Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Jane Austen fans who regret the author wrote only six full-length novels have reason to rejoice: Bebris's second Mr. and Mrs. Darcy mystery is even better than her strong debut, Pride and Prescience (2004). In the spring of 1813, Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam Darcy agree to sponsor Elizabeth's sister Kitty for a season in London along with Darcy's 17-year-old sister, Georgiana. In the course of their social rounds, Kitty meets Harry Dashwood-a younger cousin of the Sense and Sensibility Dashwoods-and the courtship begins. Mr. Darcy makes inquiries into Harry's character, fortune and expectations, but no sooner does he receive favorable answers than the suitor begins to behave most strangely. Harry gives a friend the "cut direct" outside Boodle's Club, and there are rumors of gambling and worse excesses. It's up to Darcy and Elizabeth to discover the cause of these aberrations, and, if at all possible, see Kitty happily established. The author smoothly combines characters from Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility while remaining true to Austen's originals. A few elements of the paranormal help illuminate the mores of the period. Regency romance readers will also be delighted. Agent, Irene Goodman. (Feb. 1) Forecast: A blurb from Stephanie Baron, author of a historical series with Jane Austen as sleuth (Jane and the Ghosts of Netley, etc.), will cue her readers. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Jane Austen's memorable characters from Pride and Prejudice do some sleuthing in this sequel to Pride and Prescience. Elizabeth Darcy and husband find a socially perfect match for her younger sister, but his sudden personality changes endanger their own social position. Bebris lives in Adams, WI (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Less pride, more prejudice. Having barely settled in to her husband's ancestral home in Derbyshire, Elizabeth Bennet Darcy announces to bridegroom Fitzwilliam that they must return to London society to oversee the social life of her younger sister Kitty. Neither Darcy is thrilled to be a part of the social season, but Kitty is, especially when she meets Harry Dashwood at a fashionable soirÉe. Harry, although he first seems one of many aimless and frivolous members of the ton, tries to improve himself under the influence of Mr. Darcy and Kitty, for whom he apparently has a genuine regard. Those favorable second impressions, however, look mistaken when Harry's character degenerates after he visits his family home, bringing with him several artifacts from a notorious relation, the late unlamented Sir Francis Dashwood. Mr. Darcy is disgusted and Kitty heartbroken at Harry's plunge into dissipation. When the Darcys investigate, they find that several of Sir Francis Dashwood's cronies, former members of the scandalous Hell-Fire Club, have been performing sinister rituals at Harry's home. Mrs. Darcy consults Professor Randolph, her occult expert, about an ancient mirror, and both the Darcys take a terrible risk to destroy the mirror and save Harry. No evil is a match for the witty and happily married Darcys, a moral to which the marriage-obsessed Mrs. Bennet would wholeheartedly subscribe. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
