The Highbury Murders: A Mystery Set in the Village of Jane Austen's Emma

By: Victoria Grossack

Narrated by: Erin Evans-Walker

EXCERPT: The death of Mrs. Bates, a very old lady whose hearing had long since gone and who had spent her last few months either in her bedroom or sitting in her chair in the parlor, would have gone unremarked in London, where people spent their time discussing fashion, nobility, and the latest offering at the theatre. In Bath, her decease might have been mentioned as a piece of dull news, before the residents and visitors resumed discussing who had been seen at the Pump Room during the day or who was giving a whist party that night. In Highbury, however, Mrs. Bates’s passing was an event which was talked over in every house, both great and small.

Jane Austen's Emma has been described as a detective story without a body - except for those who read carefully, there actually is a body, and the potential for an excellent mystery story. Set about a year after Emma closes, The Highbury Murders pays homage to the wit of Jane Austen and the whodunits of Agatha Christie. You do not need to have read Jane Austen's books to enjoy this novel, but if you have - if you regret that she wrote only six - The Highbury Murders is a welcome extension to her world. Pour yourself a cup of tea, settle somewhere comfortable, and indulge yourself with the proverbial good read.

©2013 Victoria Grossack (P)2018 Victoria Grossack

Spare yourself the gutting of beloved characters

Austen novels are not conducive to who-dun-it rewrites.
This book is proof. The plot falls short of the original. The narrator does not distinguish voices believably. Go back to the original Emma.

Just Rewriting an old book

I've never wanted to return a book before but this is it. By chapter seven we are still being retold the story of Emma and nothing has happened. Seems more like fan fiction than using an already created setting.