Rating: 
Summary: Theater, Art, and Murder in the third Jane Austen book
Review: I really enjoyed the third book in the Jane Austen series of mysteries, even more than the first two (Jane and Secret of Scargrave Manor, Jane and the Man of the Cloth) because I think that the author is really beginning to show promise in her crafting of the mystery plot and the characters. In this mystery Jane is introduced into theatrical company, and if you enjoy late 18th and early 19th century British theater I think you will enjoy being immersed in those circles, as well. In addition, the main clue of the mystery is one of the "eye portraits" fashionable in the late 18th century. When an eye portrait is found on the dead body at the center of the mystery, Jane turns her attention into discovering whose "wandering eye" this is. If you enjoy Jane Austen and are fully cognizant that Stephanie Barron is not and can never be Jane Austen, you should give this series of mysteries a try. They are very entertaining, extremely well-written for a historical mystery (except the liberal sprinkling of footnotes which I still find annoying), and provide an interesting first-person narrative (because the mystery consists of Jane's journal entries).
Rating: 
Summary: Jane does it again!!!!!!!!
Review: I was able to read this before it was out because someone from my favorite bookshop gave me an advanced reader's copy.I really liked the inter action between Jane and Lord Harold Trowbridge.I cannot wait for the next one.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic historical literary mystery
Review: Jane Austen goes to a masquerade party attended by the Ton in Bath. However, her enjoyment of the moment is quickly destroyed when the manager of the Bath Theatre Royal, Richard Portal, is killed. After having obtained a rush on her two previous investigations (JANE AND THE UNPLEASANTNESS AT SCARGRAVE MANOR and JANE AND THE MAN OF THE CLOTH), the intrepid writer cannot resist looking into the murder of Richard. Helping Jane in her inquiries is Lord Harold Trowbridge, whose nephew is arrested for the crime. Jane feels the lad has been set up by a brilliant criminal who understands that looks can be deceiving. With her one solid clue being an "eye portrait", Jane seeks the identity of the real culprit even though she has probably placed her own life on the line. The third novel in the Jane Austen mysteries is, like the previous two, an absolutely wonderful historical who-done-it. Jane is great and the support cast adds incredible amounts of authenticity that move the novel forward. The readers know early on that the nephew is innocent, but do not know who did it, why they did it, or why they set up the young man to take the fall. Stephanie Barron takes readers through a reading exploration that will leave the audience elated and demanding book four. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: What fun!
Review: Jane Austen, a sleuth? Yes! What fun to be transported to the early 19th century and its genteel skulduggery. This delightful series requires a pot of tea at your elbow and a cat on your lap. I'm a fiction writer (not mysteries, however) who has not written a word in a week -- I'm too busy working my way through these unputdownable books. Thanks, Stephanie Barron!
Rating:
Summary: What fun!
Review: Jane Austen, a sleuth? Yes! What fun to be transported to the early 19th century and its genteel skulduggery. This delightful series requires a pot of tea at your elbow and a cat on your lap. I'm a fiction writer (not mysteries, however) who has not written a word in a week -- I'm too busy working my way through these unputdownable books. Thanks, Stephanie Barron!
Rating: 
Summary: Jane Austen, NOT! But a fun read.
Review: Once I decided that this was an alternate universe -type of Jane Austen, I found the book fun and interesting. Bath and the time period colorfully portrayed. While the profusion of footnotes were interesting I would rather they had been collected in the back of the book or incorporated into the text -- the footnotes seemed to imply a scholarlyness that was out of step with the murder mystery. It's a quick read with a few novel twists and turns -- enough to keep it interesting. I'd read a second book by the same author but it doesn't have the insightfulness off-handed look at her society that I so enjoy in Jane Austen's books.
