Publication: 7th December 2021 – Berkley
Jane Austen meets reality TV and murder in this quirky cozy mystery—the first in a new series!
Phaedra Brighton is perfectly content with her life of lecturing college students, gossiping with her best friends, and dreaming of Mr. Darcy. As a young, respected (if somewhat peculiar) English professor, her expertise lies in all things Jane Austen—but she knows that the closest she’ll ever get to being a real-life Elizabeth Bennet is in her dreams.
When Who Wants to Marry Mr. Darcy, a new reality TV show, starts filming at her best friend Charlene’s estate, Phaedra is intrigued. And when the producer asks her to lend her Austenian knowledge as a consultant on the show, she’s over the moon. But on the first day of filming, when Charlene’s new husband is found electrocuted and Charlene herself is accused of the crime, Phaedra comes crashing back to reality.
With murder on the syllabus and her best friend in dire straits, there’s no Mr. Darcy around to help Phaedra—she’ll have to get to the bottom of this mystery herself.
I see Jane Austen and a mystery murder together and, of course, I am intrigued. Pride, Prejudice, and Peril is the first book in the Jane Austen Tea Society Mystery series and it introduces its fantastic protagonist, an English Literature professor and renowned Jane Austen scholar, who dresses in Regency dresses and, somehow, gets involved in murder investigations.
Professor Phaedra Brighton is known for her knowledge of Jane Austen and the Regency era so it’s no surprise when she is asked to consult for a new reality show where the Bachelor meets Pride and Prejudice: Who Wants to Marry Mr. Darcy?. The show is filmed in the Marling mansion, recently on the news following the death of its owner who left all his estate to his nephew, William Collier, leaving his wife and four daughters with almost nothing. On the first day of filming, a storm rages, the lights go out, and first there is a theft and then William Collier is found murdered in the tub. And when the first suspect turns out to be none other than the victim’s wife, a close friend of Phaedra, she decides to investigate on her own. Dodging the warnings of detective Morelli to stay out of the investigation, organizing the annual Jane Austen festival, and welcoming the new arrogant and yet striking Shakespeare professor to the university keep Phaedra busy, but she’s convinced of her friend’s innocence and there were many people who wanted to see the victim dead…
I had so much fun reading Pride, Prejudice, and Peril. It’s entertaining, immersive, and with quite a few twists. Professor Phaedra Brighton is a surprising heroine. She is not a typical professor. She dresses in Regency clothes to make her classes more realistic and entertaining and she is quite popular among the students. Her love for Jane Austen slips into real life as she waits for her own Mr. Darcy, while avoiding her mother’s attempts to match-making. She lives in a carriage house with her unusual cat Wickham and she holds monthly meetings of her Jane Austen Tea Society where, due to recent events, book talks have turned into murder talks and a murder board. I love her (in real life, we would be great friends, sharing our love for Jane Austen and Mr. Darcy)!!!
Pride, Prejudice, and Peril is an enjoyable and intriguing cozy mystery with a sharp, witty, and determined protagonist and I am already looking forward to her next adventure!
A huge thank you to Austenprose and Berkley for providing me with a proof of this brilliant novel.
Katie Oliver is known internationally as a writer of Jane Austen rom-coms with a hint of mystery. In the U.S. and the U.K., she’s the bestselling author of the Dating Mr. Darcy and Marrying Mr. Darcy series.
Book After Book 
Sounds fun!
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