The Late Mrs. Willoughby

Starred review from April 3, 2023
Gray’s second whodunit featuring characters from across the Jane Austen universe (after 2022’s The Murder of Mr. Wickham) is another superior blend of humor and detection. Jonathan Darcy, the son of Pride and Prejudice’s Fitzwilliam Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett, and Juliet Tilney, the daughter of Northanger Abbey’s Catherine and Henry Tilney, met in the previous installment, when they teamed up to solve a homicide and found themselves fighting mutual attraction. The amateur sleuths get another murder to crack when they’re both guests at the Devonshire home of Sense and Sensibility’s John Willoughby, a former schoolmate of Darcy’s. Despite that connection, Darcy is not fond of his host, who bullied him at school. The unexpected reunion with Tilney, who recognizes the shy Darcy’s hidden depths, improves matters, but the get-together becomes fraught after the arrival of Sense and Sensibility’s Marianne Brandon, who has a past with Willoughby. Things get worse when Willoughby’s wife, Sophia, whom he’d married for her dowry, dies after drinking some poisoned port. Gray makes her endearing leads’ sleuthing both plausible and entertaining while evoking the wit and feel of Austen’s classic novels. Admirers of P.D. James’s Death Comes to Pemberley will be delighted.

April 1, 2023

In this sequel to The Murder of Mr. Wickham, Jonathan Darcy and Juliet Tilney cross paths again, this time in the Derbyshire town of Barton. At his parents' urging, Darcy reluctantly accepts an invitation from John Willoughby, his chief tormentor at school. Two other former schoolmates were also invited; Willoughby wants an audience as he celebrates his inheritance of Allenham, an estate not far from the home shared by his former love Marianne, now married to Colonel Brandon. The Brandons aren't the only ones uneasy about the arrival of Willoughby and his wife, as the poisoning of Mrs. Willoughby soon starkly demonstrates. Once again, Jonathan and Juliet put their sleuthing skills to work to unmask her killer. Surrounded by potential suspects and confused about the murderer's target, the duo must keep their wits about them to protect the innocent, including themselves. VERDICT Gray continues her homage to Jane Austen with this sequel that wonderfully reimagines the lives of Austen's characters yet stays faithful to the spirit of the classic works. Readers should be aware there are spoilers from the first novel woven into this story. It's fun to anticipate the other Austen characters the young sleuths might encounter in future novels.--Julie Ciccarelli

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Starred review from May 1, 2023
In The Murder of Mr. Wickham (2022), Gray recreated Jane Austen's world, bringing her most famous characters together for a house party where Mr. Wickham met his demise. Young Jonathan Darcy and Juliet Tilney took on the roles of detectives to solve the case, but had little reason to suspect their investigative talents would be called upon again. Yet here they are, in Devonshire. Darcy is visiting an old schoolmate, Willoughby, and Juliet is staying with Colonel and Marianne Brandon when, as the title indicates, Willoughby's wealthy wife dies by poisoning. Let the whodunit begin! But this tale involves more than suspects, false leads, and dead ends in a country setting. Gray captures the rhythms and cadences of Austen's books, while infusing the characters with a freshness that is modern but never seems out of place, including placing Darcy on the autism spectrum and highlighting Juliet's eagerness to step out of traditional roles, and at the same time continuing to be mindful of them. The supporting cast, as well, is fully fashioned (and often quite amusing), adding a rich layer of frosting on this tasty cake. Austen fans will adore this, of course, but with Darcy and Juliet center stage, even those with only a passing acquaintance with her works will enjoy Gray's latest.

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