Francine MathewsRecensioni

Fairly fast-paced if far-fetched spy novel.

Young Jack Kennedy is tasked by President Roosevelt with unearthing some secrets at the onset of WWII. His journey takes him to Europe, where he is chased by enemy agents, embarks on a passionate love affair, and seeks to possess something which threatens to unravel his family's legacy.

This was a fast-paced thriller. I don't normally go for historical fiction centered on such well-known personalities. However, this one felt right. The author got the "real" characters right and the whole thing just worked.

Fun reading.½

Rips off jane eyre a bit.can't decide if it's a bodice ripper or a mystery. Plot ok

Well plotted with good characterization and a strong sense of place, will definitely try another

I loved seeing Jane's nephew Edward take a somewhat prominent place in this tale. The murder happens in a boys school and the insights into how those schools were run was fascinating. I also enjoyed the twisty turns in pursuit of a motive. The saddest part was Jane's increasing illness and her dashed hopes that she could somehow afford more competent medical advice.

Jane and Cassandra have gone to Cheltenham to take the waters and hopefully find some relief for Jane in her illness. In the boarding house where they stay is an unlikely crowd of people - among them a murderer. I found the storyline a bit slow, except I loved everything about Jane and her on-going storyline although it is sad to see her ill and heading to death.

Jane is poised to take up residence in Southhampton with her brother, Frank, and his new & expectant bride Mary. One of Frank’s naval colleagues and friends, Captain Tom Seagrave, is suddenly accused by a subordinate of ignobly slaughtering an enemy ship’s unarmed captain after a heated battle. Before too long, the chief witness against Captain Seagrave is himself killed, and Captain Seagrave is arrested as the primary suspect in that murder, as well. With his heroic friend in danger of losing both his illustrious career and his life, Frank enlists Jane’s help in clearing Tom’s name and uncovering the duplicitous person behind the plot to destroy Tom and his reputation. Jane soon finds herself immersed in the brutal side of naval life and in the seedier side of seafaring communities as she tries to discover the relentless treachery lurking behind Tom Seagrave’s unjust prosecution.

This entry in the Jane Austen Mystery series is a reasonably mediocre book, although far from engrossing.

Stephanie Barron is a good writer and does a fairly decent job of capturing Jane Austen’s voice and the tone and sensibilities of the time period. However, the military-themed storyline in this installment is not terribly compelling.

Worst of all, apart from Jane herself, none of the characters are particularly memorable or interesting. The character of Etienne LaForge, the ailing prisoner of war, is clearly intended to fill the enormous void left by Lord Harold Trowbridge’s absence, but that attempt falls seriously flat. Combine that with Frank’s tendency to verbally abuse his sister, as well as his wife’s tendency to lapse into swooning hysterics at every little thing that occurs, and what the reader ends up with is a largely tedious and lackluster reading experience.½

Jane still searches for relief from her illness in their home town of Chawton. She and her sister receive two old friends, also sisters, as they pass through town. Althea is worried her sister will be lonely and entreats Jane to promise to visit Elizabeth in Winchester, where her son is having a rough year at Winchester College. Jane's nephew Edward recently matriculated to Oxford from there and remembers his younger friend Will very well. After a classmate is found drowned in the river under suspicious circumstances, Will is accused of murder. While I missed Cassandra being with Jane in this story, I really liked the relationship between Jane and her nephew, Edward, who remains in town to help clear his old friend's name. The cruelty of the prefects to the younger students was well documented and Will's stutter an interesting plot device. The cathedral, the mystery, Jane's hope--it made the last in this series a bit bittersweet. I do appreciate how Barron followed the thread of Jane's life and illness until just months before we know what is to come.

The implications in this work of fiction angered and disgusted me. I'm so disappointed in this author whom I've previously enjoyed reading and whom I assumed had a love and respect for British history. It seems her purpose here was to defame the memory of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert and she did so ruthlessly.

