and everyone else. Like Jonathan is semi regularly overwhelmed and frequently, sometimes unconsciously stims by rocking, and his parents and everyone around him have just convinced him there's something wrong with him.

Juliet has moments where the mask slips and she's blunt and is totally unaware of the unspoken social dance happening around her and she's like huh society's a fucking weird place wish it made more sense. Ah well. Alas.

I think the author does the Canon Austen characters brilliantly too!! I know some ppl have said that Fanny and Edmund annoyed them in book 1 but honestly (and this may be bc I'm a Mansfield Park girlie) I loved them and I loved the way their story paralleled their book! Fanny is right and Edmund comes to realise that is basically what it's about, and Fanny's strength of character beneath all her difficulties being assertive is basically the best thing about her.

Loved the Knightleys. Hilarious. Thought Emma was going to eat him mid way through the book and not in a good way, so; accurate. Darcy and Lizzie not communicating, her misunderstanding and being annoyed at him, him thinking his stoicism is going to help them through a hard time when actually it's isolated them from each other - nice parallel, like it.

I felt endlessly bad for Wentworth and Anne, hope they come back all better in a future book.

Honestly loved Brandon and Marianne, I felt like they were very true to their book characters.

Anyway my very fervent hope is that next book we get a Lady Susan Cameo, an icon, truly That Bitch. Or maybe they go to Sanditon idk, give me some resolution for that squad.

Got the vibe that maybe Juliet is going to Bath at some point in the near future. So I wonder who she'll meet then. I mean obviously Jonathan bc fate wants them to fall in love and get married and she can teach their kids how to climb trees and he can teach them the piano, but who else!!

Book only just came out and I'm hype for the next one but honestly it ended on a cliffhanger for them!! I want them to be friends again! No juliet he does like you he just can't make eye contact and doesn't like other people touching him!! I want them to meet again and solve idk the fucking stabbing of Sir Walter Elliot or Aunt Norris or Mr Elton!

And also comes their feelings the agony of not knowing kills me lol.

11/10 no notes. Well. Many notes but all of them good!!

[la-libreria-chula]

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Just finished The Late Mrs. Willoughby by Claudia Gray, Mr. Darcy & Miss Tilney Mystery #2, and it was so good! Again, it had me guessing who the killer this time was when there were so many people with motives 😩 but knowing how it ended, it means there's definitely going to be a next book and I can't wait to read it 💕 since I couldn't get enough of Jane Austen's characters I just had to watch Pride & Prejudice.

[kurlyfrasier]

Mr Darcy and Miss Tilney Mysteries, books 1 & 2 by Claudia Gray

Not feeling good, so keeping this short:

Absolutely wonderful. Highly suggest. Cannot wait for the next book!

These are about Darcy and Elizabeth's oldest son and a young lady solving murders.

They are perfect.

Definitely MUST READS.

[parentingroundabout]

Here's what we're reading, recommending, and revisiting this week. Catherine's library find is a trio of cozy mysteries by Claudia Gray, all starring Jane Austen characters: The Murder of Mr. Wickham (2022), The Late Mrs. Willoughby (2023), and The Perils of Lady Catherine de Bough (2024). These are an absolutely delightful (and non-stressful) way to revisit these characters, and there's even a little helping of romance. Mentioned: Death Comes to Pemberley, another contemporary author's take on an Austen-themed mystery. ​ Terri's random recommendation is Artful Plus, the premium version of Artful Agenda, a digital planner we both use. With Artful Plus, you get a habit tracker and the ability to make and use your own stickers, among other perks. Mentioned: The Artful Agenda Facebook group, Artfully Obsessed. ​​ In the archives, we discussed an episode from 2020 on how parents can pay it forward (which we think is more helpful than starting or participating in a drive-thru pay-it-forward chain). Mentioned: Books from our former co-hosts: Inclusion in Action by Nicole Eredics and Neurodiversity-Affirming Schools (January 2025) by Amanda Morin. Next week's lineup: 

Lost S1 E23, "Exodus: Part 2," on Tuesday, December 17

Shrinking S2 E6, "Get in the Sea," on Wednesday, December 18

Weekly roundup on Thursday, December 19

Until then (and anytime you're in need), the archives are available.

[otislotus]

The Murder of Mr Wickham by Claudia Gray

Summary (from the publisher):

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.

- I enjoyed this so much, that I put both sequels on my holds list at the library before I even finished it!

- Although the language is modernized, the flow and pacing suit Austen’s style very beautifully.

- the murder mystery aspect was really well done. I guessed the perpetrator only a bit before they were revealed, which is probably what the author hopes for (that last clue!). And there weren’t any really obvious red herrings (like when the author really wants you to guess wrongly which I find a little insulting really)

- I enjoyed the neurodivergency of Jonathan Darcy. I thought it was really well represented in a historical time and style where autism had not been described and named.

- I suspect that the author was not a big fan of Mansfield Park because the portrayal of Fanny and Edmund Bertram were less than stellar (but perhaps I’m reading too much into it because I don’t like Edmund much either). I also thought the characterization of the Wentworths was a little flat, but also I have only read Persuasion once, so maybe I was missing some subtleties.

- I didn’t enjoy the marital strife depicted among some of the couples (especially the Darcy’s and the Brandon’s) because I really like to imagine happily ever after for my blorbos, but I have to admit that it really suited the story and was very realistic.

- overall I loved it and I’m hoping hard the sequel gets delivered to my library in time for me to pick it up before out road trip next week!

Decided to keep track of the books I’ve read this year because I’m always reading something, but can never remember anything when people ask for book recs

These are books I’ve read for myself. I’ll make a separate post for books I read aloud to the kids.

