Book picks similar to
There Must Be Murder by Margaret C. Sullivan
mystery
historical-fiction
jane-austen
fiction
The Return: A Pride and Prejudice Story
Timothy Underwood - 2015
Bingley returned after the Netherfield Ball and asked Jane to marry him. He admitted to Jane that Mr. Darcy’s advice had nearly stopped him. Elizabeth, eager to hear anything ill about Mr. Darcy, made her sister tell the story. Jane said Mr. Darcy discouraged his friend because he sincerely believed her to be indifferent. Elizabeth knew better. Darcy was selfish and unfeeling. Elizabeth wasn’t naïve and willing to believe every story told to her. At the wedding Darcy said he approved of his friend’s marriage because Jane clearly loved Bingley. In fact, he might follow his friend’s example and marry for affection. Elizabeth wasn’t going to let this hypocritical gentleman get away with his deception. Not after he tried to hurt Jane. She loudly said what she truly thought of him. Now Elizabeth realizes she was horribly mistaken about Darcy’s character. Now she loves him. But, is it too late for her? Has she lost his esteem forever?
An Arranged Marriage: A Pride & Prejudice Alternate Path
Jan Hahn - 2011
Darcy's proposal at Hunsford, her father dies, leaving Longbourn entailed away and little fortune to sustain his widow and daughters. Six months later, the Bennet family receives a visitor with a most unusual offer that promises to save the family from financial and social ruin. Elizabeth's sense of duty forces her to enter into an arranged marriage with a man she does not even like. Told from Elizabeth's point of view, An Arranged Marriage is a compelling twist on Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Can Elizabeth overcome her feelings of anger, resentment, and suspicion toward her new husband and - the most bewildering sensation of all - a growing attraction for the last man in the world she ever wished to marry?
Willow Pond
Carol Tibaldi - 2011
Now that the world is falling apart, bootlegging is a flourishing business, and she's queen of that castle. Then her infant nephew is kidnapped. Her niece, Laura, and Laura's philandering movie star husband, are devastated. The police have few leads, and speculation and rumors abound in the media circus that follows the celebrity abduction. Only one reporter, Erich Muller, seems to care enough about the child's welfare and the parents' feelings to report the case responsibly. Over the course of the investigation, Erich Muller and Laura fall in love, but their relationship is doomed to failure since he suspects her beloved aunt Virginia is behind the kidnapping. Laura, jaded when it comes to men, sides with Virginia.But Virginia has figured out the truth, and she can't tell anyone for fear of losing her niece's affections and having the police ransack her life. So she pursues her own investigation, shaking down, threatening, and killing one petty crook after another during her search.Little Todd's absence shapes everyone's lives. When he is finally found, the discovery will bring disaster for some and revelation for others.
Being Mrs Darcy
Lucy Marin - 2020
Scandalous rumors soon surround the ladies and Fitzwilliam Darcy, forcing Elizabeth and Darcy, strangers to each other, to marry. Darcy despises everything about his marriage to the daughter of an insignificant country gentleman with vulgar relations. Georgiana, humiliated after a near-elopement with George Wickham and full of Darcy pride, hates her new sister. Their family look upon Elizabeth with suspicion and do little to hide their sentiments. Separated from those who love her, Elizabeth is desperate to prove herself to her new family despite their disdain. Just as she loses all hope, Darcy learns to want her good opinion. He will have to face his prejudices and uncover the depths Georgiana’s misdeeds to earn it, and Elizabeth will have to learn to trust him if she is to ever to find happiness being Mrs Darcy.
The Darcy Monologues
Christina BoydJan Hahn - 2017
Darcy has captivated readers' imaginations as the ultimate catch. Rich. Powerful. Noble. Handsome. And yet, as Miss Austen's Pride and Prejudice is established through Elizabeth Bennet's fine eyes, how are we to know his mind? How does Darcy progress from "She is tolerable: but not handsome enough to tempt me" to "I thought only of you"?In this romance anthology, fifteen Austenesque authors assemble to sketch Darcy's character through a series of re-imaginings, set in the Regency through contemporary times--from faithful narratives to the fanciful. Herein The Darcy Monologues, the man himself reveals his intimate thoughts, his passionate dreams, and his journey to love--all told with a previously concealed wit and enduring charm.
"It is your turn to say something now, Mr. Darcy."
Courage Requires: A Pride and Prejudice Continuation
Melanie Rachel - 2017
When she invites the enigmatic Hawke sisters and the Fitzwilliams to join them for the festive season, will the company provide the friendship and solace Darcy hopes for his wife? Or will the Earl's opposition to Richard's love interest divide the family?Courage Requires is a full-length novel (approximately 90,000 words) that follows the events of Courage Rises. It is Book 2 of 2 in the Courage Series.
Unintended: A Pride and Prejudice Accident
Alix James - 2020
the person who caught you in your most embarrassing moment is also the one your heart was meant to find?
