Jane and the Final Mystery by Stephanie Barron (Austenprose PR Book Tour)

 

Do you have any favorite series that you have read all of the way through?  How did you feel when they ended?  I have loved reading the “Being a Jane Austen Mystery” series for the last twenty years. It was bittersweet reading the conclusion of this series.

It is the year 1817, the last year of author Jane Austen’s life, but she doesn’t know it.  She has been feeling more tired and weak as of late, but it is from unknown causes.  When the son of a good friend is accused of murder, Jane goes with her nephew Edward to Wincester to investigate the crime.  Once there, Jane discovers that the boarding school has a history of ill treatment of its pupils by other pupils.  Was young William Heathcote tormented so far that he took vengeance on his tormentor or are there other intrigues at play?

As I have been with the other books in the “ Being a Jane Austen Mystery,” I was instantly drawn into the story and Jane’s world.   Barron channels Jane Austen’s voice, personality, and the time period perfectly.  I loved getting to see her relationship with her friend Elizabeth as well as with her nephew Edward.  Edward will one day write her memoir.  I was horrified by the description of the treatment of the boys at the boarding school.   I also thought the discussion of speech impediments and how they were dealt with at the time was very interesting.

I also loved seeing terms I really know from Harry Potter, such as “prefect” pop up in the story.  As usual, Barron has great footnotes that describe the details or history of certain parts of the story.  The afterword does a great job of filling in even more historical details.

I quite like how the book ended on a hopeful note and not with the death of Jane Austen.  I am still sad to see this series end, but what a series has Stephanie Barron put together that can continue to be enjoyed.  I think it’s time for me to start the series over again.

Book Source:  Review copy from Soho Crime as a part of the Austenprose PR Book Tour. Thank-you!  Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

QUICK FACTS

·       Title: Jane and the Final Mystery

·       Series: Being a Jane Austen Mystery (Book 15)

·       Author: Stephanie Barron

·       Genre: Historical Mystery, Austenesque Fiction

·       Publisher: Soho Crime (October 24, 2023)

·       Length: (312) pages

·       Format: Hardcover, eBook, & audiobook 

·       ISBN: 978-1641295055

·       Tour Dates: October 16 – 31, 2023

 

BOOK DESCRIPTION

The final volume of the critically acclaimed mystery series featuring Jane Austen as amateur sleuth

March 1817: As winter turns to spring, Jane Austen’s health is in slow decline, and threatens to cease progress on her latest manuscript. But when her nephew Edward brings chilling news of a death at his former school, Winchester College, not even her debilitating ailment can keep Jane from seeking out the truth. Arthur Prendergast, a senior pupil at the prestigious all-boys’ boarding school, has been found dead in a culvert near the schoolgrounds—and in the pocket of his drenched waistcoat is an incriminating note penned by the young William Heathcote, the son of Jane’s dear friend Elizabeth. Winchester College is a world unto itself, with its own language and rites of passage, cruel hazing and dangerous pranks. Can Jane clear William’s name before her illness gets the better of her?
 
Over the course of fourteen previous novels in the critically acclaimed Being a Jane Austen Mystery series, Stephanie Barron has won the hearts of thousands of fans—crime fiction aficionados and Janeites alike—with her tricky plotting and breathtaking evocation of Austen’s voice. Now, she brings Jane’s final season—and final murder investigation—to brilliant, poignant life in this unforgettable conclusion.

 

PRAISE FOR JANE AND THE FINAL MYSTERY

• “Poignant . . . Elicits deep emotion out of Jane’s struggles against her own mortality. This is a fitting send-off for a beautifully realized series.”— Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
• “Barron developed Jane’s narrative voice by reading Austen’s collected and published letters, and it is neither spoiler nor surprise to say that series readers will be sorry to say goodbye to Jane Austen, amateur sleuth.”— Booklist
• "[Barron] has brilliantly combined authentic historical and biographical details with skillful plotting and a credible evocation of Austen’s wry, distinctive voice. She brings the English author’s final investigation to a poignant, unforgettable close. Fans of this historical series will not be disappointed.”— First Clue

 

PURCHASE LINKS

AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | PUBLISHER | BOOKSHOP | GOODREADS

 

AUTHOR BIO

Stephanie Barron is a graduate of Princeton and Stanford, where she received her Masters in History as an Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Fellow in the Humanities. Her novel, THAT CHURCHILL WOMAN (Ballantine, January 22, 2019) traces the turbulent career of Jennie Jerome, Winston Churchill's captivating American mother. Barron is perhaps best known for the critically acclaimed Jane Austen Mystery Series, in which the intrepid and witty author of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE details her secret detective career in Regency England. A former intelligence analyst for the CIA, Stephanie—who also writes under the name Francine Mathews—drew on her experience in the field of espionage for such novels as JACK 1939, which The New Yorker described as "the most deliciously high-concept thriller imaginable." She lives and works in Denver, CO.

WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | PINTEREST | BOOKBUB |

GOODREADS

Death on a Winter Stroll by Francine Mathews (Austenprose PR Book Tour)

 

What is the last book you read that kept you up too late?  Death on a Winter Stroll is a gripping story that definitely kept me up too late on a work night.  I was so immersed in the story; I couldn’t put it down until I finished.

Do you go on any holiday strolls?  My community has a Christmas stroll even that occurs the weekend before Thanksgiving and this year included Thanksgiving weekend.  I would love to go, but unfortunately have not had the time to attend yet.  Maybe next year!

Nantucket has a beloved traditional Christmas Stroll.  Nantucket Police Chief Meredith Folger has her hands full with the community coming back for the stroll after the COVID-19 pandemic and also the Secretary of State visiting during this time.  There is also a new show being filmed at a Nantucket estate as well.  When first one and then two murder victims appear that were killed with the same type of weapon, Chief Folger and new Detective Howie Seitz are on the case.  How are the two cases related and who has the motive to want two very different people dead?

The start of this novel had a great build-up.  All of the characters were introduced and their various reasons for being on Nantucket. Nantucket itself was vividly described and may now be on my list of places I would love to visit at Christmas.  The two characters I found myself intrigued with were Ansel McKay and Winter Candler.  Ansel’s stepmother is the Secretary of State.  He is a troubled young man that has just gone through rehab and is trying to find his path forward in life.  He is able to slip off on his own to finally meet his biological mother.  He also meets Winter Candler.  Her father is a famous star filming his come back on the island.  Winter is struggling with her mother’s suicide and her own eating disorder.  She is trying to figure out what she wants to do with her life.  The two young people bond and have a great relationship.  I liked that two lonely people were able to make a great connection.

I enjoyed the mystery, and I wasn’t sure myself who the murderer was until the very end.  I kept thinking I knew the answer, but I was wrong.  I love when I can’t figure out the killer, but that it all does make sense once you know who it is.

Death on a Winter Stroll is the 7^th book of the Merry Folger Nantucket Mystery series.  This is the first one I have read in the series.  It worked as a standalone novel, but I do wonder about the history of Merry Folger and want to read more in the series.  I love the Being a Jane Austen mysteries series written by Francine Matthews under the pen name Stephanie Barron.

Review Copy from Soho Crime as part of the Austenprose PR Book Tour.  Thank-you! I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

QUICK FACTS

·       Title: Death on a Winter Stroll: A Merry Folger Christmas Mystery

·       Series: A Merry Folger Nantucket Mystery (Book 7)

·       Author: Francine Mathews

·       Genre: Traditional Detective Mystery, Holiday Reading

·       Publisher: ‎Soho Crime (November 1, 2022)

·       Length: (288) pages

·       Format: Hardcover, eBook, & audiobook 

·       ISBN: 978-1641292740

·       Tour Dates: November 14 – December 19, 2022

 

BOOK DESCRIPTION

No-nonsense Nantucket detective Merry Folger grapples with the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and two murders as the island is overtaken by Hollywood stars and DC suits.

Nantucket Police Chief Meredith Folger is acutely conscious of the stress COVID-19 has placed on the community she loves. Although the island has proved a refuge for many during the pandemic, the cost to Nantucket has been high. Merry hopes that the Christmas Stroll, one of Nantucket’s favorite traditions, in which Main Street is transformed into a winter wonderland, will lift the island’s spirits. But the arrival of a large-scale TV production, and the Secretary of State and her family, complicates matters significantly.
 
The TV shoot is plagued with problems from within, as a shady, power-hungry producer clashes with strong-willed actors. Across Nantucket, the Secretary’s troubled stepson keeps shaking off his security detail to visit a dilapidated house near conservation land, where an intriguing recluse guards secrets of her own. With all parties overly conscious of spending too much time in the public eye and secrets swirling around both camps, it is difficult to parse what behavior is suspicious or not—until the bodies turn up.
 
Now, it’s up to Merry and Detective Howie Seitz to find a connection between two seemingly unconnected murders and catch the killer. But when everyone has a motive, and half of the suspects are politicians and actors, how can Merry and Howie tell fact from fiction?
 
This latest installment in critically acclaimed author Francine Mathews’ Merry Folger series is an immersive escape to festive Nantucket, a poignant exploration of grief as a result of parental absence, and a delicious new mystery to keep you guessing.

