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A review by sterling8
Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D. James

2.0

I went back and forth between two and three stars for this one. I ended up with two because most of what I liked best about the book was what I recalled about the characters and story of _Pride and Prejudice_, and not what was in this actual book.

The book relies upon the reader's affection for the characters created by Jane Austen. We get partial summaries of the plot of _Pride and Prejudice_ over and over again. The actual characters in the book seem thin, especially Darcy, who comes across as indecisive and tentative, not at all like the forceful character he was in the book. The book is written in a pseudo-nineteenth century style, with long, awkward speeches coming from characters' mouths that no real person would ever say. I'm not a fan of this type of writing, and once again, it serves to distance the reader from the story and characters.

The mystery itself is slight, and once you know all the players, it's obvious what the true meaning of the late-night trip to Pemberly was. I can't really call it a mystery because no one spends any time investigating anything, but instead the characters discourse at great length about the British justice system and proper etiquette. The case is solved by a deus ex machina of the clunkiest kind, right after we get a reinactment of the last scene of Anna Karenina. Melodrama!

So, the book made me think fondly of the movie "Pride and Prejudice", and I want to watch it again to get this sad attempt to cash in on the Jane Austen phenomenon out of my brain. The book gets two stars because of that.