A review by angelqueen04
North By Northanger, or The Shades of Pemberley: A Mr. & Mrs. Darcy Mystery by Carrie Bebris

5.0

This installment was utterly lovely! I think it might even be my favorite so far in the series.

Spoiler

Bebris did right in turning away from the supernatural in the series in this installment. I love the focus on the Darcy family, and the mystery of Lady Anne in particular. I was equal parts devastated by the sadness that Lady Anne suffered and furious at Lady Catherine's part in it. Whether the figurines had any mystical power or not, the one given to her by her mother clearly had quite a bit of sentimental power for Lady Anne, and obviously it brought her a great deal of comfort. It was horrifying that Lady Catherine kept it away from her simply out of the foolish belief that anyone discovering that Lady Anne held Catholic beliefs would create a scandal for the family. Horrible woman. It makes her sound as though she has her sister's blood on her hands.

Bebris did a great job with this story. I love that she weaved the history of England into the story and in the crossover between the two novels - playing on Northanger Abbey's past and including the Dissolution of the monasteries in the 1500s.

A brilliant story. I loved it.