Death comes to Pemberley (edition 2011)

As it says on the tin, P.D. James writes Austen fic. There is meta (If only there were some way that we could determine the person whose blood this is! Isn’t it a little bit odd that Elizabeth and Darcy figured out their true love after a total of about half an hour alone with each other in total?) and some Darcy groveling at the end, but I admit I’m not an Austen fan and was mostly reading to see what James could do. It seemed a creditable attempt to me, with much pondering of social meaning and rather more overt acknowledgement of the sexual exploitation of vulnerable women by powerful men than I recall from Austen herself. ( )

Although I truly enjoyed having a glimpse of the possibility of Darcy and Elizabeth's life after marriage, a couple things bothered me about this story. First, I would have appreciated hearing Wikham speak a little sooner after the crime occurred. Also, some shots were heard a the scene, but we didn't even get a glimpse of the reason why till much later in the book. It was as though no one considered the shots as being confusing (the victims didn't die of gun shot wounds). Some pieces just didn't fit for me. I read to the end because I wanted to see it to the end, but I was left a little disappointed. ( )

Hmm, I'm not really convinced by this book. It is a sequel to Pride & Prejudice, involving a murder. The story was rather flimsy for a detective, and there were large pieces of text that were superfluous. I assume this was done to try to get the Jane-Austen-feel, but with Austen, it doesn't feel contrived. With Austen, it isn't superfluous, but part of the story. James' story, however, is a detective, and there it does not fit.
Another beef: the book was quite repetitive. First, the book repeats a lot of P&P. I understand the desire to explain some things in the beginning for those readers who haven't read P&P. But I really don't believe there was any need to do it throughout the book, nor was there any need to have all characters of P&P show up for no other reason than to show that they are there. Not to mention the characters from other Jane Austen books. There was definitely too much name-dropping for me. On top of that, even the story itself was repetitive: first something happens, then it is repeated at the inquest, and then we hear it a third time when it is told at the trial.

Overall, I believe this is a failed attempt to mix two styles of book. It was ok to read, but certainly nothing more. ( )

How could I pass this one ?
P. D. James - one of my favorite authors.
However, must admit I've never ever read any (shame on me) of the Jane Austen books.
So, I waited a few months to cram in as many Jane Austen movies, TV specials as possible in order to have more background. That wasn't necessary, as James writes a complete and stand-alone novel/mystery. Jane Austen background enriches but isn't a necessity to this book.
(Now maybe I should read the Austen books, too!)
A much lighter,fluffier read than the Dagliesh series, and I missed the psychological complexities of those, but for 90 yr old author, it's not lacking anything. ( )

I liked this book. In spite of all the negative reviews, I'll read anything PD James sends my way.
Perfection for Austin purists , no.
Just felt very nice to be among the characters at Pemberley with a little mystery drama tossed in. ( )