The Netherfield Affair: A Dark Darcy Mystery by Penelope Swan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
*Currently free on Kindle as a stand-alone.*
A fun, sweet-natured genre mashup, with hints of Northanger Abbey‘s Gothic imaginings.
Hardcore Austen fans should temper their expectations. You will not find the same subtlety of expression or social interplay as in the Canon. As Catherine Nichols describes, Austen’s complexity of character development is like “a backflip between trapezes.” We’re not operating on that level with The Netherfield Affair, but it’s still an enjoyable show.
It’s delightful to see both Lizzy and Mr. Darcy apply their wits to a problem of detection, and have a different insight on the sparks between them. All in all, this is a gentle and flinch-free country-house puzzle.
Now I’ve got my appetite whetted to read Pride & Predjudice again. Never a bad thing.