prairiegirl75 's review for:

Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D. James

2.0

---

I've read and enjoyed some of P.D. James's mysteries and read an interview with her about this book that intrigued me, so I started this book expecting to like it. However, after the first chapter (which amounts largely to a recap of Pride & Prejudice), things went downhill rapidly. Jane Austen's books were all about women's relationships and reputations, and describes seemingly small events with life-and-death consequences for her characters. In contrast, James tells a story of murder and intrigue, mostly from the perspective of the male characters, which might seem as if it should be more exciting but actually got dull pretty fast. I didn't feel like the characters behaved consistently with their original natures (especially Mr. Darcy). Helen Fielding did a much better job capturing the essence of what Jane Austen was about, at least in her first Bridget Jones book.

This book also contains one of my pet peeves--doctor characters in historical novels who behave as if they had the benefit of modern medical training.