Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D. James
Jane Austen’s timeless classic Pride and Prejudice has been revisited by bestselling mystery author P.D. James. The mystery takes place five years after Darcy and Elizabeth wed on the grounds of Pemberley. A man is discovered dead in the arms of Wickham (the rogue who married Lydia Bennett) and he is charged with murder. Darcy and Elizabeth can see Wickham being guilty of many crimes, but murder isn’t one of them. Will they be able to clear his name? Why did the two men (Wickham and the victim) leave their carriage while crossing Pemberley’s woods?
Told in a voice similar to Austen’s this is a meandering tale of everyday life and how a crime can upset entire households during the aftermath (inquest, trial, etc.) I think James did an admirable job telling a mystery as Austen might have, but in my opinion the mystery was lacking. There was no chance for the reader to figure out much of anything about the crime, we weren’t given enough background to formulate any hypotheses. The reasoning for the murder made sense when all was revealed, yet it was uncovered in one fell sweep towards the end.
