Review by Booklist Review
The title says it all! In this cozy mystery, Georgiana Darcy sets off for London to chase after her missing maid, only informing Caroline Bingley of her plans. Feeling responsible for the naïve Miss Darcy, Caroline follows, and once they reunite, Caroline uses her intelligence, wealth, and charm to take charge of the case. Her investigation takes her to neighborhoods very different from the affluent London homes she's accustomed to, and since the maid in question is of Indian descent, she also learns about an entire culture she'd never given a second thought before. Although this Caroline might not be quite as snobby as Austen readers expect, they will enjoy the juxtaposition of her aloofness with her personal growth, watching her become both open-minded and committed to her investigative calling. They will also appreciate authors Gardiner and Kumar's historically accurate and varied depictions of Indian culture in Regency Era London, especially through the maid, Jayani, whose agency and opinions rivals Caroline's own. The ending teases a sequel, so hopefully, there will be more investigations in Caroline's future.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Gardiner (Goddess) and Kumar provide a delightful addition to the growing ranks of Jane Austen--inspired mysteries with this cozy series launch. The fiercely independent Caroline Bingley, from Pride and Prejudice, is now Jane Bennett's sister-in-law. After Caroline's friend, Georgiana Darcy, leaves for London without explanation, a baffled Caroline tracks her down, and learns that she's searching for her missing maid, a young Indian woman she'd called Jade. Despite Georgiana's ignorance of "Jade's" actual name or biography, Caroline relishes the almost impossible challenge of locating her among London's masses. The situation escalates when "Jade"--whose real name is Jayani--is found at the scene of a murder. Caroline believes her insistence that she's innocent and resolves to find the killer, following a trail of clues indicating that the culprit is connected to the powerful East India Company. Refreshingly, Gardiner and Kumar don't sand down Caroline's less agreeable qualities, and instead use her flagrant classism and stubbornness to infuse the narrative with a welcome degree of friction. That character depth, plus a well-oiled whodunit plot, help this stand out in a crowded field. Austenites will look forward to the next installment. (July)
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
In this new addition to the ever-growing list of adaptations, sequels, prequels, and spin-offs of Pride and Prejudice, everyone's favorite snobby sister stops taking turns around the room with Elizabeth and starts sleuthing in ways that show a new side of her character. Coauthors Gardiner (Goddess) and Kumar (a playwright and a producer of the annual AustenCon) have transformed Caroline into a heroine who could match wits with Stephanie Barron's detective version of Jane herself. The book is voluptuously anchored in Regency details while also slyly weaving in critiques of imperialism and gender dialectic, all of which emerge as Caroline follows Georgiana Darcy from the Bingley estate near Pemberly to London. Once there, she learns where Georgiana has gone--and in doing so, she discovers her own penchant for problem-solving. Caroline quickly becomes involved in investigating the case against Georgiana's beloved maid Jayani, who is accused of murdering her brother, and begins to expose some of the shadiness of the East India Company. VERDICT A critique of colonialism that still reads with the coziness of a cup of tea. Caroline Bingley proves herself worthy of her own mystery series.--Emily Bowles
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
After 212 years, the sister of Elizabeth Bennet's brother-in-law gets her chance to shine in a most unexpected role. Not that the title is entirely accurate. Caroline Bingley, the wealthy and forceful sister of Charles Bingley, who married Lizzie's sister Jane, is roused to action when Georgiana Darcy, the younger sister of Lizzie's husband, leaves Derbyshire for London with hardly a word of explanation. Following her trail with the help of Gordon, her remarkably versatile butler, Caroline soon finds Georgiana and learns that she took off abruptly in pursuit of Jade, her missing maid. Jade, an Indian woman whose birth name is Jayani, isn't much harder to locate than Georgiana, but the circumstances of this discovery are dire. Caroline finds her in a questionable rooming house bending over her brother, Sameer, who's been stabbed to death. Police Magistrate Pickersgill naturally assumes that the servant killed her brother, but Georgiana can't believe that Jade would do such a thing, so Caroline, focusing on the aristocratic Dunston family, who'd employed Sameer as a footman, resolves to unmask the real murderer, her own suspicions quickened by the Dunstons' unwillingness to say anything about their connection to him. Gardiner and Kumar's Regency prose deals resourcefully with matters far more sinister and violent than anything in Jane Austen. But fans ofPride and Prejudice had better revel in the authors' portraits of Georgiana, Charles (who vanishes after the opening chapter), and Caroline, since no other characters from Austen return in this period whodunit. The heroine is better described as a meddling busybody than a private investigator. But wait for the broadly implied sequel. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
