[.ca] Pride and Prescience: A Mr. & Mrs. Darcy Mystery (ISBN 0765350718)

Simply Wonderful!:
For lovers of Jane Austen's PRIDE & PREJUDICE, Carrie Bebris's brilliant sequel appears to pick up precisely where Austen left off, with the first days of married life for Mr. and Mrs. Darcy. The style, grammar and characters are so thoroughly consistent with Austen's masterpiece that they seem to blend into one. You cannot imagine Elizabeth and Darcy NOT behaving as they do in this wonderful novel. Their witty verbal sparring and Elizabeth's no-nonsense observations of the other characters are fresh, engaging and authentic. For those who think that drawing room comedies are gentle and lack action, Bebris has provided an antidote: PRIDE AND PRESCIENCE features a woman going mad, a spooked horse, a terrible carriage accident, arson and murder. It's hard to imagine the characters have time to change their gowns for tea, with all that going on. Yet the plotting is strong and sure, and each incident appears both surprising and inevitable. Bebris's own new characters are intriguing and well drawn. They blend beautifully with the Darcys, et al from Austen's classic. I picked up this book the night I got it and have been unable to resist it since. A lovely, swift and absorbing read, featuring characters you already know if you know the original P & P. If you don't know them, reading Bebris BEFORE reading Austen's original will whet your appetite for the original itself. This book gets my highest recommendation. You'll love it.

Pride Universally Unrealistic:
I found the book to be well written and entertaining. I enjoyed watching the characters develop in this mystery plot. I felt however, after I finished the book, that it left me feeling disapointed in what appeared to be an unrealistic story line.

Light, gentle use of classic characters:
I enjoyed Pride and Prescience, despite it's flaws. The author's respect for Miss Austen and affection for her characters is apparent; I thought she portrayed them nicely. I was nearly put off early on by references to the american character from "The United States" or "The States" and a few other similarly inapproapriate colloquialisms (Pride and Prejudice was published in 1813; the civil war did not begin until 1861, therefore there was no "United States"); however I stuck with it and ultimately found this book a light, pleasant and engaging read. I particularly enjoyed the idea of Darcy and Elizabeth as a sleuthing couple, and will certainly give any future books in the series a chance. I don't ever expect much from modern sequels to classic novels, and found this a unique way to revive these wonderful characters.

Light hearted and charming:
This book will be enjoyed by anyone who appreciates the gentle feminine wit of Jane Austen. The story and its characters are set in the Regency world left behind by Jane. This is a refined, drawing room tale, with overtones of detection and Gothic mystery. The writer has tried to write in the same vein as Jane Austen, but there are a few jarring lapses. It's hard to maintain the accuracy and tone when you're a couple of hundred years after and a couple of thousand miles away. The writer manages to convey the social scene and offers acute observation of social interactions. Some of her characters are less than finely drawn, though, and this can be a distraction. But the plot holds up well and this makes an intriguing story, interestingly told.

Charming but...:
I enjoyed this book as a piece of literary candy floss. Sweet but not substantial. It had a "Nancy Drew" feel to it which reminded me of countless hours of summer reading in the years before I discovered literature. But as a piece of entertainment it succeeds. It did have me guessing for a second or two although not long. I did like the "supernatural" elements in it although it was highly implausible. What I yearned for was more intimacy between Darcy and Elizabeth and I don't mean the kind of intimacy you are all thinking about---for that read "Mr Darcy Takes a Wife"---but I thought the parts that were best in the book were the witty conversations and gentle loving teasing between the two leads and yet they were not as frequent as say the boring dinners or constant references to Mr. Hurst and the sherry bottle (please....). The best scene is the fire insomuch as real emotions are at play and Darcy is suitably noble and dashing. The biggest error the author made in the novel was to all but ignore the wonderful relationship between the Bennett sisters. Jane is a pale and placid rag doll instead of Lizzy's boon companion and confidant. But alas, it was not to be. So what was good was very good in this novel but more needs to be made of relationships and dialogue if one is to mimic Austen more successfully. Still an enjoyable read though.