Skip to main content

Review: Jane and the Waterloo Map (Jane Austen Mysteries #13) by Stephanie Barron



Blurb from Goodreads:
Jane Austen turns sleuth in this delightful Regency-era mystery

November, 1815. The Battle of Waterloo has come and gone, leaving the British economy in shreds; Henry Austen, high-flying banker, is about to declare bankruptcy—dragging several of his brothers down with him. The crisis destroys Henry’s health, and Jane flies to his London bedside, believing him to be dying. While she’s there, the chaplain to His Royal Highness the Prince Regent invites Jane to tour Carlton House, the Prince’s fabulous London home. The chaplain is a fan of Jane’s books, and during the tour he suggests she dedicate her next novel—Emma—to HRH, whom she despises.

However, before she can speak to HRH, Jane stumbles upon a body—sprawled on the carpet in the Regent’s library. The dying man, Colonel MacFarland, was a cavalry hero and a friend of Wellington’s. He utters a single failing phrase: “Waterloo map” . . . and Jane is on the hunt for a treasure of incalculable value and a killer of considerable cunning.
My Review:
 
The best way to describe this book is Murder, She Wrote meets Jane Austen in which Jane Austen is akin to Jessica Fletcher in solving the murder mystery even though all the men think she is a bumbling, fragile lady.  You would think that since I love both Jane Austen and Murder, She Wrote, this would be a smash hit for me.  But it wasn't.  I know this will sound odd but I felt like Jane Austen was not truly how Jane Austen would be (or at least how I imagine her) -- she was a bit annoying and the book took at least 40% to get into and for the pacing to pick up.  I am not sure if I will go back and read earlier books in this series -- it is amazing that there are thirteen of them!  I had no problem reading this one without reading prior books although there were a ton of "editor's notes" via footnotes that referred to previous books.  That's another criticism I have, in general, about this book—all of the "editor's notes" that were supposed to show how historically accurate the author was in her story instead came off as condescending and as if the reader was not familiar at all with the regency era (uneducated comes to mind).

I would still recommend this to anyone that likes mystery, the regency era and Jane Austen, in particular because you may have better luck than I did with it.  Jane and the Waterloo Map is scheduled to be released February 2, 2016, and you can purchase HERE!  
But there is no fool like an old fool.  The haunting image of a creature named Isabella rose before my eyes.  It must be impossible to ask him directly about her importance in his life.  He is a man of the World, after all, as his father is forever telling me.  He owes no explanation of his habits or arrangements.  Once, I was a green girl enough to dream of happiness with an improbable suitor, from an utterly different world

Comments

  1. I would honestly read anything that has Jane Austen in it, but it's a shame that you didn't think it was an accurate description of her. I think I'll just skip this though. 13 books is too long for me to get caught up on!
    Great review, Eva!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love Jane Austen, but if the character here didn't feel like Jane Austen, I probably wouldn't enjoy it either, so I get what you're saying.

    Majanka @ I Heart Reading.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I am always amazed when a series has that many books!! I feel like I need to read Jane Austen ASAP because so many books are based on her or her novels. I am so bad with classics though!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I think the slow pacing would have done me in especially since this is suppose to be a mystery of sorts. Sorry this wasn't a bit better of a read.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

I love this trope, sub-genre, setting: My Best Friend's Brother/My Brother's Best Friend

I Love This Trope, Sub-Genre, Setting is a new feature on my blog in which I discuss a trope, sub-genre or setting that I love and tell you about books that are shining examples of said trope, sub-genre or setting.  Feel free to play along and please let me know about your favorite books in this realm and whether you like this trope, sub-genre and/or setting as much as I do! Today I am spotlighting the trope of:  My Best Friend's Brother/My Brother's Best Friend , which I would define as any book where the heroine either has a crush on or falls for her brother's best friend or her best friend's brother. I have to confess that I love this trope in nearly all of its iterations!  I have a younger brother so I never got to crush on any of his friends but it's fun reading about that and it's equally as fun as reading about falling for your best friend's brother -- instant sisters!  I know there are a ton

Conversations With Myself (& Hopefully You): ARC Greed

This discussion is inspired by my feelings lately when reading and reviewing ARCs versus the feelings I had when I requested those same ARCs: ARC GREED ARC greed -- have we all experienced this?  What I even mean by this term is that I sometimes feel overwhelmed when looking at Netgalley and Edelweiss and  I sometimes over-request, if only because I can!  I get greedy when I see all the new and shiny ARCs available and I will sometimes request things that have even a hint of interest for me, not necessarily focusing only on those books that I really, really want.  The problem with this over-requesting and with getting greedy with requesting (and receiving) ARCs is when it comes time to read and review these ARCs.  Last month and this month, I have looked at my ARCs with a release date in each respective month and I just haven't wanted to read any of them.  I need to start asking myself -- If I was immediately approved for this ARC, would I read it right thi

Top Ten Most Anticipated Releases For the Rest of 2015

Top Ten Tuesday  is hosted by the fab ladies at  The Broke and the Bookish ! What books are you anticipating for the rest of this year?