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A review by phantasmaboo
The Murder of Mr. Wickham by Claudia Gray
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The Murder of Mr. Wickham by Claudia Gray is a murder mystery centered around the death of the characters from Pride and Prejudice. It's ensemble story-telling guides you through the events of the night as well as subsequent nights as Mr. Darcy's heir Jonathan and the young Ms. Juliet Tilney attempt to discover who among them may be the murderer.
I give this book 4 stars. Other than it being the characters from Pride and Prejudice, it followed the beats of any murder mystery story exactly and I thought that it was well executed. Gray also builds in a lot of character and world building that add depth to the characters while also advancing the plot. Gray does seem to take liberties with the characters from Pride and Prejudice, so if you are looking for a book that is perfectly in line with previous iterations, you will likely be disappointed. Still, as someone who is not a huge Pride and Prejudice fan, I enjoyed this version of the characters.
The main fault that I found with the text was how it handled representation of marginalized groups. There are several instances in which the characters use a racial slur, which the author addresses in an author's note at the beginning of the text. While I see their point of view that this was a word used at the time, I believe that the text would have functioned just as well without it and should not have been used. After all, there are many other historical issues that are not presented accurately and the book does not suffer for it. The author could have used the proper name "Roma" instead of a slur, and I doubt anyone would have noticed or cared.
There are also storylines of ableism (directed toward a potentially autistic character) and homophobia (directed toward an unseen male character). I didn't find any particular issue with how these storylines were handled, but they could be triggering to those who have experienced ableism/homophobia.
Overall, I thought this book was a solid murder mystery with some great character development. I highly recommend it.
I give this book 4 stars. Other than it being the characters from Pride and Prejudice, it followed the beats of any murder mystery story exactly and I thought that it was well executed. Gray also builds in a lot of character and world building that add depth to the characters while also advancing the plot. Gray does seem to take liberties with the characters from Pride and Prejudice, so if you are looking for a book that is perfectly in line with previous iterations, you will likely be disappointed. Still, as someone who is not a huge Pride and Prejudice fan, I enjoyed this version of the characters.
The main fault that I found with the text was how it handled representation of marginalized groups. There are several instances in which the characters use a racial slur, which the author addresses in an author's note at the beginning of the text. While I see their point of view that this was a word used at the time, I believe that the text would have functioned just as well without it and should not have been used. After all, there are many other historical issues that are not presented accurately and the book does not suffer for it. The author could have used the proper name "Roma" instead of a slur, and I doubt anyone would have noticed or cared.
There are also storylines of ableism (directed toward a potentially autistic character) and homophobia (directed toward an unseen male character). I didn't find any particular issue with how these storylines were handled, but they could be triggering to those who have experienced ableism/homophobia.
Overall, I thought this book was a solid murder mystery with some great character development. I highly recommend it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Classism, Misogyny, Murder, Death, and Homophobia
Moderate: Sexual violence, Outing, and Violence
Minor: Child death, Racial slurs, Racism, and Slavery