GROUP B BOOKS 2023-2024: 10 Nominated books. Vote for no more than 5.

B1 Type: Amateur sleuths: cozies, and/or traditional mysteries The Murder of Mr. Wickham by Claudia Gray, 2022 / MVLC: 23

Basics · Briefly: In a whodunit set in Jane Austen's world of fiction, Mr. Wickham—one of literature’s most notorious villains—meets a sudden and suspicious end at a party on Emma's estate. Two young adult children of other Austen characters are the amateur sleuths. · Protagonists: Jonathan Darcy and Juliet Tilney, young adult children imagined by Author Gray, whose parents appear as characters in the original Austen novels. · Setting: In Donwell Abbey, County of Surrey as described in Jane Austen's Emma, but about 1825-30. · Context: This is the first of, so far, two books in the Darcy and Tilney mystery series. · % of Amazon readers giving 5-star ratings: 51% · Combined % of Amazon readers giving either 4 OR 5-star ratings: 83% · Total all Amazon ratings this book: 1,426 Long Form “Had Jane Austen sat down to write a country house murder mystery, this is exactly the book she would have written.” —Alexander McCall Smith ------- The happily married Mr. Knightley and Emma are throwing a party at their country estate, bringing together distant relatives and new acquaintances—characters beloved by Jane Austen fans. Definitely not invited is Mr. Wickham, whose latest financial scheme has netted him an even broader array of enemies. As tempers flare and secrets are revealed, it’s clear that everyone would be happier if Mr. Wickham got his comeuppance. Yet they’re all shocked when Wickham turns up murdered—except, of course, for the killer hidden in their midst.      Nearly everyone at the house party is a suspect, so it falls to the party’s two youngest guests to solve the mystery: Juliet Tilney, the smart and resourceful daughter of Catherine and Henry, eager for adventure beyond Northanger Abbey; and Jonathan Darcy, the Darcys’ eldest son, whose adherence to propriety makes his father seem almost relaxed. In this tantalizing fusion of Austen and Christie, from New York Times bestselling author Claudia Gray, the unlikely pair must put aside their own poor first impressions and uncover the guilty party—before an innocent person is sentenced to hang.  ------- “What a splendid conceit! ... Gray provides plenty of backstory and enough depth to her characters that even those who mix up their Pride and Prejudice with their Sense and Sensibility will delight in the Agatha Christie–style mystery.... There’s so much fun to be had in this reimagined Austen world—and the mystery is so strong—that one can only hope, dear reader, that more books will follow.” —Booklist (starred review) Recommended by Leslie who read and enjoyed it.–Dick No Awards for this Book from the 15 awarding groups as reported by SYKM.