Jane and the Ghosts of Netley: Being a Jane Austen Mystery

I have truly enjoyed reading Stephanie Barron's Jane Austen mysteries. For any lover of Austen, Barron has fittingly placed the authoress as a sleuth worthy of the mysteries she solves. "Jane and the Ghosts of Netley", the seventh book in the series, is perhaps one of finest tales in the saga. As always, trouble and mischief seem to follow Jane Austen wherever she goes, much to her mother's chagrin. In the autumn of 1808, she finds herself in Southampton, and soon is embroiled in another mysterious affair. The dastardly plans of Napoleon and the threat of battle has everyone in England on their toes. When Jane is employed by Lord Harold Trowbridge to keep an eye on Mrs. Challoner, a supposed French spy, Jane finds herself wondering if he isn't mistaken in his assumption of the lady's guilt. But when a naval ship is torched and its designer found murdered, Jane has little recourse but to spy and try to uncover the truth, even at her own peril. As usual, Barron sets out that the story is a diary that Austen kept and that she is merely editing, interspersing notes to enlighten readers on historical matters or customs of the day. It is a technique that works quite well and vivdly brings Jane Austen to life. Barron has a compassionate eye for what burdens Austen encountered that grant them a ring of reality and respect. However, there is a bittersweet quality to these novels, for it makes readers wish that Jane Austen herself did indeed have these adventures, and that there was more of her legacy to read.

I can't figure out why Romance has such a bad rep, because it's the romance between Jane and Lord Harold that makes this book compelling, especially if, like me, you've come to care for these characters (maybe too much--sniffle!) The rest of the plot was plenty entertaining, but it's the personal stuff that really drew me in. The ending is abrupt, to say the least, so I recommend that anyone who hasn't read it yet should buy the paperback edition instead of a used hardcover. The paperback contains the first chapter of the next book in the series, which serves as a good (and I think necessary) epilogue to this book.

Not since the third book, Jane and the Wandering Eye have I been so taken with a Jane Austen Mystery. I read it in one day & now, having finished it, I am to put it in Austen terms, "distraught" by the ending. Unless Ms. Barron inteads to use soap opera theatrics to resurrect the dead I cannot see how her next book can be nearly as engaging. I will, nevertheless, anxiously await it's debut.

It should have been a time of mourning and private grief for Jane Austen as she contemplates the recent death of her beloved sister-in-law, Elizabeth. But it can hardly be that, not when Sir Henry Towbridge, one of England's most trusted of advisors and her own Gentleman Rogue, bursts in on her life again with a tale of betrayal, treachery and intrigue. Sir Harold has but recently returned from Oporto (in Portugal), where he made the acquittance of (and became quite smitten with) a beautiful, rich widow, Sophia Challoner. Sir Harold now firmly believes that Sophia is actually a French agent and that she has some evil and dastardly plan up her sleeve that she means to carry out now that she's installed herself at Netley Lodge in Southampton. Because he's well known to the lady, Sir Harold wants Jane to keep an eye Sophia, to note all her comings and goings as well as who all her visitors are. Fortunately for Jane, a fortuitous turn of events brings her to Sophia's notice, and the two strike up a friendship. But the more time Jane spends with Sophia, the more she begins to wonder about Sir Harold's allegations against Sophia. Is she the treacherous and heartless spy Sir Harold believes her to be? Or could Sir Harold be wrong about Sophia? As acts of sabotage and murder begin to mount, Jane finds herself torn between her two friends and not at all sure what she should do...While a lot of the novel did focus on the question as to whether or not Sophia Challoner was a treacherous French spy, the authour did take great care to pepper her mystery-intrigue plot with plenty of other suspects, several likely scenarios as to what was really going on, as well as a few rather interesting plot twists, in order to keep things humming and the reader guessing. Told with plenty of interesting historical facts and gossipy tidbits, and in a prose style that managed to be authentic without seeming anachronistic, I thoroughly enjoyed "Jane and the Ghosts of Netley" and had to finish it in one sitting. "Jane and the Ghosts of Netley" proved to be truly riveting reading.

I have been waiting (impatiently) for two years for the next book in the Jane Austen mystery series. The Ghosts of Netley does not disappoint! Barron fans will be engrossed in this page-turner with its smart dialogue and clever intrigues. Warning: have box of tissues ready as you near the end. My only complaint is the abrupt ending leaves us having to face the torture of waiting a year or two for the story to pick up again. Stephanie, please don't let us wait so long!