Rating:
Summary: Murder Amongst Actors and Artists
Review: The book opens on a masquerade in honor of an acting company, with our fictional Jane Austen in the guise of a Shepardess, and the scene ends with a murdered Harlequin, stabbed during a dramatic soliloquy from Macbeth (the "cursed play"). Harlequin turns out to be Richard Portal, manager of the troupe. A young man is standing over the body, knife in hand, but all is not as it seems, as is usual in mystery books. It turns out this young man is a relative of Lord Harold, Jane's old nemesis-turned-ally from the first of the Jane Mysteries. Lord Harold and Miss Austen comb the worlds of acting, staging a scene of their own in order to rifle Mr. Portal's papers, and of artistry, as it turns out that the "Wandering Eye" of the title, a mysterious, expensively-made eye portrait had been found on the corpse. As is usual in Ms. Barron's Jane mysteries, one learns much of the cultural history of the Regency period -- the tumultuous politics of the time, the fashions in dress and affectation (Jane runs into some of the dandies of the day), and the ways in which people's reputations her broadcast (imagine, they had gossip columns -- one can't blame current media for starting the practice of nosing into people's private lives!) I found the solution to the mystery a little disappointing, but the characters much more interesting than in the two previous books. Jane and her sister Cassandra's relationship strains with their increasing age and obvious spinsterhood, Jane reacts to the smearing of her own good name, and Jane loses a very close friend. Ms. Barron has done an excellent job of weaving Jane Austen's real biography (and actual words - I noted several phrases from Austen's own novels and letters inserted liberally into the text) into dramatic action. I think Jane herself would have found these books amusing; we now think of Austen as having a retired, uneventful life, and these books paint a portrait very different. The queen of irony would have smirked.
Rating: 
Summary: Third in the series, but the last that I'll read
Review: There is much worthy of praise in Ms. Barron's Jane Austen series. The very concept of Austen as a sleuth is fun, and even fitting -- after all, PD James has argued persuasively that "Emma" has all the elements of a good mystery novel. The footnotes in the Austen mysteries give significant insight into the people, places, and lifestyles of Regency England, even if the "feel" of the books sometimes tends to the Edwardian. The sweep and pace of the first two books provided a welcome diversion from the gloomy skies during a recent vacation in Florida. But after "Wandering Eye", I'm giving up. Barron simply does not have the skill to pull off the complicated plots she attempts. She feels obligated to spin everything on its head in the final pages, and "Wandering Eye" left MY eyes glazed over as I tried to sort out which of the suspects had what relationship with which young lady, including one mentioned only in passing and who is dead before the book even begins. Complicated is fine, confusing is not, and this book tends toward the latter. Three down, more to go, but I'm not gonna bother.
Rating:
Summary: Third in the series, but the last that I'll read
Review: There is much worthy of praise in Ms. Barron's Jane Austen series. The very concept of Austen as a sleuth is fun, and even fitting -- after all, PD James has argued persuasively that "Emma" has all the elements of a good mystery novel. The footnotes in the Austen mysteries give significant insight into the people, places, and lifestyles of Regency England, even if the "feel" of the books sometimes tends to the Edwardian. The sweep and pace of the first two books provided a welcome diversion from the gloomy skies during a recent vacation in Florida. But after "Wandering Eye", I'm giving up. Barron simply does not have the skill to pull off the complicated plots she attempts. She feels obligated to spin everything on its head in the final pages, and "Wandering Eye" left MY eyes glazed over as I tried to sort out which of the suspects had what relationship with which young lady, including one mentioned only in passing and who is dead before the book even begins. Complicated is fine, confusing is not, and this book tends toward the latter. Three down, more to go, but I'm not gonna bother.
Rating:
Summary: Third in the series, but the last that I'll read
Review: There is much worthy of praise in Ms. Barron's Jane Austen series. The very concept of Austen as a sleuth is fun, and even fitting -- after all, PD James has argued persuasively that "Emma" has all the elements of a good mystery novel. The footnotes in the Austen mysteries give significant insight into the people, places, and lifestyles of Regency England, even if the "feel" of the books sometimes tends to the Edwardian. The sweep and pace of the first two books provided a welcome diversion from the gloomy skies during a recent vacation in Florida. But after "Wandering Eye", I'm giving up. Barron simply does not have the skill to pull off the complicated plots she attempts. She feels obligated to spin everything on its head in the final pages, and "Wandering Eye" left MY eyes glazed over as I tried to sort out which of the suspects had what relationship with which young lady, including one mentioned only in passing and who is dead before the book even begins. Complicated is fine, confusing is not, and this book tends toward the latter. Three down, more to go, but I'm not gonna bother.
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