Jane Austen Mystery Series

Jane Austen Mystery series by Stephanie Barron

Jane and the Madness of Lord Byron 

Jane beloved sister Eliza dies and brother Henry is bereft, so Jane suggests a holiday at the seaside for the two of them. Henry chooses Brighton, the fashionable watering hole of the Great. Along the way, they stop to change horses when they discover a young lady bound and gagged inside a crested carriage. Miss Catherine Twining, a young miss of 15 years, claims to have been abducted by none other than the infamous poet Lord Byron! Byron intended to take Catherine to Gretna and when she tried to escape, he bound and gagged her. Jane is outraged and even more so upon returning to the young lady safely to her home only to be insulted by General Twining. General Twining spared no insults for his only surviving child as well, blaming her for dishonoring the family name. Poor Henry is nearly obliged to fight a duel with the General! Jane and Henry make a hasty exit and take up their lives among with fashionable residents of Brighton. Jane is surprised and delighted to discover that Pride and Prejudice is popular amongst the ton and even more surprised when Lord Harold Trowbridge's niece, Lady Desdemona Swithin, claims Jane as a friend. Jane likes the frank, intelligent countess and soon they are partnering to solve a mystery. A certain young lady known to Jane is found lifeless, stitched in a hammock in a bed recently vacated by Lord Byron! Byron is taken up for murder and though he is allowed to go free, some suspicion remains. The Countess wishes to know whether he is truly guilty or not for her dear friend Lady Oxford is Byron's latest paramour. Lady S wishes for Jane to solve the mystery. Jane finds doors opened that were never open to her before as she rubs elbows with the likes of the Prince Regent and his set. Complicating matters a bit is Lord Byron's cast off mistress, the notorious Lady Caroline Lamb, come to Brighton to stalk her love. Caro was the person last seen in company with the young lady before her death: could she have rid herself of a rival? Could it have been the young lady's closest relative or the pompous elderly clergyman who wished to marry her? Or perhaps her chaperone or the odious lecher General Hangar, a crony of the Regent's once seen attempting to ravish the now deceased young lady? Jane has a tough job on her hands but with help from the Countess and Henry, she will hopefully be able to put together the clues and solve the mystery. 

This is the most ridiculous of all the mysteries. Lord Byron, outrageous though he may have been, was never taken up for murder in 1813 and Miss Austen never hobnobbed with the Prince Regent and his set. Aside from the historical facts, the plot was slow- the murder doesn't happen until halfway through the book. Also, I guessed the murderer's identity right away. Even though I changed my mind a few times, I was right in the end. The author really excels at period detail and this book is even better than all the rest in regards to setting the scene. I like that Barron's Jane knows her limitations as a woman and a shabby genteel spinster. She requires help from others to take her where she can not go. Lesser writers would send their heroines into improbable situations. The descriptions go on a bit too long though without adding to the story and one scene is lifted from Georgette Heyer. This one gets an A+ for period details and a C for the plot. The cover is also dreadful. Is that supposed to be Jane or the murdered young lady or someone else entirely?

Jane and the Canterbury Tale 


It's the fall of 1813 and Jane is visiting her brother Edward and his family, now known as the Knights, at Godmersham in Kent. Jane delights in watching her too-serious niece Fanny dance and flirt all night at the wedding of one of their neighbors, Adelaide Thane Fiske. It's a second marriage for young Adelaide, her first husband was a wastrel who ran off to India and left his wife in debt. With his death, Adelaide was able to find true love with a dashing captain on Wellington's staff. The wedding is fun until the bride receives a mysterious gift from someone that seems to have some meaning for her When Jane's nephews and their friends discover the body of a pilgrim on the path cutting through Godmersham, they fear they mistakingly shot the man while shooting pheasants. Jane's keen eye and experience see more: the man was shot at close range. It was no accident! As Magistrate, Edward must begin an investigation. The body is revealed to be Cuzon Fiske, the first husband of Adelaide and when the smoking gun is found, young James Wildman, Adelaide's cousin, is charged. When evidence points to Adelaide as the killer, Jane begins to worry that the wrong person will be hanged for murder. The introduction of an old sailor complicates matters and the death of another person from the Castle leads to more questions than answers. Jane is running out of time and knows she has to get to the true culprit quickly. A little subterfuge on her part is required along with help from Fanny before the truth is revealed. This mystery is closest to the first book in story and in tone. Jane has mostly stopped wallowing in pity and she is well-placed to investigate. As a history of the time period, this book is quite good. However, as a mystery, I give it low marks. I figured out the murderer right away and even figured out the motive before Edward and Jane. I think that Jane would have figured it out much more quickly. Even so, I enjoyed this one much more than the last few and couldn't put it down until it was finished.