Week 12 Review: The Murder of Mr. Wickham

From Goodreads:

From New York Times bestselling author Claudia Gray—a summer house party turns into a thrilling whodunit when Mr. Wickham, one of literature's most notorious villains, meets a sudden and suspicious end in this brilliantly imagined mystery featuring Jane Austen's leading literary characters.

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. In a tantalizing fusion of Austen and Christie, the unlikely pair must put aside their own poor first impressions and uncover the guilty party—before an innocent person is sentenced to hang.

My Review:
I loved reading this book so much! I love Claudia Gray's writing, and I love Pride and Prejudice-well, the 2005 movie and retellings. I read the book, but it's not something I'll read again. The idea of all of these various characters from Jane Austen's books, coming together, and the havoc that ensues, was such a great read!

I haven't read the other books these characters were drawn from, only Pride and Prejudice. So it was a tad bit confusing, because we were in the heads of all of these characters, and I kept having to repeat to myself, who this character was, what details were mentioned about them, until it clicked, because there was pair for all of them besides officially Juliet, but unofficially she had Jonathan. But once I had them firm in my head, wow, did I enjoy their stories! They all had something going on, and the question was, was it connected to the murder? 

Watching Juliet and Jonathan investigate this murder was a lot of fun, because Mr. Wickham was a despicable character, and a lot of people at this party had a motive. I enjoyed watching our teen investigators find ways to be a part of the investigation, to find clues, and put them together! Though mainly in secret, and not without some bumps along the way! 

We were in all of these characters heads-however briefly-so we were in the killer's perspective, even if we weren't told just by being in it. But who it was, it made sense with what had happened, what we had learned-I did guess, once that one clue was brought to light. But it was a really satisfying conclusion, and I'm glad that the families are going to orchestrate opportunities for Juliet and Jonathan to spend more time together! 

Loved reading this book, and I can't wait to read more by Claudia Gray! 

Author: Claudia Gray
Read: March 20th, 2022
Source: NetGalley 
Reason Why: Love her writing and it sounded really great, and it's a 2022 Retelling Reading Challenge Book, SAC 2022 Book and a WoW Book! 
Publisher: Vintage Book
Expected Publication: May 3rd 2022

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars