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Being a Jane Austen Mystery
Jane Austen turns sleuth in this delightful Regency-era mystery.
November, 1815. The Battle of Waterloo has come and gone, leaving the British economy in shreds; Henry Austen, high-flying banker, is about to declare bankruptcy—dragging several of his brothers down with him. The crisis destroys Henry's health, and Jane flies to his London bedside, believing him to be dying. While she's there, the chaplain to His Royal Highness the Prince Regent invites Jane to tour Carlton House, the Prince's fabulous London home. The chaplain is a fan of Jane's books, and during the tour he suggests she dedicate her next novel - Emma - to HRH, whom she despises.
However, before she can speak to HRH, Jane stumbles upon a body - sprawled on the carpet in the Regent's library. The dying man, Colonel MacFarland, was a cavalry hero and a friend of Wellington's. He utters a single failing phrase: "Waterloo map" ... and Jane is on the hunt for a treasure of incalculable value and a killer of considerable cunning.
"Starred Review. A well-crafted narrative with multiple subplots drives Barron's splendid 13th Jane Austen mystery. Series fans will be happy to see more of Jane's extended family and friends, and Austenites will enjoy the imaginative power with which Barron spins another riveting mystery around a writer generally assumed to have led a quiet and uneventful life." - Publishers Weekly
"Writing in the form of Jane's diaries, Barron has spun a credible tale from a true encounter, enhanced with meticulous research and use of period vocabulary." - Booklist
"Barron deftly imitates Austen's voice, wit, and occasional melancholy while spinning a well-researched plot that will please historical mystery readers and Janeites everywhere." - Library Journal
"Barron, who's picked up the pace since Jane and the Twelve Days of Christmas, portrays an even more seasoned and unflinching heroine in the face of nasty death and her own peril." - Kirkus
This information about Jane and the Waterloo Map was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Stephanie Barron is the author of the standalone historical suspense novels A Flaw in the Blood and The White Garden, as well as the Jane Austen mystery series. As Francine Mathews, she is the author of several novels of espionage, including The Alibi Club. She lives in Denver, Colorado.
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