 

ADVANCE PRAISE

• “This fast-moving mystery packs in a lot, but never too much, and will work for fans of coming-of-age stories, police procedurals, and romance.” —First Clue
• “Fresh, well-wrought prose brings the setting of Nantucket to life. Mathews consistently entertains.” —Publishers Weekly
• “Christmas and death come to Nantucket . . . Plenty of fascinating characters and myriad motives make for an exciting read.” —Kirkus Reviews
• “Mathews consistently places relationships at the forefront of her mysteries, and Merry's unique blend of tenacity and humanity makes her a heroine to root for.”—USA Today bestselling author Karen Odden, author of the Inspector Corravan mysteries

 

PURCHASE LINKS

AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | BOOK DEPOSITORY | BOOKSHOP | GOODREADS

 

AUTHOR BIO

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 thirty books, including six previous 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, Death on Nantucket, and Death on Tuckernuck) as well as the nationally bestselling Being a Jane Austen mystery series, which she writes under the pen name Stephanie Barron. She lives and works in Denver, Colorado.

 

WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | BOOKBUB | GOODREADS

Excerpt from Jane and the Year Without a Summer by Stephanie Barron (Austenprose PR Blog Tour)

 

I am thrilled to be a part of the Jane and the Year Without a Summer by Stephanie Barron Book Tour.  I LOVED this novel and this entire series.  My review can be found at this link.  Author Stephanie Barron has written another fascinating novel that captures the "voice" of Jane Austen as a character.  It's set during the interesting summer of 1816 that Jane and her sister Cassandra spent in the Cheltenham Spa in Glouchestershire.  Stephanie Barron also stopped by to chat about this book and her new series at the JASNA Northwoods book club.  We were delighted to have her and learned so much!  Now without further ado, an excerpt from the novel as Jane meets other guests that are boarding with her in Cheltenham.

Jane and the Year Without a Summer Excerpt 

“Mrs. Smith.” Pellew had removed his tricorn and now

bowed to his fellow-lodger. “I hope I see you in good health,

ma’am?”

“Captain,” she replied, “I am very well, I thank you.” At

that instant, she perceived me standing at a little remove

from them both, and stepped impulsively in my direction.

“Miss Austen. I must beg your pardon, I was very rude to

you last night! Only think, Captain, this lady is our fellow lodger—

may I introduce Captain Pellew to your notice,

ma’am?—and I had barely made her acquaintance before I

ran away in a fretful temper!”

“You had barely eaten dinner, too, I warrant,” Captain

Pellew replied shrewdly. “Miss Austen, your servant.”

I dropped the gentleman a curtsey. “I detected no rudeness,

Mrs. Smith, I assure you. Only perhaps a certain

disinclination for company, which any of us might feel at

the close of a long day.”

“You are very good,” the young woman told me. Her eyes,

which were moss-green flecked with amber, studied me

gravely for an instant, then warmed. “You will have detected

Miss Garthwaite’s disapproval, I am sure. I shall forestall

that excellent lady’s gossip, and warn you myself that I am a

scandalous creature, an intimate of Mr. John Bowles Watson’s

Cheltenham Theatre, undeserving of genteel notice. I give

you leave to cut me direct, and shall never reproach your taste.”

“Nonsense,” Captain Pellew said roughly. “I have known

Mrs. Smith nearly all my life, Miss Austen, and I may assure

you there is no one more respectable. Her humour, perhaps,

is capricious.” He gestured at her volume. “Do you undertake

to master comedy, ma’am? I had thought Shakespeare more

your suit. Caesar, wasn’t it, last week?”

“Indeed. And my work was rewarded—the play is to

be mounted in two days’ time, and Jasper bids fair to be a

charming Brutus. But this,” she explained with a wave of

the Sheridan, “is next week’s bill—and Tess is to play Lady

Teazle.”

“Good Lord!” A smile suffused Pellew’s countenance,

transforming it instantly. “Watson doesn’t ask much. Lady

Teazle! He might as well demand you turn loaves into fish.”

“She’ll look like an angel.”

“Tess always does,” he agreed. “That isn’t the trouble. She’ll

also open her mouth.”

I must have knit my brows in confusion, for the Captain

explained, “Mrs. Smith is charged with a heavy duty, ma’am.

She is required to instruct the members of Mr. Watson’s

company to speak the King’s English.”

“Are they . . . French?” I suggested.

“No, no,” Mrs. Smith replied on a laugh. “Merely

unschooled.”

“Mrs. Smith turns any number of sows’ ears into silk purses

before the curtain rises.” Captain Pellew’s lips pursed. “She

makes the worst Back Alley Tom sound like a lord, and every

barmaid a duchess. Gives them proper airs, too, and notes on

how to raise a quizzing glass.”

