Elizabeth Bennet is a proper young lady in early 19th century England. She is expected to get married and run her home, just like her four sisters. Only, she has no interest in being a lady in society or looking for a husband. She wants to work with her father, a barrister. She wants to work at Longbourn and Sons as a solicitor, or maybe even a barrister. But young ladies do not do these things at this point in history. It is only the young men, such as Mr. Collins, who can work as a solicitor. So when he takes credit for Lizzie’s work, she has little recourse.
But when he father tells Lizzie that there may be a job opening in the office, she feels hope that she might be allowed to do more than proofread the contracts. But she has to prove her worth. And in order to do that, she has to find a case that is hers alone and solve it.
So when she hears about the scandalous murder and arrest of the victim’s brother-in-law Mr. Bingley, Lizzie feels like this is the case she has to win to prove to her father and everyone that women can be solicitors. She uses her wits and her wiles (and a little bit of her pocket money) to get a meeting with Mr Bingley, only to find out that he already has a solicitor, an old friend from school, Mr. Darcy from the well known offices of Pemberley and Associates.
But Lizzie will not be deterred, and she keeps investigating She figures out how to get into places that men could not. She thinks of questions that men would not. And she finds herself collecting clues. But she also gets into some trouble, and ends up being lead away from the victim’s house by a runner. Fortunately for Lizzie, the runner, Mr. Wickham, is on her side. Which is far more than she can say for that judgmental Mr. Darcy.
But as she get closer to the truth—and closer to danger—Lizzie finds out that everything she thinks she knows may be wrong, and she’ll have to reconsider everything to keep Mr. Bingley from being found guilty of murder.
Pride and Premeditation is the first in a new series of Jane Austen Murder Mysteries, clearly relying on the characters of Pride and Prejudice for inspiration. Debut author Tirzah Price has transformed this well known regency romance into a murder mystery appealing to teens and adults. With clever twists and lots of respect for the original story, Price has started this series with a bang.
I really liked Pride and Premeditation. As a longtime fan of Jane Austen, I enjoyed how Price used parts of the classic novel to add depth to this twist, although there were moments that it felt like a little too much license was taken in the name of modernization. I did think Lizzie took things too far, went too far past the lines of propriety in her investigation, but I still couldn’t stop reading. I loved these characters in Pride and Prejudice, and I loved them here in Pride and Premeditation. Overall, this is a fun book, and I think fellow fans of Jane Austen will enjoy it.
Voice galleys for Pride and Premeditation were provided by HarperTeen through NetGalley, with many thanks.
