Book Review - Miss Austen Investigates: A Fortune Most Fatal
Jane confronts the dark side of Regency England and it's not the marriage mart
In the second installment of Jessica Bull's Jane Austen mystery series, Miss Austen Investigates: A Fortune Most Fatal, we meet a more seasoned Jane. She is coming off her "disappointment" with her "Irish fellow." Something she wishes everyone would stop mentioning. She has been sent to Kent to help her brother and sister-in-law before the birth of their next child, a task for which she is comically unsuited. We meet her brother Neddy, whom the wealthy Knight family adopted. This introduces Jane to a higher social circle, and with that comes all the trappings of matchmaking and navigating her position in this new social hierarchy.
When Jane arrives, her sister-in-law begs for help persuading Mrs. Knight that her new house guest is not the shipwrecked foreign princess she claims to be. I loved this nod to the real-life mystery of Princess Caraboo. Of course, it's not as simple as just discrediting the princess, and Jane becomes embroiled in a web of danger that threatens more than her brother's inheritance.
The mystery was different in tone than The Hapless Milliner, and one that I connected with more (though I still really enjoyed that book). Instead of a whodunnit, it has more of a thriller vibe. Is cozy thriller a genre? It should be. I enjoyed how it focused on inheritance issues and their cascading effect on the Austen family, especially for Jane herself. Like the first novel, Jane has a vested interest in solving the mystery. In fact, solving it might be the only thing keeping her writing dream alive. She even meets a new co-investigator, whom I very much hope to see again
I love how we get to see Jane develop both as an investigator and an author. She is more confident in her investigative skills, maybe a little too much at times, which results in many blunders along the way. Does it sound like any Austen heroines you know? I also love that we get to see her struggle to find her voice in an early draft of Sense and Sensibility. It's clear that Jane hasn't come into her own yet, but she is making strides. I hope that in future installments Jane continues to grow in confidence, ability, and most importantly, self-awareness.
Bull does a good job of balancing many dark themes with moments of levity. There were a couple of plot twists I saw coming, but they didn't take away from my overall enjoyment of the mystery, and I was so engrossed with Jane's familial drama that I didn't mind.
It can be read as a stand-alone; however, be aware that there are some spoilers for The Hapless Milliner if you read them out of order. I highly recommend A Fortune Most Fatal to all Austen lovers. Even if you don't read mysteries, there are so many Austen tidbits sprinkled throughout to satisfy. I can't wait for more Austen investigations.
"Miss Austen Investigates: A Fortune Most Fatal" is available for pre-order now. US publication date March 25th, UK publication date March 27th.
Thank you to Jessica Bull and Union Square & Co. for the ARC. This review is provided independently and freely.
CW: death, violence, mental health struggles, childbirth struggles, chronic illness of a child, discussions of past sexual abuse, and human trafficking
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Thank you for bearing with me as I’ve taken a break from this account. I’m still dealing with my mom’s death and engaging with Austen content has not been the easiest thing, as it’s so emotionally tied up with memories of my mom. I promise to get back to regular posting in the future, but it might not be until this summer since I’m having major surgery next month, which will require a long recovery period. I just wanted to thank this amazing community for all your support! You are the best.
Thanks for the thoughtful, fun review of this book! I'm just getting off of a big deadline and looking forward to reading these for sheer fun.
So sorry to hear about your loss, and wishing you the best of luck with your surgery - hoping you'll get lots of healing of body and soul in the weeks ahead.
Will be sending you positive vibes. 🌷❣️
Just wanted to say that a) you've convinced me to try The Hapless Milliner despite my usual suspicion of Austen spinoff, and b) I'm so glad to see this post in my inbox; I've been thinking of you and hoping you are managing okay after the loss of your mom. "Okay" doesn't seem like the right word. I guess I just wanted to say I am glad to hear from you! This sounds like such a fun book.