The Murder of Mr. Wickham

By: Claudia Gray

Narrated by: Billie Fulford-Brown

A summer house party turns into a thrilling whodunit when Jane Austen's Mr. Wickham—one of literature’s most notorious villains—meets a sudden and suspicious end in this brilliantly imagined mystery featuring Austen’s leading literary characters.

“Had Jane Austen sat down to write a country house murder mystery, this is exactly the book she would have written.”—Alexander McCall Smith

The happily married Mr. Knightley and Emma are throwing a party at their country estate, bringing together distant relatives and new acquaintances—characters beloved by Jane Austen fans. Definitely not invited is Mr. Wickham, whose latest financial scheme has netted him an even broader array of enemies. As tempers flare and secrets are revealed, it’s clear that everyone would be happier if Mr. Wickham got his comeuppance. Yet they’re all shocked when Wickham turns up murdered—except, of course, for the killer hidden in their midst.

Nearly everyone at the house party is a suspect, so it falls to the party’s two youngest guests to solve the mystery: Juliet Tilney, the smart and resourceful daughter of Catherine and Henry, eager for adventure beyond Northanger Abbey; and Jonathan Darcy, the Darcys’ eldest son, whose adherence to propriety makes his father seem almost relaxed. In this tantalizing fusion of Austen and Christie, from New York Times bestselling author Claudia Gray, the unlikely pair must put aside their own poor first impressions and uncover the guilty party—before an innocent person is sentenced to hang.

©2022 Claudia Gray (P)2022 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

ONE OF THE WALL STREET JOURNAL'S BEST MYSTERY BOOKS OF THE YEAR

“Had Jane Austen sat down to write a country house murder mystery, this is exactly the book she would have written. Devotees of Austen’s timeless novels will get the greatest possible pleasure from this wonderful book. Immense fun and beautifully observed. Delicious!”—Alexander McCall Smith

“A well-done pastiche that balances menace with wit, recrimination with reconciliation, sin with redemption and justice with mercy.”—The Wall Street Journal

“Satisfying.... Readers looking for a charming mystery will adore this book. Gray captures Austen’s tone perfectly, allowing fans to step back into the Regency author’s beloved world.”—BookPage

JANE-ITES REJOYCE!

I love a good murder mystery and I love Austen's characters and this novel has both. True to the original characters and spinning off from relationships that were already established, Claudia Gray has gained a new fan! I did squeeze my heart a little bit to see some of my beloved characters hurting so much at times, but it was also nice to see the fractured relationships healed and all the couples allowed to grow within their respective marriages. Juliet and Jonanthan were so cute--and it was very nice to see a character on the Spectrum, I can't wait to see where they go next. Well narrated by a gorgeous voice (although the narrator seemed to mumble the name "jonanthan" whenever she spoke it, but that's very nitpicky--it bothered me the first tew times but I got used to it) and well worth the purchase!

Delightful Mystery and phenomenal performance!

First the performance of Billie Fulford-Brown: I loved her vocal timbre, accent, inflection, and general performance so much I looked up what other books she has read, because I just want to listen to her. She is up there now with Stefan Rudnicki for me.

This is a very fun whodunnit murder mystery that cleverly brings together all of the main characters of the Jane Austen novels for a house party at the Knightley's. The house party is soon interrupted by the unwelcome arrival of George Wickham which Claudia Gray in just a few paragraphs manages to make even more unlikeable than his younger version, so that the reader is tempted to cheer and shout "about time" when he is found murdered. All of the guests have ample motive to want him dead.

There are so many things to like about this book, from the way Gray connects the stories and characters, to her working quotations of the originals into the conversations. What I found delightful is that Elizabeth and Darcy's son is clearly neuro-diverse. The way the Gray describes his nervous system challenges and anxiety about not fitting in or being understood, and how he compensates for them, made my autism mother heart nod with appreciation for Gray's understanding of neuro-diversity.
It in fact gave me the idea to introduce my oldest son to all Jane Austen novels. He is now 17 years old and deficient in gentlemanly behavior. He has been reading her books and we watch the shows together. The iconic characters of Jane Austen are helping him understand behaviors that are inappropriate or tiresome (like Mr. Collins), and how even good people get it wrong and have to change.

Pretty good stuff! It’s slow but worth it.

I like that most of the characters of other books are here, plus includes a couple of descendants. And that Jonathan may have Asperger’s syndrome. That Mr. Wickham is more evil than I envisioned and that the Bertrams are a little too self righteous (I never like that story anyway) however in the end see the error of their thinking ways. I’m glad the author gave sister Mary a happy ending. I wish and hope that the author will write another story that will include more characters and more babies born.😍 It has Ms. Austen’s flavor. Well done! 👍

Fun visit with familiar characters

The narrator did a really good job. The mystery was acceptable. Like others I found the ending somewhat contrived. Given that the author planned on having other works forcing most of Jane Austin’s protagonists into one story together was a bit forced, but still enjoyable to meet with familiar characters for fans of Austen. If your looking for a fun read it is very satisfying.

An interesting premise, but...

Some of the characterizations of the original Austen characters didn't quite ring true. And I wish the writing had been a little better. Still it was an amusing read.

Good narrator, middle of the road story

The narrator, Billie Fulford-Brown, was quite nice to listen to.
The story, while containing one of my absolute favorite tropes (not a retelling, but putting known characters in new situations), I found forgettable.
The answer to the mystery I personally found unsatisfying.
All in all, this was fine, but forgettable, although I will check out the narrator's catalogue.

Susan ….UES

Lots of proper fun for all the upper crust!Who did it??you will surely find out .

Know your Jane Austin characters!

Be sure to read all Jane Austin books so you know the key player’s backstory’s.

Disappointing

Too often, the author's contemporary attitudes and sentiments peek through a novel about characters that lived 200 years ago and I found it increasingly irritating as the story progressed

Good follow up to pride and prejudice

I like the fact that the writer utilized a lot of other characters from Jane Austin novels and it did justice to how the characters will behave . The only criticism is the length of the plot it lingers too long to get the culprit . Overall entertaining