Don't get me wrong, everything I've ever heard or read about Queen Victoria does not cast her in a good light. She seemed to be a self-centered, controlling woman and didn't appear to be very sentimental or compassionate toward her children. However, an older English friend of mine says differently and, being how it's her actual history in question, I try to give her the benefit of the doubt.


****Spoilers ahead****


The idea that Victoria being an illegitimate child offers the best reason for her son's hemophilia is a 19th century rumor that has long been dispelled by those who have thought it through logically and scientifically. A quote from Wikipedia states:

"Although an individual's haemophilia can usually be traced in the ancestry, in about 30% of cases there is no family history of the disorder, and the condition is speculated to be the result of spontaneous mutation in an ancestor.[2] Victoria's appears to have been a spontaneous or de novo mutation and she is usually considered the source of the disease in modern cases of haemophilia among her descendants. Queen Victoria's father, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, was not a haemophiliac, and the probability of her mother having had a lover who suffered from haemophilia is minuscule given the low life expectancy of 19th-century haemophiliacs. Her mother, Victoria, Duchess of Kent, was not known to have a family history of the disease, although it is possible that she was a carrier but among her children only Victoria received the mutated copy. The rate of spontaneous mutation is known to increase with paternal age, and Victoria's father was 51 at her birth."

Furthermore, to suggest that Albert was suicidal is preposterous. There's nothing in history to legitimately suggest this, and the author has skewed history in an even more disgusting way by further "revealing" whom was actually (fictionally) to blame for his death. I just couldn't believe it when I read this one implicating line: "I had to put him down like a sick dog."

I'm all for a great historical mystery but to besmirch the names of respected people from history is low. How much greater it would have been to write a story line in which these characters shine brighter than history records. That would have been a story worth reading.

This was the first book I've read in this series and I really enjoyed it. Some readers will be frustrated that it takes a long time for mystery portion to begin but Jane Austen as protagonist and the Austen-ish style were enough to keep me reading.

Although Jane Austen is quite ill when her nephew, Edward, enlists her help to solve a murder, Jane manages to muster up enough strength to oblige him. The journey from Chawton to Winchester College to investigate what really happened will further tax her weakening constitution, but her friend’s son, William, has been charged with the murder, so obligation prevails. William is a stutterer and generally prefers his solitude because of his speech impediment. Jane is acquainted with William’s mild mannered nature and cannot envision him a violent killer.

Edward attests to the abominations he both witnessed and endured while a commoner at Winchester College, where William attends. Arthur Prendergast, the deceased, was a ruthless bully and William was a target of Prendergast’s wrath. Could this be a motive for murder? Even though salacious allegations have surfaced against William, Jane is not convinced, but is even more so determined to identify who the true killer is and have William exonerated. Can Jane solve her final mystery?

I only became acquainted with this series during the prior book’s release (book 14) entitled Jane and the Year Without a Summer, thanks to a book tour arranged by Austenprose PR. The book was absolutely phenomenal and it was the start to a new favorite author journey. Stephanie Barron’s prose is so utterly reminiscent of Jane’s voice and the Regency period that I immediately fell in love with her writing and eagerly anticipated this final book in the series. My wait paid off. Jane and the Final Mystery was an excellent read! I particularly enjoyed the passionate inquest scenes and Jane’s investigative techniques and tenacious spirit despite her dwindling health. The characters are a delight. Stephanie Barron’s books are intellectually satisfying and brimming with interesting facts about Jane’s real life which adds to my enjoyment of her stories.

Jane and the Final Mystery exhibited a slightly more somber tone than Barron’s prior mystery. However, after having had the privilege of listening to the author’s commentary at the conclusion of this book, I surmise I can understand the reason for it. I am sad to see this amazing series end. However, I am elated that I can start from the beginning and catch up on all of Jane’s mystery adventures.

A tremendous thank you to SoHo Crime for a complimentary copy of Jane and the Final Mystery.½

A TV shoot on Nantucket island during the traditional Christmas stroll is plagued with problems from within, as a shady, power-hungry producer clashes with strong-willed actors. Across Nantucket, the vacationing Secretary of State is concerned about her troubled stepson who keeps shaking off his security detail. Then, two seemingly unconnected murders occur. Everyone has a motive, and half of the suspects are politicians and actors. Police Chief Merry Folger has to detect fact from fiction.

This was an easy to read and interesting police procedural with believable characters who had numerous conflicts. There was a nice amount of Christmas that wasn’t cutesy mixed in with the story. The ending was a bit weak but overall I enjoyed the story and would read another in this series.½

I am so sad that the wonderful Being A Jane mystery series has come to an end. I was captivated by Jane Austen as an amateur sleuth from the very beginning. Stephanie Barron has always delivered a faithfully-drawn Jane as she navigates the more mysterious side of Regency England society. Accurate depictions of the time and place, as well as Jane and the Austen family and friends, bring authenticity to a thoroughly enjoyable mystery series. In Jane And The Final Mystery, the reader and Jane know that her time is short. Though modern readers would consider her young, Jane is a spinster who depends on the meager revenue from her writing as well as a small stipend supplemented by her brothers and has few prospects for bettering her life. It would be easy to feel sorry for the historical Jane, but through Barron’s depiction we see a woman content with how her life has run. Jane And The Final Mystery finds Jane struggling with illness but still keen to discover just whodunit in the cathedral town of Winchester. I loved the historical details Barron uses — food, fashion, education, medicine, judicial practices — to bring early 19th century England to life. Characters, both historical and fictional, play a part in the story, making this book very believable. While there is no historical proof that Jane was a successful sleuth, this book (along with the entire series) makes my Jane-loving heart believe. 😉 The pace of the mystery kept me turning the pages as I strove with our heroine to solve the case. Barron kept us both on our toes!

For those who have been faithful followers of this series, you will love the poignant ending. And if you are new to these mysteries, you are in for a treat — 15 books to savor! I recommend you start at the beginning of this wonderful mystery series.

Recommended.

Audience: Adults.

(I received a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)

Author Stephanie Barron has written her “Being a Jane Austen Mystery” series for more than two decades, the first published in 1996. “Jane and the Final Mystery” begins in the spring of 1817, and Jane Austen died in July of that year at age forty-one. As a known Janeite and enthusiast of this series that parallels Austen's adult life—and knowing the sad truth of what is to come—I have been in bittersweet anticipation for this last novel.

Barron’s gift to write in a very Austenesque manner, her astute understanding of the mores of the times, and her exacting research of locales and the Regency mirrors Austen’s voice in this fictional work. Yes, fictional. I must remind myself that this series is more proof of Barron’s genius. Her expertise in the genre leads readers to wonder, Is this true? Did that really happen? She is The Incomparable when it comes to Regency mysteries—often imitated but never duplicated. Given that disclaimer of my bona fides as a Stephanie Barron fan and holding the series in much esteem, I feel quite at liberty to share my impressions herein.

March 1817: As winter turns to spring, Jane Austen’s health is in slow decline, and threatens to cease progress on her latest manuscript. But when her nephew Edward brings chilling news of a death at his former school, Winchester College, not even her debilitating ailment can keep Jane from seeking out the truth. Arthur Prendergast, a senior pupil at the prestigious all-boys’ boarding school, has been found dead in a culvert near the schoolgrounds—and in the pocket of his drenched waistcoat is an incriminating note penned by the young William Heathcote, the son of Jane’s dear friend Elizabeth. Winchester College is a world unto itself, with its own language and rites of passage, cruel hazing, and dangerous pranks. Can Jane clear William’s name before her illness gets the better of her?

Thus begins “Jane and the Final Mystery” as Jane exposes whodunit in this fifteenth and final of Stephanie Barron’s mystery series. Though Jane is dangerously ill and continues to tire quickly, she comes to support her dear friend, Elizabeth Bigg-Wither Heathcote, formerly of Manydown, and endeavors to unravel the minacious web against William Heathcote.

