Publisher: Soho Crime
Published: February 8, 2022
Source: ARC Paperback via AustenProse PR
Summary:
May 1816: Jane Austen is feeling unwell, with an uneasy stomach, constant fatigue, rashes, fevers and aches. She attributes her poor condition to the stress of family burdens, which even the drafting of her latest manuscript–about a baronet’s daughter nursing a broken heart for a daring naval captain–cannot alleviate. Her apothecary recommends a trial of the curative waters at Cheltenham Spa, in Gloucestershire. Jane decides to use some of the profits earned from her last novel, Emma, and treat herself to a period of rest and reflection at the spa, in the company of her sister, Cassandra.
Cheltenham Spa hardly turns out to be the relaxing sojourn Jane and Cassandra envisaged, however. It is immediately obvious that other boarders at the guest house where the Misses Austen are staying have come to Cheltenham with stresses of their own–some of them deadly. But perhaps with Jane’s interference a terrible crime might be prevented. Set during the Year without a Summer, when the eruption of Mount Tambora in the South Pacific caused a volcanic winter that shrouded the entire planet for sixteen months, this fourteenth installment in Stephanie Barron’s critically acclaimed series brings a forgotten moment of Regency history to life.
My thoughts:
I am a huge fan of Jane Austen’s books so it was a no-brainer for me a say yes to be part of this tour, even though this book is the 14th installment in Stephanie Barron’s Jane Austen Mysteries series. It’s a series I’ve seen around before but hadn’t yet picked up and now I can say without a doubt I definitely will be going back to the beginning to read.
This book grabbed my attention right from the start. The fact that it’s a historical mystery was a huge bonus but added to that we also have the fact that we get to learn a bit about Jane herself. I have yet to read an official biography on Jane Austen, though that is definitely on my list, but it’s reading books like this that really bring the author to life. I love that the author was able to take real events from her life and craft a story around that. The afterward in this book is most definitely a must-read!
Being that I was new to this series, I was not sure what to expect, but I should not have worried. The way the author writes Jane as a character is so endearing and relatable. I feel that she really got her personality and wit just right. I also loved that throughout the book, there were notes in the text to explain the history as needed.
The cast of characters we meet at the boarding house were quite a crew and I loved that they all had their fair share of secrets. The boarding house itself lent nicely to the murder mystery and I found myself stumped in trying to figure out who was behind everything – those twists and turns really kept me guessing.
I really enjoyed this charming historical mystery and am quite eager to go back and read the earlier books in this series. Because I know the timeline of Jane’s life, I do know that this book is possibly nearing the end of the series…but who knows. I’m glad I read it and definitely recommend it to all Austen fans as well as fans of historical mysteries.
Books in this series:
- Janes and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor
- Jane and the Man of the Cloth
- Jane and the Wandering Eye
- Jane and the Genius of the Place
- Jane and the Stillroom Maid
- Jane and the Prisoner of Wool House
- Jane and the Ghosts of Netley
- Jane and His Lordship’s Legacy
- Jane and the Barque of Frailty
- Jane and the Madness of Lord Byron
- Jane and the Canterbury Tale
- Jane and the Twelve Days of Christmas
- Jane and the Waterloo Map
- Jane and the Year Without a Summer
About the Author
Francine Mathews was born in Binghamton, New York, the last of six girls. She attended Princeton and Stanford Universities, where she studied history, before going on to work as an intelligence analyst at the CIA. She wrote her first book in 1992 and left the Agency a year later. Since then, she has written twenty-five books, including five novels in the Merry Folger series (Death in the Off-Season, Death in Rough Water, Death in a Mood Indigo, Death in a Cold Hard Light, and Death on Nantucket) as well as the nationally bestselling Being a Jane Austen mystery series, which she writes under the penname, Stephanie Barron. She lives and works in Denver, Colorado.
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Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Kristin. I am glad that you enjoy Jane and the Summer and am encouraged that you now want to read the previous books in the series. Barron is an amazing writer. She channels Jane so convincingly.
Author
I’m so glad you invited me to be part of this tour. And yes, Barron is such a great writer…I look forward to catching up on this series!