Rating: 
Summary: An excellent start
Review: I actually read this first entry to Stephanie Barron's Jane Austen mysteries second, and I ws interested to go back and see how she began this series. This is excellent, and not really tame reading. Jane finds herself embroiled in a mystery with a group of distinctly complex and rather lurid types, and has to save her friend who has been accused of murdering her husband, with the assistance of her husband's young heir, with whom she has fallen in love. I would recommend this to those who like historical mysteries.
Rating: 
Summary: Jane
Review: I am only 13 so this isn't going to be perfect. I have loved Jane Austen since before I could remember. This book is so similar to Jane's writing. This is the first mystery book that I could not predict the outcome. Of course I haven't read too many mysteries, but from what I have read, I wasn't exactly chomping at the bit to read another one. But Stephanie Barron has totally changed my mind.If you like unpredictable, interesting, mysteries, this is at the top of my list. In the begining, Jane is visting her friend Isobel from Bath. Isobel is just recently married to the Earl of Scargrove and having a ball to celebrate. But the joy ends here. That night the earl dies. Then Isobel and her nephew, Lord Payne, recieve a disturbing letter charging the two of murder and adultery. Isobel calls upon Jane to find the truth. This sends Jane on a trail of clues leading her to the scary truth that may have her fearing for her life! To know the rest read this book.
Rating:
Summary: One of the Best of the Series!
Review: I could not put this book down. It is so wonderful, and a great introduction into the series. As soon as I was finished with this one, I had to run out and buy all the others.
Rating:
Summary: Suprisingly Good
Review: I did not expect Stephanie Barron to be able to pull off Jane Austen so well. While it wasn't perfect, it was a very good effort, and the novel was a fun read.
Rating: 
Summary: Tedious, the formality of Jane Austen, with none of charm
Review: I found the character of Jane Austin lacking the depth and warmth of the real Jane Austen. The footnotes were tedious and sometimes just using the more common term would have avoided it.
Rating:
Summary: Rewarding and enjoyable
Review: I found this book more rewarding than my expectations for it. There was a genuinely intriguing plot with situations to arouse a high degree of sympathy for the plight of Jane's friend (accused of poisoning her husband). A nice touch was provided by the way in which the author inserted incidents which would have provided (were they true) inspiration for ideas and expressions actually used in Jane Austen's later novels. As usual with recent period mysteries, I found a bit of pandering to 1990's reader expectations (particularly the gory details)- but not as much as with many others, and not enough to ruin the overall effect. On the other hand, the description of the prison, gritty in detail as it was, seemed to ring true. All-in-all, very enjoyable and diverting.
Rating: 
Summary: not great fiction, but good, light-hearted reading
Review: I purchased this book with a little trepidation after reading some of the reviews. I read it straight after reading a very well-crafted work of non-fiction, so initially the style of writing irritated me slightly, and I had to try to ignore the odd thought such as, "Jane would not have said/written that"... That said, once you put out of your mind the Austen connection, and just enjoy it as a light, historical mystery, it stacks up pretty well. I enjoyed the book enough to now buy and read the others in the series.
Rating:
Summary: not great fiction, but good, light-hearted reading
Review: I purchased this book with a little trepidation after reading some of the reviews. I read it straight after reading a very well-crafted work of non-fiction, so initially the style of writing irritated me slightly, and I had to try to ignore the odd thought such as, "Jane would not have said/written that"... That said, once you put out of your mind the Austen connection, and just enjoy it as a light, historical mystery, it stacks up pretty well. I enjoyed the book enough to now buy and read the others in the series.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable read
Review: I was not sure what to expect when I took up "Scargrave". That the reviews fell left and right of a purists divide did not surprise me. That I would enjoy it so much for so many reasons, I did not expect.
I am not a Regency scholar. I have however read many works of "Regency" authors and felt bludgeoned by the text. Not with Barron. The words "bright" and "sparkling" come to mind (blasphemy?!). I was comfortable with the voice given to JA...it did not jar; rather it felt as I would imagine her in writing to her sister or her nieces.
I also am comfortable with Jane's behavior, which was questioned by other reviewers stressing her refinement, etc. That's as may be, but she proves in her writings to have a sarcastic bent and is frequently snarky. By her very nature as a published authoress, she pushed the Regency non-envelope. Retreating from a failed betrothal and called upon to defend the friend who took her in, I can see her rising to the occasion (though perhaps not wishing her name to attach to it.)
The mystery was satisfying enough to serve...I had only nailed it within about 50%. I especially liked the expansion (through footnotes) of some key concepts.
I'll make sure to read the rest, though I will say I hope the author does not continue to cast JA as an unrealized angel for all future cads and wastrels. She does not benefit from the tragic cast and it does not ring true.
Rating:
Summary: A Bodice ripper in Jane Austen's clothing
Review: I was really looking forward to this book as I love mysteries and I love Jane. Stephanie has tried to create a life from which Austen's novels might spring - with an awkward and implausible result. The conversations and situations which supposedly inspired Jane's memorable characters and dialogue made me cringe. Unfortunately, Barron's only vocabulary seems to have come from Austen novels and her use of it is repetitive, clumsy and lacking in imagination. In spite of obviously knowing the Austen novels well, she has completely missed their spirit. Jane's characters captivate us with subtle delicacy. Ms. Barron's characters are flat, cliche and melodramatic; they drown us in sentimentalism and knocks us over the head with their passion.
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