“She glanced at me sidelong. ‘Thank Heaven, you do not abuse me as an hysterick. For nearly three years, Will has been subject to relentless attacks on his spirit, his mind, and his sanity in the world.’
‘You suggest something more profound and malevolent than the abuse he endures, on account of his regrettable speech defect?’”—p.68.

Likening to Austen’s quality prose, Barron excels in credible dialog. Miss Austen’s voice, told from this fictional Jane Austen’s point-of-view, nearly echoes off the page.

“‘I see now why you figured as a great general of Gabell’s,’ I said admiringly. ‘Like Wellington, you are a keen strategist…’
‘As to that—were it not for the danger Will finds himself in, I should regard this as a fine lark, and plunge in with vigour! I might even turn to the study of Law. The work of a solicitor should offer more scope for imagination and variety than that of a clergyman.’
‘Are those your only alternatives?’ I asked gently. ‘You cannot dedicate yourself to writing?’
Edward laughed brusquely. ‘I doubt I have the necessary talent to make a success of that.’
‘Why?’ I demanded. ‘Do you regard me as a frivolous flatterer? I do not offer praise lightly, my dear. When I tell you I enjoy and admire your sketches—so different to my own little bit of ivory, on which I work with so fine a brush—I am sincere, you know. I do not seek to puff you up with nonsense.’” —p. 136.

With lives, fortunes, and reputations in the balance, Barron casts a few red herrings that I confess kept me confounded until the last. Even at the inquiry, I almost, almost but not quite, suspected young Heathcote.

“‘You left the school?’
‘I d-d-did.’
Elizabeth drew an audible breath.
“At what hour?’
‘I qu-qu-qitted Gabell’s House a qu-qu-quarter before the hour of f-f-four o’clock.’
‘And where did you go?’
‘I c-c-cannot say, sir.’
‘William,’ Elizabeth murmured in agony beside me.
‘Come, come, Master Heathcote. You are required to answer my questions truthfully and fully.’
Will compressed his lips, his countenance appallingly white.
‘You refuse to answer?’
Again, not a word passed William’s lips.” —pp..107-108.

Excellent world building, engaging characters, and thought-provoking prose, I found this fifteenth book more page-turning intrigue than the maudlin literature I half-expected. But I recommend having a handkerchief nearby to dab at your eyes—just in case. You need not read the previous novels to be excessively diverted by “Jane and the Final Mystery.” Still, from one who has read this epic series in order, you’re shortchanging yourself if you don’t read them all. Oh! And why “Being a Jane Austen Mystery” isn’t a Netflix series already is beyond me.

I'll put this out into the universe one more time. As I have said before, I want Stephanie Barron to write a dual-era series next, titled “The Gentleman Rogue.” A contemporary woman discovers a trunk of Lord Harold’s papers and… Who’s with me?

I enjoy Regencies, Jane Austen, and mysteries; how could I not like this book? Of course, I read it and all the footnotes, and I thoroughly loved it.

Barron plays fair with the readers concerning the guilty party. This one had me guessing to the end, so it was quite satisfying. The historical footnotes always have good information about the time and the customs; I always learn something new. And while this can be read out of order, start with the first book, Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor.

The series is highly recommended for fans of Regencies and mysteries.

1817 March, and Jane Austn's health is failing but can she help her widowed friend Mrs Elizabeth Heathcote. Her son William is convinced he will be accused in the death of fellow pupil of Winchester College, Arthur Prendergast. Jane accompanied by a nephew, Edward Austen travel to Winchester to help.
An entertaining and well-written cozy historical mystery with its varied and likeable characters. Another good addition to this series which unfortunately will be the last.

Oh, I have enjoyed this series so much, and this is a fitting end. We all know that Jane Austen died young, so it was always a question with an alternative Austen series like this about how it would wrap up, and I loved that Barron continued to weave Jane's biographical details into it all the way to the end, and continues to write a beloved version of our heroine, with all her stubborn, insightful traits. Not that this book is morbid, but it does focus on her illness, even as she solves another mystery. Satisfying, and I will miss this version of Jane.

