Book Recommendation – Murder Most Austen

http://www.goodreads.com/book/avg_rating_widget/13538867

Description from Goodreads:

A dedicated Anglophile and Janeite, Elizabeth Parker is hoping the trip to the annual Jane Austen Festival in Bath will distract her from her lack of a job and her uncertain future with her boyfriend, Peter.

On the plane ride to England, she and Aunt Winnie meet Professor Richard Baines, a self-proclaimed expert on all things Austen. His outlandish claims that within each Austen novel there is a sordid secondary story is second only to his odious theory on the true cause of Austen’s death. When Baines is found stabbed to death in his Mr. Darcy costume during the costume ball, it appears that Baines’s theories have finally pushed one Austen fan too far. But Aunt Winnie’s friend becomes the prime suspect, so Aunt Winnie enlists Elizabeth to find the  professor’s real killer. With an ex-wife, a scheming daughter-in-law, and a trophy wife, not to mention a festival’s worth of die-hard Austen fans, there are  no shortage of suspects.

This fourth in Tracy Kiely’s charming series is pure delight. If Bath is the number-one Mecca for Jane Austen fans, Murder Most Austen is the perfect read for those who love some laughs and quick wit with their mystery.

Review:
I received a copy of the book from a representitve from St. Martin Press.

I normally don’t read mysteries and those that I do read are not cozys, so this book was way out of my comfort reading zone.  That being said, I enjoyed reading this book.  This is the fourth book in the series, but I didn’t feel like I was missing really important background information.  Any of that was included in a way that didn’t feel like forced dialogue (you know like radio commercials). 

Like any good mystery there is a murder and a nice handful of suspects.  I couldn’t figure out who did it at first but then I slowly started to have my suspicions.  The characters were a little bit over the top, but they worked for the story.  I did like how Elizabeth does get in trouble for investigating, but like any good heroine that doesn’t stop her.  The desciption is right, this book does have some great witty moments.

If you are a cozy fan, I really think you should check out this series!

-Amelia