Obviously, if you are reading a take off (or continuation) of the Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam Darcy love story, you like'd the original. I like this series and that while there are mysteries they aren't necessarily murder mysteries- they are mysteries, where is this or that, who did this or that-finding the answers and discovering lost history is the endgame. ( )

Mr. and Mrs. Darcy get caught up in mysterious goings-on at Northanger Abbey. Meanwhile, Elizabeth tries to deal with her burgeoning pregnancy and a mysterious artifact the former Mrs. Darcy left behind. ( )

Mr. and Mrs. Darcy (of Pride and Prejudice fame) solve difficulties in this book that incorporates the characters of Austen's Northanger Abbey...a bit farfetched in occult but otherwise an enjoyable read. ( )

Elizabeth and Darcy are expecting their first child. Darcy is both happy and concerned since his own mother died giving birth to his sister, Georgiana. Darcy and Elizabeth will have plenty of other things to detract from any worries about Elizabeth's confinement. References to an unidentified Fitzwilliam family heirloom in a newly discovered letter will keep them busy searching the house and grounds of Pemberley. The couple also learn that Darcy's mother exchanged visits and correspondence with Mrs. Tilney of Northanger Abbey. Mrs. Tilney's son, captain Tilney, seems eager to renew the family friendship, but a strange visit to Northanger Abbey leaves Darcy and Elizabeth in legal danger. This requires Darcy's aunt, Lady Catherine de Burgh, to stay at Pemberley until the problem has been resolved. Will Darcy and Elizabeth find the treasure and resolve the Northanger problem before the birth of their child?

The supernatural element that was so prominent in the first two books in this series is not as evident in this one. If anything, it leans toward religious mysticism. Bebris successfully captures the feel of Austen's characters. My only complaint is that there is too much of the unlikable ones like Lady Catherine and not enough of the pleasant ones like Jane Bingley. The action takes place between autumn and spring, and it strikes me as odd that there is no mention of the Darcy's first anniversary or Christmas and New Year observations, although much is made of Georgiana's January birthday and the anniversary of Anne Darcy's death. ( )

I find that my reviews form Ms. Bebris have been up and down, and here we are a little better than average. The reason I think is that the mystery does not cross the lines of gender very well. As both Darcy and Elizabeth try to unravel what has gotten them once more involved in the world of All of Austen's fictitious creations, we stretch and stretch again and delve too far into superstitious view of a major subplot in this volume.

There shall be another generation. And obviously since this is only the third of tomes that Ms. Bebris is deconstructing, Elizabeth will survive.

Lady Catherine makes a large appearance but the timing is drawn out and makes some of her appearance beyond belief. And further her rationale for the care of the mystery is greater even than our heroines and perhaps that should have been played up more, with the entirety of religious intolerance. Being of the Roman Catholic faith is no way to have a great political career at the time of the novel.

Where we also see some failing is the voices we hear in the characters. Sometimes they are spot on, and sometimes they have missed entirely, in the same person, to my mind. And then of course we all have our own interpretations of how everything proceeded after Austen closed off P&P. At some point Lady Catherine and Elizabeth must have a relationship and here Ms. Bebris seems to make matters worse, as well as further perverting the character of certain others who once out of the tale, would have best been kept far away. The consequences of failure for them should have been such that a calculating person would not tempt fate, and once again timing of such informations revealed from the South of England is acted on very conveniently by those from the North.

No, there were some points that lent itself to a mystery, but there were also a few clues that made it easy to see what lay at the end of the path. In that with such attention to detail elsewhere, the story could have stood up better if the detail of points of the mystery were handled with a greater foundation. The reason then to read this is to enjoy how Ms. Bebris presents us Pemberley and those characters we are familiar with. ( )