'To Jane Austen's surprise, her visit to the snowy Hertfordshire estate of young and beautiful Isobel Payne, Countess of Scargrave, is far from dull. She has scarcely arrived when the Earl - a gentleman of mature years - is felled by a mysterious and agonizing ailment. His death seems a cruel blow of fate for the newly married Isobel. Yet the bereaved widow soon finds that it's only the beginning of her misfortune...as she receives a sinister missive accusing her and the Earl's nephew of adultery - and murder.
Desperately afraid that the letter will expose her and the Viscount Fitzroy Payne, for whom she bears a tendresse, to the worst sort of scandal, Isobel begs her friend Jane for help. Which is how Jane finds herself embroiled in an investigation that will soon have her questioning the motives of Scargrave Manor's guests, stumbling upon the scene of a bloody murder, and following a trail of clues that leads all the way to Newgate Prison and the House of Lords - a trail that may well place Jane's own person in grave jeopardy.
With her lively mind and acerbic tongue, Jane Austen is a sleuth to the manner born; stylishly sophisticated and marvellously entertaining, this is the first in a captivating new series.'

Found for 50p in the Huntingdonshire Society for the Blind shop in Huntingdon a couple of months ago. Just got back from an immediate lend to a colleague's wife, so thought I had better BX! 1997 Headline edition. Spine well marked and a little bit battered, but otherwise fine. Ready to lend out.

Reserved as a surprise RABCK for Chich in Perpignan - she hasn't a clue!!!
Found on Friday and just have to finish listening to Poirot audiobook 'Evil Under The Sun' which Chich knows I'm lending her :)
Hopefully posting this week from either Brampton, Huntingdon or Godmanchester Post Office.

16/12/09
Posted off from Brampton Post Office on Monday 14th December 2009.
Should be with Chich shortly - tee-hee ;)

What a fantastic surprise!!! Ms Austen traveling hand in hand with Mr Poirot, a match made in heaven (despite the time it took for them to cross the Channel!). I have been wanting to read this for ages, thanks SO much Claire for this delightful and totally unexpected Christmas present in January;)

Best wishes for 2010!!

Well this was a fun read indeed:-) I have to admit I didn't expect the book to be so well-written (as is often the case with Austen-inspired novels) so this was a nice surprise! Ms Austen's character rings true enough and the plot is is nicely paced. A lovely read!

Many thanks again Claire for sharing this with me:-)

Book sent to unsuspecting BookCrosser today as part of the Wishlist Challenge, enjoy! :-)

Wow!!! Unsuspecting indeed!! I had totally no idea what this package was about, and I was SO happy to open it and see what was inside. :-D Thank you so much!!! I am soo happy to get the chance to read this book, which I will do as soon as. :-) Thank you soo much, chich! You are so sweet!! :-)

OMG ...! I can't believe I've had this book for so long ... ! 😮 Especially since I have read it, a long time ago ... ! I really enjoyed it, it was entertaining and well written IMO. A good read for an Austen fan, although of course it doesn't measure up to the original. But nothing ever could ... ! 😊

I passed this book on to another Austen fan 😊

That Austen fan being me :-) Looking forward to getting into it. I'm suspecting I get quite a lot more time on my hands in the days to come, so it's no time like the present :-)

A very nice read! Entertaining and a good mystery. I will hold on to it for future Austen fans :-)

I hope you enjoy this book.
Happy reading!