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2.96 AVERAGE
2.96 AVERAGE
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
If you can't say anything nice ..... and I really can't. Appalling with the added insult of ruining "Pride and Prejudice" for me. Hideous. Do not read this!
mysterious
good car / vacation read, but I'd didn't LOVE it. James did a better job than most with writing a new story for beloved characters, so if you like Pride and Prejudice, I might give it a try.
as much as p&p was all about women, this was all about men; no thanks!
(added to wishlist on 06/05/18)
(added to wishlist on 06/05/18)
3.5 stars.
This was my first continuation of the Pride and Prejudice story, and it was a bit of a let down. I wasn't necessarily hoping for the same experience as reading P&P, but for at least a little more than what I got. My strongest impression is that Lizzy was not Lizzy- she was just some average vague character. The plot was not entirely interesting, and the most exciting part was the beginning, and seeing the crime played out. I do feel that the tone/style of Jane Austen's writing was captured my PD James, but nothing else - not the mood, not nearly as much wit, and absolutely not the characters. I thought I'd heard the book was pretty good, but looking at the average rating here, that doesn't seem the case. I am interested in watching the adaptation of it, as it may be able to add a bit more personality to the characters, and suspense. As far as the solution to the mystery, I had guessed at it earlier and wasn't really surprised at all. It was an enjoyable read, so it may work for people who are more interested in a Regency era procedural, but not for big Janeites.
I also felt that there was a bit of a plot whole with Lydia's side of the story - in that she had none. She was there for much the events leading up to the crime, but we never really heard from her after that, or what she knew about everything going on. Much of the book also followed in Darcy's viewpoint, and I had the general impression that the book was not quite so woman centric as a continuation of a Jane Austen work could/ought to have been.
This was my first continuation of the Pride and Prejudice story, and it was a bit of a let down. I wasn't necessarily hoping for the same experience as reading P&P, but for at least a little more than what I got. My strongest impression is that Lizzy was not Lizzy- she was just some average vague character. The plot was not entirely interesting, and the most exciting part was the beginning, and seeing the crime played out. I do feel that the tone/style of Jane Austen's writing was captured my PD James, but nothing else - not the mood, not nearly as much wit, and absolutely not the characters. I thought I'd heard the book was pretty good, but looking at the average rating here, that doesn't seem the case. I am interested in watching the adaptation of it, as it may be able to add a bit more personality to the characters, and suspense. As far as the solution to the mystery, I had guessed at it earlier and wasn't really surprised at all. It was an enjoyable read, so it may work for people who are more interested in a Regency era procedural, but not for big Janeites.
I also felt that there was a bit of a plot whole with Lydia's side of the story - in that she had none. She was there for much the events leading up to the crime, but we never really heard from her after that, or what she knew about everything going on. Much of the book also followed in Darcy's viewpoint, and I had the general impression that the book was not quite so woman centric as a continuation of a Jane Austen work could/ought to have been.
What's better than well written Jane Autsen fan fiction? Not much! This was a fun read, nothing complicated, just fun.
This was a very pleasant little mystery with the characters of Pride and Prejudice.
I so badly wanted this to be amazing. It was not. There was so much repetition, word for word, of what had happened in Pride and Prejudice. The plot was ok, but there really was no character development. No witty interactions between Elizabeth and anyone. It just borrowed the characters and created a murder mystery without any of what made Pride and Prejudice enjoyable.
I'm tempted to say 3.5, because there was this really unnecessary bit at the end where Darcy and Elizabeth rehashed everything that had happened in Pride and Prejudice. It felt like a really poor attempt to do P&P from Darcy's point of view, and this is not the avenue for that. That'd be a separate book entirely. I also felt that sometimes my recollection of characters didn't totally agree with how they appeared here--Colonel Fitzwilliam being foremost in my mind here. But I love a good mystery, and the nods to other Austen novels like Persuasion and Emma were cute, as well as two (!!!!) nods to, "ARE THE SHADES OF PEMBERLEY TO BE THUS POLLUTED." And Charles Bingley, as always, remains a fave.