Getting back to Jane Austen mysteries, there's a series of mystery anthologies called Malice Domestic and the seventh volume contains "Jane and the Spoils of Stoneleigh" by Stephanie Barron. It's the reason I bought the anthology and will probably be the only story in it that I read.
The short story format makes this a different sort of mystery for Jane. There doesn't appear to be a murder at first, but a treasure hunt around a mansion as Jane and her companions follow clues planted by the recently deceased owner of the estate. As they investigate though, they begin to realize that a murder did indeed take place many years ago. And uncovering the "treasure" will also lead to revelations about the old case.
It's a fun story made even better by the clues being references to Ann Radcliffe's The Mysteries of Udolpho, which I've read. It's not necessary to have read Udolpho to follow "Stoneleigh," but it was a treat to remember the scenes that Jane and the others discuss. It's also a treat seeing Jane's mother (another Radcliffe fan) participate in the investigation rather than rolling her eyes at Jane's interest in it, which is what she usually does in these mysteries.
No comments:
Post a Comment