“You instruct the traveling company,” I said wonderingly,

“in . . . elocution? And genteel behaviour?”

“Someone must.” The young lady’s features were alight

with mischief. “And I will own that, save for those lacking

all talent, actors are in general quick studies. Most are ambitious—

and to acquire refinement, in voice and air, is to gain

a distinct professional advantage. The theatre is unforgiving.

Pretty faces age, but graces do not.”

“Tess has not the slightest scrap of talent,” Captain Pellew

said. “I wish you joy of her.”

“You’re sadly correct.” Mrs. Smith’s mouth curved. “And

as I am already a quarter-hour behind in my duty, I have not

another second to waste. Adieu! ”

She parted from us with a friendly nod.

Pellew’s eyes followed her through the throng of library

patrons, as tho’ he had forgot my presence. But in this I was

mistaken.

“There goes one of the most admirable women of my

acquaintance,” he said. “I do not know what Miss Garthwaite

may have said of her—all manner of nonsense, no doubt!—

but I would urge you to form your own opinion.”

“I make a habit of doing so,” I replied.

 

Chapter 7, pages 66-68

 

QUICK FACTS

·       Title: Jane and the Year Without a Summer

·       Series: Being a Jane Austen Mystery (Book 14)

·       Author: Stephanie Barron

·       Genre: Historical Mystery, Austenesque

·       Publisher: Soho Press (February 8, 2022)

·       Length: (336) pages

·       Format: Hardcover, eBook, & audiobook 

·       ISBN: 978-1641292474

·       Tour Dates: February 7-20, 2022

 

BOOK DESCRIPTION

 
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.

 

ADVANCE PRAISE

Advance Praise

“Outstanding...Barron fans will hope Jane, who died in 1817, will be back for one more mystery.”— Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“No one conjures Austen's voice like Stephanie Barron, and Jane and the Year Without a Summer is utterly pitch-perfect.”— Deanna Raybourn, bestselling author of the Veronica Speedwell Mysteries

“…a page-turning story, imbued with fascinating historical detail, a cast of beautifully realized characters, a pitch-perfect Jane Austen, and an intriguing mystery. Highly recommended.”— Syrie James, bestselling author of The Missing Manuscript of Jane Austen

“Jane and the Year Without a Summer is absolute perfection. Stephanie Barron expertly weaves fact and fiction, crafting a story that is authentically Austen in its elegance, charm, and wit. The characters and setting will enchant you, and the mystery will keep you guessing to the last page. This Regency-set gem is truly a diamond of the first water.”— Mimi Matthews, USA Today bestselling author of The Siren of Sussex

 

PURCHASE LINKS

AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | BOOK DEPOSITORY | BOOKSHOP | BOOKBUB | GOODREADS

 

AUTHOR BIO

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.

 

WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | PINTEREST | BOOKBUB |

GOODREADS

 

Jane and the Year Without a Summer by Stephanie Barron

 

What is your favorite novel, movie, or TV show with an author as the main character?

 The Year is 1816.  In what will be the last full year of Jane Austen’s life, a volcanic eruption has caused global climate change that has brought about crop failure and global famine. This is the summer that Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein.  It is also the summer that Jane Austen spent a fortnight in Cheltenham Spa with her sister Cassandra to improve her health. 

 While in Cheltenham Spa, Jane and Cassandra meet an entire host of characters while staying at Mrs. Potter’s boarding house.  While one Mr. Garthwaite expostulates that the end of the world is neigh, Jane and Cassandra find themselves in the middle of a murder mystery after a masquerade ball.  Also visiting Cheltenham is Mr. Raphael West, an artist who Jane has previously solved a mystery with and has a spark with. Will Jane be able to solve this mystery?

 I loved this book.  I first started reading this series almost twenty years ago.  I feel that Stephanie Barron really has Jane Austen written as a relatable and wonderful character that matches the wit of her letters.  The research for the novels is wonderful.  I always enjoy the notes in the text to explain the history as well as the great author’s note at the end.  I feel like I get to enjoy learning about Austen’s life and world, while also having a great mystery involved.  I loved the boarding house setting and the new cast of characters.  As Jane learned more about the characters and peeled away the layers it added more mystery.  The ending was a surprise to me.  I also loved the flirtations between Jane and Mr. Raphael West.

 This novel will be released on February 8, 2022, and I highly recommend it.

 Overall, Jane and the Year Without  Summer is a riveting history mystery with my favorite author, Jane Austen, as the heroine.

 Book Source: Review Copy from Publisher Soho Crime. Thank-you! I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.