The Perils of Lady Catherine de Bourgh is the latest entry in the Mr. Darcy & Miss Tilney series, one of my favorite ongoing series. Claudia Gray is one of my auto-buy authors, and I love almost everything she writes. Her Firebird series series is one of my all-time favorites, and I have also devoured her Star Wars books. I was thrilled to read an arc of this book, so I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it.

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Synopsis:

The third book in the Mr. Darcy & Miss Tilney Mystery series, which finds the amateur sleuths facing their most daunting challenge yet: preventing the murder of the imperious Lady Catherine de Bourgh.

Someone is trying to kill Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Esteemed aunt of Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, generous patroness of Mr. William Collins, a woman of rank who rules over the estate of Rosings Park with an unimpeachable sense of propriety—who would dare? Lady Catherine summons her grand-nephew, Mr. Jonathan Darcy, and his investigative companion, Miss Juliet Tilney, to find out.

After a year apart, Jonathan and Juliet are thrilled to be reunited, even if the circumstances—finding whoever has thus far sabotaged Lady Catherine’s carriage, shot at her, and nearly pushed her down the stairs—are less than ideal. Also less than ideal: their respective fathers, Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy and Mr. Henry Tilney, have accompanied the young detectives to Rosings, and the two men do not interact with the same felicity enjoyed by their children.

With attempts against Lady Catherine escalating, and no one among the list of prime suspects seemingly capable of committing all of the attacks, the pressure on Jonathan and Juliet mounts—even as more gentle feelings between the two of them begin to bloom. The race is now on to provoke two confessions: one from the attempted murderer before it is too late—and one, perhaps, of love.

Review:

Jonathan Darcy and Miss Tilney are invited to Lady Catherine’s estate to help solve the mystery of who is trying to kill Lady Catherine. Jonathan Darcy and Miss Tilney arrive at the estate, along with their fathers, to begin their investigation. The mystery itself was pretty good! I enjoyed seeing some of the characters from Pride and Prejudice that I loved and loved to hate. Col. Fitzwilliam will always be one of my favorites.

However, I missed some of the characters from the earlier books in this series. Marianne, Brandon, Emma, Knightley, and other Austen characters made the earlier two books cheerful and lovely. This story needed them, especially Marianne. I also wanted more progression in Jonathan and Miss Tilney’s inevitable romance.

I will 100% read the next book in the series, but I selfishly hope Mrs. Tilney, Emma, Marianne, and others finally return as central characters.

Rating: 3.5/5 Stars

Thanks to the publisher for providing me with an advanced review copy! All the above thoughts are my own.