Advanced reader's copy provided by Edelweiss.

I jumped in late on this one and didn't know it was the 12th book in the series. Having the idolized author Jane Austen as the detective in these series was such fun! A cozy yet well-researched holiday tale of murder in the world of Austen, I thoroughly enjoyed learning about the actual 12 Days of Christmas and how they were celebrated as well as the mysterious deaths at The Vyne. If you love Austen, you'll enjoy this detective tale.

I am sure that plenty of people will enjoy this book but unfortunately, I wasn't one of them. The first strike for me was turning the author Jane Austen into a character, which I find distasteful; I was willing to be convinced otherwise but wasn't.

Second strike was the repeated references to her niece's doll & its outfits (clearly used as an excuse to put in stuff about Regency clothing) -- it would have gone down better for me if there had been at least some mention of gifts for the other children. I was also a bit irritated by the interruption of the narration to read notes; if I had been reading in print, I could have skimmed or skipped these as they were mostly information I already knew but in the audiobook (especially the Hoopla streaming audiobook format) it wasn't possible to skip these or to choose when to look at them. This problem is not Kate Reading's fault as I am sure that it was an editorial/publisher decision. However, the pace of Reading's narration was strike 3 as it was too slow-paced for me but the sound quality became tinny and sounded as if it was in an echo chamber when I tried to speed it up (even at 1.25x).

The final strike & most serious for me was the unsatisfactory ending -- first off, there were 2 different killers which stretches the credibility a bit too much for such a small group of people. And BOTH escape justice which I absolutely hate.

I will say that I think Barron has done her research. Too bad I didn't care for how she presented it.

A little light murder. Not a “cozy” read, but not very dark either. Pleasantly diverting.

Very interesting combination of history and fiction.
Jane Austen was an inveterate letter-writer, and since many of them survive to this day, Stephanie Barron is able to weave a plausible story using Jane's own account of her days, while adding mystery and intrigue to fill in the gaps.
This story begins with the real-life invitation to Jane Austen to visit the Prince Regent's house and library in the company of the Royal Librarian, James Stanier Clarke. At the same time she was given "permission" (a thinly veiled command!) to dedicate her next book, Emma, to the Prince Regent. So much is true.

What is added in this story is Jane's discovery of a body in the library! A celebrated military gentleman whose last cryptic words are, "Waterloo map." Jane comes to suspect he was poisoned. She pursues her suspicion in the company of Raphael West, an American painter/British spy she met in the last book. She sort of has a thing for him, and he for her, though it never is acknowledged. She also briefly meets the Duke of Wellington and delves into the world of cyphers and watercolors.

The settings in this story are memorable, and the narrative very good. If there are anachronisms, they are hard to spot! The dialogue rings true; it succeeds where many Austen continuations or fanfiction fails dismally. I'm only wondering where things will go from here, as this book takes place within a couple years of Jane's death.

To be honest, the mysteries and solutions are not why I read the Jane Austen mysteries. I forget the details too quickly; they're not especially memorable. But I've been consistently pleased with the author's voice and the feeling of authenticity. It's the fun way of garnering information about Jane Austen's family, lifestyle and times.
This one involves a French spy and Napoleonic intrigue, house parties and Austen family dynamics.

The first Christmas stroll with lifted restrictions after Covid has Chief Merry Folger and her lead detectives busy with visiting politicians and movie stars. The 3 day weekend starts off slowly. I liked learning some of the background to the mysterious woman living out at an old estate called Stella Maris--she shelters in place during all of Covid at a quiet end of Nantucket. There was a lot of build up to the politicians visit and how secure their visit is. The actors inhabit another estate on the island, shooting around the area until a murder is committed.

Nineteen-year-old Jennie Jerome, heiress to a sizable New York fortune, knows what she wants: to be taken seriously for her intellect and abilities, to have the power she believes she deserves, and to matter as a person. Why shouldn’t she, when she’s a brilliant conversationalist, has all the confidence her buccaneer merchant father taught her, plays the piano with verve and virtuosity, fears nothing and no one, and turns heads whenever she enters a room?

