Jane and the Wandering Eye : Being the Third Jane Austen Mystery (Jane Austen Mystery/Stephanie Barron, 3)

Rating:
Summary: an enjoyable addition to the series
Review: I enjoy these Jane Austen-as-sleuth novels. Author Stephanie Barron is a fine writer who emulates Austen's elegant prose style with success. This third installment of the series takes place in 1804 Bath, where Jane's family has moved, in part to accommodate father George's declining health, and Jane dislikes intensely living in a place of such "dissipation". A murder has occurred during a fancy dress party Jane attends, and she is drawn into the mystery by her old friend, Lord Harold Trowbridge.

I had some minor quibbles with the book -- Austen's renowned wit is missing, too many characters (in costumes, no less!) and relationships make the plot confusing -- but in general I enjoyed this book very much, and appreciate the opportunity to spend time with our beloved Jane as the author deftly weaves historical and biographical facts into her story.

Personally I enjoy the footnotes, which are infrequent, informative and not at all intrusive.

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: Interesting Information About Theatre
Review: This book was just as slow and ponderous as the first too, but had alot of interesting information about Regency era theatre. Still not very witty, either.