“But the past is too much a part of what I am.” Truth.
39.12 Death Comes to Pemberley
I am not sure it is ever a good idea for one author to try
to write like another, but I am a big fan of experimentation in fiction so I
had high hopes for PD James and her take on the characters of Pride and
Prejudice. Problem one, James is
no Austen. Problem two, in this
case James isn’t even James. This
is easily the most lack luster mystery I have ever read and if being married
has turned Elizabeth and Darcy into the people here then ugh… Death really has come to Pemberley.
When I imagined a murder mystery with Pemberley as a back
drop I envisioned a bit of a Nancy Drew/Elizabeth Bennet cross over, with Darcy
valiantly taking on the bad guys as he and his wife put all the clues together,
trusting each other implicitly and aware of each others intelligence. Kind of like Charlotte and Thomas Pitt
in Anne Perry’s books. Instead
Elizabeth bustles around making sure of refreshments and bedding, while Darcy
broods over his decisions and actions of six years ago! I mean, come on, like these two didn’t
sit down and have a bit of a talk before they got married to hash out the
various bad behaviors of their courting.
There
is no whit or humor here. In fact,
the whole thing was rather depressing and lacking in fun, which feels like a
real missed opportunity. The
murder takes place, but there is very little mystery around it, and the big
reveal at the end, while well plotted, just doesn’t seem very important by the
time you actually get there. Overall, this is a well-written book of a not very
good story and sadly not a fitting tribute to Austen or even to James. But it does have a great cover…
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