A high-concept mashup; series fans won’t be disappointed.
“Let other pens dwell on guilt and misery,” Jane Austen advised readers of Mansfield Park; in this third and final series entry, Price takes Austen at her word.
Fanny’s sense of duty and romantic hopes for Edmund (who is her cousin through marriage, not blood) have kept her at Mansfield Park, where she’s mistreated, serving as the family gofer to her bullying, selfish Bertram relatives. Painting is Fanny’s passion: She’s thrilled when Sir Thomas Bertram, her guardian, praises her work—then horrified when he tumbles down a staircase to his death shortly thereafter. Discovering evidence of a hidden tripwire that caused the fall, Fanny investigates, aided by a less-than-enthused Edmund, who is also a ward of the Bertrams. Lizzie Bennet and Mr. Darcy provide sleuthing expertise as more shocks follow. Sir Thomas was being blackmailed, and his estate’s deeply indebted. Funds held in trust for Edmund and Fanny are also gone. When the Bertrams seek help restoring their fortunes by selling off their art, advised by their new acquaintance Henry Crawford, Fanny is as skeptical of his intentions as she’s overwhelmed by her feelings for his beautiful sister. Explaining complicated art-fraud conspiracies occupies too much narrative real estate. However, choosing a less-popular Austen novel frees Price to take narrative risks and detours that enliven the proceedings. Major characters are White.
A high-concept mashup; series fans won’t be disappointed. (author’s note) (Mystery. 12-18)Pub Date: June 27, 2023
ISBN: 9780062889867
Page Count: 416
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Perhaps a more genuinely enlightened protagonist would have made this debut more engaging
Audrey Rose Wadsworth, 17, would rather perform autopsies in her uncle’s dark laboratory than find a suitable husband, as is the socially acceptable rite of passage for a young, white British lady in the late 1800s.
The story immediately brings Audrey into a fractious pairing with her uncle’s young assistant, Thomas Cresswell. The two engage in predictable rounds of “I’m smarter than you are” banter, while Audrey’s older brother, Nathaniel, taunts her for being a girl out of her place. Horrific murders of prostitutes whose identities point to associations with the Wadsworth estate prompt Audrey to start her own investigation, with Thomas as her sidekick. Audrey’s narration is both ponderous and polemical, as she sees her pursuit of her goals and this investigation as part of a crusade for women. She declares that the slain aren’t merely prostitutes but “daughters and wives and mothers,” but she’s also made it a point to deny any alignment with the profiled victims: “I am not going as a prostitute. I am simply blending in.” Audrey also expresses a narrow view of her desired gender role, asserting that “I was determined to be both pretty and fierce,” as if to say that physical beauty and liking “girly” things are integral to feminism. The graphic descriptions of mutilated women don’t do much to speed the pace.
Perhaps a more genuinely enlightened protagonist would have made this debut more engaging . (Historical thriller. 15-18)Pub Date: Sept. 20, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-316-27349-7
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Jimmy Patterson/Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A treat for mystery readers who enjoy being kept in suspense.
Everyone believes that Salil Singh killed his girlfriend, Andrea Bell, five years ago—except Pippa Fitz-Amobi.
Pip has known and liked Sal since childhood; he’d supported her when she was being bullied in middle school. For her senior capstone project, Pip researches the disappearance of former Fairview High student Andie, last seen on April 18, 2014, by her younger sister, Becca. The original investigation concluded with most of the evidence pointing to Sal, who was found dead in the woods, apparently by suicide. Andie’s body was never recovered, and Sal was assumed by most to be guilty of abduction and murder. Unable to ignore the gaps in the case, Pip sets out to prove Sal’s innocence, beginning with interviewing his younger brother, Ravi. With his help, Pip digs deeper, unveiling unsavory facts about Andie and the real reason Sal’s friends couldn’t provide him with an alibi. But someone is watching, and Pip may be in more danger than she realizes. Pip’s sleuthing is both impressive and accessible. Online articles about the case and interview transcripts are provided throughout, and Pip’s capstone logs offer insights into her thought processes as new evidence and suspects arise. Jackson’s debut is well-executed and surprises readers with a connective web of interesting characters and motives. Pip and Andie are white, and Sal is of Indian descent.
A treat for mystery readers who enjoy being kept in suspense. (Mystery. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9848-9636-0
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2019
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