But Miss Jerome is a woman, it’s 1873, and as an American, even a rich one, she faces obstacles to finding a husband among the British nobility, for which purpose her mother has brought her to England.

When daughter falls for Lord Randolph Churchill, son of the Duke of Marlborough, a rising star in Parliament, and a noted rake, Mrs. Jerome objects, as do the Churchills—the girl has no family to speak of, sniff sniff. However, Jennie has spent her life taking risks to get what she wants, and her mother doesn’t scare her, especially when she has Papa on her side.

History records that Lady Randolph’s first child, Winston, would be the most famous Briton of the twentieth century. But Barron is much more interested in Jennie and what else her marriage to this particular dissolute, scandalous husband brings.

Randolph grants her the freedom to do what she pleases, so long as she’s discreet, and even lets her rewrite some of his speeches, removing the intemperate parts that would hurt him politically. Randy means to be prime minister, if ever that dour, Bible-thumping twit, Gladstone, ever falls — and Jennie will help secure her husband’s victory, if she can.

Consequently, Barron intends to rehabilitate Lady Randolph from the status of historical footnote, as mere mother of a great man, and, more importantly, her reputation as a scheming adulteress who drove her poor husband crazy.

The author makes her case, for Jennie’s a far more appealing, nuanced character than the scandal mongers would have it, though at times her selfishness and sense of entitlement put me off. She does have love affairs, and she loves passionately, always struggling against the double standard applied to women, in that, and in her political pursuits, the latter activities furnishing some of my favorite scenes. Apparently, she was a fabulous stump speaker.

The narrative lives on splendid descriptions. Barron has a knack for portraying the lives of the rich and famous, and she renders the leading figures of the realm with ease and panache. (I particularly like her portrait of Bertie, Prince of Wales, licentious wretch, court arbiter, and trendsetter.) It takes a sure hand to convey every conceivable setting with accuracy and authority, from royal residences to the House of Commons to opium dens to a fashionable woman’s boudoir. Not only does Barron never miss a step, she connects her descriptions to the characters (and, therefore, the reader.

It’s the storytelling, I think, that fails to measure up. The novel begins not at any of the first three chapters, where it could, but at Jennie’s funeral. Though by definition unnecessary, this particular prologue is at least very well written and, typical of Barron, shows her command of history.

But reading yet another prologue makes me ask whether authors today — or their editors — have mistakenly set the bar too low, fearing that if the context for an almost-famous character doesn’t appear right up front, readers will be lost. Are we that unsophisticated or impatient or have such a short attention span that we can’t appreciate a woman’s life except by looking at it backwards? Are we that star-struck and name-conscious that if we don’t know a character’s bloodlines by the first paragraph, the novel won’t sell?

Speaking of looking backward, the forward narrative often breaks off to tell a story from Jennie’s past. Few of these scenes belong, and most feel as though they’ve been plopped in to give background to the adult Jennie, tacitly—or literally—asking, Why does the protagonist behave in such a way at this particular moment? Answer: Well, it all stems from this incident from her childhood; 2 + 2 = 4.

But people aren’t formulas, psychology doesn’t work that way, and since I believe Barron’s a fine writer, with a gift for characterization, I’m guessing she fell too much in love with Jennie’s backstory. I could also do with less rib-nudging dramatic irony, as when Jennie tells young Winston to go off and be prime minister someday.

That Churchill Woman makes entertaining reading, for the most part. But I wonder whether the author tried to cram too much into it, paradoxically winding up with less than she could have had.

Jane Austen has turned into a successful sleuth in this novel ! She is called upon to investigate a murder that threatens the victim's young wife of slander,, adultery, and murder! The trail of clues leads all the way from Newgate Prison to the House of Lords.

A well written story by Stephanie Barron that emulates the style and times of the literary writings of the notable author Jane Austen, this is the first of a series.