Death Comes to Pemberly

The kids ask me all the time, "What is your favorite book." I have so many "favorites" it is hard to pick just one. Rather then just one book, I tend to focus on authors. I have a collection of authors that are my favorite. Children's Literature = Mo Willems and Dr. Seuss. Juvenile Fiction = Mary Pope Osborne, Judy Blume, Beverly Cleary, Dan Gutman, and Kate DiCamillo. Young Adult Fiction = J.K. Rowling, Suzanne Collins, Sherman Alexie (The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian), Rick Riordan, and too many more to name here. Even though I read a large variety of adult literature, hands down my very favorite author of all time is Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice is Austen at her best, with her clever wit and mastery of conversational language. Enter P.D. James, and modern day mystery writer. It is a brave soul that would take the characters of Pride and Prejudice and continue their story with a murder mystery. The good news here is, James does is masterfully. I was prepared to be very critical of this book, but now that I have finished it, I truly did enjoy it. While Ms. James uses Austen-like language, this book is a straight forward mystery. While perhaps not as fast paced as her Adam Dalgliesh detective books, this story moves right along, and has a satisfying ending. See a full summary below, and enjoy your return to Pemberly!

From the Publisher: A rare meeting of literary genius: P. D. James, long among the most admired mystery writers of our time, draws the characters of Jane Austen's beloved novel Pride and Prejudice into a tale of murder and emotional mayhem. It is 1803, six years since Elizabeth and Darcy embarked on their life together at Pemberley, Darcy's magnificent estate. Their peaceful, orderly world seems almost unassailable. Elizabeth has found her footing as the chatelaine of the great house. They have two fine sons, Fitzwilliam and Charles. Elizabeth's sister Jane and her husband, Bingley, live nearby; her father visits often; there is optimistic talk about the prospects of marriage for Darcy's sister Georgiana. And preparations are under way for their much-anticipated annual autumn ball. Then, on the eve of the ball, the patrician idyll is shattered. A coach careens up the drive carrying Lydia, Elizabeth's disgraced sister, who with her husband, the very dubious Wickham, has been banned from Pemberley. She stumbles out of the carriage, hysterical, shrieking that Wickham has been murdered. With shocking suddenness, Pemberley is plunged into a frightening mystery. Inspired by a lifelong passion for Austen, P. D. James masterfully re-creates the world of Pride and Prejudice, electrifying it with the excitement and suspense of a brilliantly crafted crime story, as only she can write it.