Happy Sunday evening reader friends!
I’m sitting here trying to avoid the Sunday scaries and feeling exceptionally proud of myself because I meal-prepped today and my classroom and lessons are already prepped for tomorrow. So, what better way to spend the evening than to write about a book I thoroughly enjoyed? Today’s book is Murder in Highbury by Vanessa Kelly. Thanks to Kensington Publishing, Austen Prose, and Vanessa Kelly for this free book in exchange for an honest review! This book is out 10/22/24!
It’s safe to say that I adore Austen retellings, ESPECIALLY ones that involve murder mysteries. Claudia Gray’s YA mysteries featuring Juliet Tilney and Jonathan Darcy, and Tirzah Price’s Jane Austen murder mysteries immediately come to mind. While Emma is not my favorite Austen novel (I’m about to reread it though, so maybe that will change), I was still so excited to read Kelly’s murder mystery featuring the misguided matchmaker, and it did not disappoint!
This novel follows the characters after the ending of the original Emma. Emma is married to Mr. Knightley (swoon) and she and her friend Harriet Martin find themselves entangled in a murder mystery when they discover a dead body in the church. It’s not a spoiler to say it’s Mrs. Elton they find…and if you have read Emma, maybe you’ll understand when I say I wasn’t sad about it. I loved Emma as an amateur sleuth–her cleverness and meddlesome nature work well in this capacity!
This book was everything I wanted it to be. It was fun, exciting, and kept me guessing. I thought the ending was extremely well done. When I wasn’t reading it, I found myself thinking about it! Normally, I read a few books at once, but as soon as I started Murder in Highbury, it was the only book I wanted to read.
I recommend this one for anyone who enjoys Jane Austen, Austen retellings, and murder mysteries.
The Bookish Bird 