While I was very excited and grateful to be a part of this book tour, it has also been incredibly bittersweet. The Being a Jane Austen Mystery series has long been one of my favourite mystery series. Stephanie Barron has brought Jane Austen to life again for many of us through this series, and given that the first book in the series was published nearly twenty five years old, it is odd to think that it has now come to an end. With Jane and the Final Mystery, we have a final resolution to this wonderful series!
Thank you to Austenprose PR and NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Jane and the Final Mystery, Stephanie Barron
The final volume of the critically acclaimed mystery series featuring Jane Austen as amateur sleuth
March 1817: As winter turns to spring, Jane Austen’s health is in slow decline, and threatens to cease progress on her latest manuscript. But when her nephew Edward brings chilling news of a death at his former school, Winchester College, not even her debilitating ailment can keep Jane from seeking out the truth. Arthur Prendergast, a senior pupil at the prestigious all-boys’ boarding school, has been found dead in a culvert near the schoolgrounds—and in the pocket of his drenched waistcoat is an incriminating note penned by the young William Heathcote, the son of Jane’s dear friend Elizabeth. Winchester College is a world unto itself, with its own language and rites of passage, cruel hazing and dangerous pranks. Can Jane clear William’s name before her illness gets the better of her?
Over the course of fourteen previous novels in the critically acclaimed Being a Jane Austen Mystery series, Stephanie Barron has won the hearts of thousands of fans—crime fiction aficionados and Janeites alike—with her tricky plotting and breathtaking evocation of Austen’s voice. Now, she brings Jane’s final season—and final murder investigation—to brilliant, poignant life in this unforgettable conclusion.
Why You Should Read This…
In terms of a Regency mystery, this might be one of my favourites. Barron takes on a British institution, the boys boarding school, a bold move when her protagonist and amateur detective is not able to attend. And that does not affect Austen’s ability to solve this mystery at all. The mystery truly builds layer by layer, and although it can be easy to miss them, more pieces slot into place.
Cleverly, Barron features Austen’s nephew, Edward Austen-Leigh. He would later write The Memoir of Miss Jane Austen, the first biography of the famed author that would help boost her position as a popular author with the wider reading public. It is Barron’s knowledge of Austen’s life and ability to weave fact into her fiction that has made this such a wonderful series.
I have to say, I became fairly emotional while reading this more than once which is not a common reaction for me. However, Barron once again brings Austen to life so vividly that it feels like we are there throughout the last months of her life. Was it difficult to read at some moments? Yes. But I think that that speaks to Barron’s immense talent as a writer- she not only captivates us with an engaging and difficult mystery, she wraps up a fictional telling of one of the most beloved authors of all time.
Can you read this without reading the other books in the series? Yes, if you have a knowledge of Austen’s life you will be able to keep up. However, if you have not been reading the Being a Jane Austen Mysteries, you are missing out on so much if you don’t treat yourself to the whole series!
Purchase Links
AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | PUBLISHER | BOOKSHOP | GOODREADS
Is Jane and the Final Mystery on your to-read list?
Cheers,
The Historian
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest
