Sunday, January 10, 2010

Murder at Longbourn


Murder at Longbourn, by Tracy Kiely, turned out to be everything I had hoped it would be--a cozy mystery with strong tie-ins to P&P but without being an overly serious, self-conscious, joyless retelling of the story. The novel is jam-packed with Austen quotes and references to the various movies and adaptations that constitute Austen Inc.--I particularly enjoyed the Bridget Jones bit--but branches out a bit to include Shakespeare, Dorothy Parker, Oscar Wilde and other literary wits. I smiled and laughed through the whole book. Definitely a tonic for this miserable weather.

The heroine, Elizabeth Parker, is self-deprecating, laugh-out-loud funny, prejudiced in all the right ways (i.e., her heart is in the right place and her loyalties motivate her), and is a charming combination of Elizabeth-pluckiness and Bridget-haplessness. My favorite line is when she is griping about another character's more ample figure and she says, "My mother kindly describes my build as lithe, but the sad reality is that if I wore my bra backward, I'd probably get more cleaveage from my shoulder blades." She thinks in bons mots and verbally spars with the best of them.

I enjoyed recognizing various P&P characters, some more slyly disguised than others. Mr. Collins is a pompous, toady bore regardless of name and century, Mrs. Bennet's matchmaking single-mindedness shines through like a beacon in the fog, and Lady Catherine is never to be trusted. Apart from the requisite Austen parallels, Kiely has several other fun characters that I couldn't peg to an Austen novel but were Austenesque in their quirky believability--the double-talking sisters who own The Flowered Teapot bakery/tearoom spring to mind.

Finally, I love the premise of a murder mystery set around a Murder Dinner Party. Perfect!

And finally, clocking in at 308 pages, Murder at Longbourn was a quick, satisfying read that got me through one of the coldest weeks we've had in a while.

9 comments:

  1. I think this one sounds great! I heard about it a while ago, but I don't know from where. Thanks for reminding me about this book again. I'm glad to see you enjoyed it so much.

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  2. I'm so very glad you loved "Murder at Longbourn!"

    I loved the Flowered Teapot sisters too! They were too funny!

    You wrote a stellar review!

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  3. Thank you for the review. I'm off to the library tomorrow to see if they have it. This is one for my list as it covers all my favorites.

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  4. I normally wouldn't look at a book based round Austen, but given that nothing seems to be gripping me in our current freezing weather perhaps I should try this. I bet I won't be able to find it in the UK!!

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  5. I've avoided this book, as I usually do Austen modernizations, but perhaps I should overcome my prejudices this time. Your review certainly makes me think twice. Thanks.

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  6. Jane, Thanks so much for the great review! I'm glad that you liked the book - I had a lot of fun writing it. So your readers know, the book isn't a retelling of P&P; Austen got it right the first time. It's merely a wink a the reader who loves her like I do. Thanks again!

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  7. Loving both Austen and cozy mysteries, this sounds like a great one for me!

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  8. Sounds fun, Jane. Another Austen based novel to add to my endless TBR pile. Have a nice weekend. MG

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  9. Murder at Longbourn is a gem. So glad you liked it also. Can't wait for the sequel, Murder on the Bride's Side. Thanks Jane for the great review. I too loved the remark about putting her bra on backwards!

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