DEATH AND SENSIBILITY is the second book in Elizabeth Blake’s “Jane Austen Society” cozy mystery series. Bookshop owner Erin Coleridge is getting away from it all, getting out of town, and attending and hosting a Jane Austen Society conference. This book will appeal to cozy mystery fans as well as Austen fans. Elizabeth Blake does a good job of making the reader feel as though you’re right there, attending the conference along with the characters. Erin is surround by friends and two possible love interests. Schoolteacher Jonathan Alder is a conventionally attractive fellow Austen aficionado, and Detective Inspector Peter Hemming is a more complicated prospect who can be charming, but with whom she can clash when she plays the role of amateur sleuth. Everything is going along swimmingly until featured speaker Barry Wolf passes away suddenly. The authorities are quick to assume natural causes, but Erin suspects something more sinister.
Although there are male characters in DEATH AND SENSIBILITY, I felt like the female characters dominated the story – but not in a bad way. All the characters – whether heroes or villains – are realistically flawed. There is variety when it comes to the female characters – but they all have strong personalities in some way. Erin is a businesswoman and a good friend, but her reads on people aren’t always a hundred percent spot on, and she doesn’t understand why Hemming is so perturbed by her investigating. Erin’s friend Farnsworth is strong and loyal yet very sensitive when it comes to her friendships. Conference co-chairs Hetty and Prudence are super quirky frenemies and have an unusual snarky way of communicating. As far as suspects go, Barry’s ex-wife Judith and his current wife Luca seem to be connected in their disdain for him. Barry may be the first to die, but he’s certainly not the last. While Barry may not be a sympathetic victim, the casual callousness of the murderer as people are viciously attacked and poisoned brings home the tragic quality to the crimes. There is an unhinged quality to the murder that comes through as you progress through the book.
DEATH AND SENSIBILITY combines Jane Austen trivia, quirky characters, and a cozy façade that lulls the reader into a false sense of security before the thrills and chills. Although this was the first time reading a book in this series, I was still able to read and enjoy it as a standalone mystery novel. I look forward to reading Elizabeth Blake’s next “Jane Austen Society” book.
Bookstore owner Erin Coleridge seeks the scoundrel who silenced a conference's keynote speaker in Elizabeth Blake's second charming Jane Austen Society mystery.
When the quaint English town of York hosts a Jane Austen Society conference, bookseller Erin Coleridge is glad to get out of Kirkbymoorside for a while--until featured speaker Barry Wolf suddenly perishes from what appears to be a heart attack.
Erin is suspicious, since Barry had no history of heart disease. But who did him in? Was it the decedent's assistant, Stephen, who was observed chatting to Barry's young wife Luca earlier that night? Might it have been Barry's ex-wife Judith, who was seen arguing with her erstwhile betrothed at the bar? Meanwhile, conference co-chairs Hetty and Prudence have been at one another's throat since the conference. Is one of them the culprit?
Matters of the heart are putting Erin off her guard. Both Detective Inspector Peter Hemming and schoolteacher Jonathan Alder have made gestures of romantic interest, but Erin isn't sure who is her Willoughby and who is her Colonel Brandon. DI Hemming tries to persuade Erin that her entanglement in the murder investigation is far from sensible, but his entreaties come to naught. Dauntlessly, Erin joins forces with Kirkbymoorside's cat lady, Farnsworth, to ferret out the guilty party.
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