[kammartinez]

The ugliest truth is more worthwhile than the most beautiful lie.

-- The Murder of Mr. Wickham (Mr. Darcy & Miss Tilney #1), by Claudia Gray

[kamreadsandrecs]

Some would say that the center of a village is its church; others, its town square. Those less literal might say that a village’s heart is the cooperation and good feeling among its citizens. Those not given to such charitable feeling—or those from less congenial communities—would instead say that every village is centered upon one constant, irrepressible force: gossip.

-- The Late Mrs. Willoughby (Mr. Darcy & Miss Tilney #2) by Claudia Gray

[rockislandadultreads]

Book Recommendations: For Fans of… Knives Out 

Did you enjoy the newest Knives Out mystery, Glass Onion? Here are some read-alikes you may enjoy!

Secrets of the Nile by Tasha Alexander 

Lord Bertram Deeley, a renowned amateur British collector of antiquities is entertaining his closest friends at a lavish cruise up the Nile to his home at Luxor when he suddenly collapses after offering a welcome toast, a victim of the lethal poison cyanide. Who amongst this group of his nearest and dearest would want to kill their generous host: an archeologist whose dig Deeley was funding until he suddenly withdrew support? A powerful politician whose career Deeley had secretly destroyed? A dyspeptic aristocratic English spinster whose hired travelling companion seems determined to protect her employer? Or even the formidable Mrs. Hargreaves, Lady Emily’s mother-in-law, who may have spurned the advances of Lord Deeley when they were both younger? A key clue may lie with several ancient ushabtis, exquisite three-thousand-year-old sculptures that played a role in yet another murder in Ancient Egypt, a crime with a very real link to Lord Deeley’s death. Lady Emily and Colin gather their suspects together to reveal the identity of a killer whose motive is as shocking as it is brilliant.

This is the 16th volume in the “Lady Emily Ashton Mysteries” series. 

The Department of Sensitive Crimes by Alexander McCall Smith 

In the Swedish criminal justice system, certain cases are considered especially strange and difficult - the dedicated detectives who investigate these crimes are members of an elite squad known as the Sensitive Crimes Division. These are their stories.

The first case: the small matter of a man stabbed in the back of the knee. Who would perpetrate such a crime and why? Next: a young woman's imaginary boyfriend goes missing. But how on earth do you search for someone who doesn't exist? And in the final investigation: eerie secrets that are revealed under a full moon may not seem so supernatural in the light of day. No case is too unusual, too complicated, or too, well insignificant for this squad to solve.

The team: Ulf “the Wolf” Varg, the top dog, thoughtful and diligent; Anna Bengsdotter, who's in love with Varg's car (and possibly Varg too); Carl Holgersson, who likes nothing more than filling out paperwork; and Erik Nykvist, who is deeply committed to fly fishing.

This is the first volume in the “Detective Varg” series.

The Murder of Mr. Wickham by Claudia Gray 

The happily married Mr. Knightley and Emma are throwing a house party, 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. The unlikely pair must put aside their own poor first impressions and uncover the guilty party - before an innocent person is sentenced to hang.

Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz 

Alan Conway is a bestselling crime writer. His editor, Susan Ryeland, has worked with him for years, and she's intimately familiar with his detective, Atticus Pünd, who solves mysteries disturbing sleepy English villages. Alan's traditional formula pays homage to queens of classic British crime such as Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers. It's proved hugely successful. So successful that Susan must continue to put up with his troubling behavior if she wants to keep her job.

When Susan receives Alan's latest manuscript, in which Atticus Pünd investigates a murder at Pye Hall, an English manor house, she has no reason to think it will be any different from the others. There will be dead bodies, a cast of intriguing suspects, and plenty of red herrings and clues. But the more Susan reads, the more she’s realizes that there's another story hidden in the pages of the manuscript - one of ambition, jealousy, and greed - and that soon it will lead to murder.

This is the first volume in the “Susan Ryeland” series. 

The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley

During the languid days of the Christmas break, a group of thirtysomething friends from Oxford meet to welcome in the New Year together, a tradition they began as students ten years ago. For this vacation, they’ve chosen an idyllic and isolated estate in the Scottish Highlands - the perfect place to get away and unwind by themselves. They arrive on December 30th, just before a historic blizzard seals the lodge off from the outside world.

Two days later, on New Year’s Day, one of them is dead.

The trip began innocently enough: admiring the stunning if foreboding scenery, champagne in front of a crackling fire, and reminiscences about the past. But after a decade, the weight of secret resentments has grown too heavy for the group’s tenuous nostalgia to bear. Amid the boisterous revelry of New Year’s Eve, the cord holding them together snaps. Now one of them is dead... and another of them did it. Keep your friends close, the old adage goes. But just how close is too close?

[gaymergal]

I second Tales of Ieflaria by Effie Calvin (though all stories are connected by a shared mythos, most of the books are standalone and can be read independently, Daughter of the sun is third book in the series and my fav and I rec this one the most)

Also recommend

Queer Ducks (and Other Animals) The Natural World of Animal Sexuality By Eliot Schrefer

My wife and I listened to this book on a road trip and I found it delightful :3

And

The Murder of Mr. Wickham (MR. DARCY & MISS TILNEY MYSTERY by Claudia Gray was also a fun book we listened to. (My wife is a more familiar with Jane Austin novels, i know only a few through the movies and still was very much captivated by the mystery)

apparently Audible credits expire after a year?

so I have 21 to spend this month (and I'm considering reducing next year's subscription)

Please recommend me books to buy on Audible!

preferably: scifi/fantasy or like interesting histories (nonfiction), "audible original" aka not available elsewhere

(feel free to reblog)