It was never supposed to happen. Elizabeth Bennet never planned to get trapped in a ridiculous situation, and she certainly never intended for the person who found her to be a dizzyingly handsome... tall... and odiously haughty man who seems to regret ever meeting her. The only thing to do, naturally, is to tease him about it, and try not to let him under her skin. Fitzwilliam Darcy wishes he could erase that whole morning--especially the part where he laid bare his... well, it is hardly worth repeating. For a surety, he would rather forget about the temptingly pert lady who had borne witness to his blunder. The only trouble is, he keeps being thrown into company with her. Every encounter brings a new brush with calamity, and he is beginning to wonder if he will survive their acquaintance.When Lady Catherine asks Darcy to pay her respects to a Mrs. Ashton, an elderly neighbor in Meryton, he discovers a friend where he least expected it. But is Mrs. Ashton who he thinks she is? And what is he to do when the very woman he is trying to forget has entirely the wrong impression of him? He would ignore her, but she keeps wandering into his path with comically unlucky results. And when the rest of his family becomes suspicious about the reasons for his sister Georgiana's low spirits, the best way to protect her reputation is to bring her to Netherfield—into the vicinity of George Wickham, the man who broke her heart.Darcy must find a way to keep his wits about him, keep his sister's reputation safe, and keep Elizabeth Bennet from becoming something she was never supposed to be... his intended.
From the author of
Indisposed, Unintended
is a clean and sweet Regency variation of approximately 20,000 words.
I Am Jael: A Pride and Prejudice Variation
Laraba Kendig - 2020
The Bennets of Longbourn, the Bingleys of Netherfield, and Fitzwilliam Darcy himself find themselves dragged along in her wake.After her traumatic experience at Ramsgate, Georgiana Darcy finds strength and inspiration in the story of Jael, a warrior woman of the Bible. Determined to protect her fellow women from the depredations of George Wickham, she descends on Meryton and Netherfield with righteous determination to see the man pay for his crimes.Fitzwilliam Darcy is bewildered by his young sister’s resolve to stop Wickham from harming other women. With some reluctance, he joins with his sister and cousin Colonel Fitzwilliam to bring Wickham to justice.Elizabeth Bennet, initially charmed by the handsome George Wickham, is shocked to discover that the man has a dark past. When she discovers the truth, she is determined to assist in ensuring that the handsome and silver tongued military man does not harm those around her.Elizabeth and Darcy find themselves strongly attracted to one another, though Elizabeth questions whether the wealthy owner of Pemberley is willing to set aside his pride to wed a woman whose sometimes vulgar family has ties to trade.In the end, Georgiana’s courage brings much needed change in the lives of the Bennets, the Bingleys, the de Bourghs, and Mr. George Wickham himself.This is a low angst, clean, sweet Regency romance of 50,000 words.Warning: this book includes a non-explicit description of a sexual assault against a minor, original
The Secret Life of Miss Mary Bennet
Katherine Cowley - 2021
Until now…Upon the death of her father, Mary Bennet’s life is thrown into turmoil. With no fortune or marriage prospects, Mary must rely on the kindness of her relatives. When a mysterious late-night visit by an unknown relative—a Lady Trafford from Castle Durrington—leads to an extended stay and the chance for an education, Mary gratefully accepts the opportunity.But even as she arrives at the castle, she’s faced with one mystery after another. Who is Lady Trafford really and what is she hiding? Do her secrets and manipulations place the small seaside community at risk of an invasion by Napoleon Bonaparte? Always curious, Mary sets out to discover the truth. But when she discovers the dead body of a would-be thief she outed prior to her father’s funeral, Mary jeopardizes her position at the castle and her family’s good name in her quest for the truth.Never underestimate the observation skills of a woman who hides in the background.
Tom Wasp and the Murdered Stunner
Amy Myers - 2007
But she couldn’t. She’d stay there stuck fast in paint forever. A chimney sweep in Victorian London’s poverty-stricken East End, Tom Wasp is highly flattered to be asked to model for Valentine Drake, a painter in fashionable Chelsea, especially since his co-model is the beautiful and warm-hearted Bessie Barton, a red-headed stunner who becomes his friend. Grief-stricken when her body is found by mudlarks on the muddy banks of the river Thames, Tom vows to find her murderer. Tracking her pitiful past through London’s seamiest quarters, he discovers the monstrous shadow that hangs over her life, Moonman, from whose clutches Bessie had fled, only to fall into his murderous hands at last. But who is Moonman? Is he one of the Angels, the high-minded group of artists to which Valentine belongs? Or is the truth more terrifying still? Step by step Tom hunts down his quarry through the darkness, guided by his faith that there is goodness in this world as well as evil, and assisted by his chummy, the eleven-year-old Ned. Narrated by Tom himself, this unusual historical thriller whirls the reader from the squalor of London’s Victorian slums to the heady pleasures of its high-life, revealing both the evil and the goodness in both. Tom and Ned make a formidable team as they clean the filthy chimneys of life in this first book of the Tom Wasp series. Praise for Amy Myers ‘Victorian England hides a dark underbelly of misery and degradation along with a vicious murderer.’— Kirkus Reviews ‘Tom Wasp is one of the most engaging characters I’ve encountered in yeats’ – Ellen Keith, Historical Novels Review AMY MYERS has been a full-time writer since 1988, and has written a wide range of novels from historical sagas and contemporary romance to crime. She is married to an American and lives in Kent. Many of her novels have been published under the name of Harriet Hudson.
Bellfield Hall: or, the observations of Miss Dido Kent
Anna Dean - 2008
An engagement party is taking place for Mr Richard Montague, son of wealthy landowner Sir Edgar Montague, and his fiancee Catherine. During a dance with his beloved, a strange thing happens: a man appears at Richard's shoulder and appears to communicate something to him without saying a word. Instantly breaking off the engagement, he rushes off to speak to his father, never to be seen again. Distraught with worry, Catherine sends for her spinster aunt, Miss Dido Kent, who has a penchant for solving mysteries. Catherine pleads with her to find her fiance and to discover the truth behind his disappearance. It's going to take a lot of logical thinking to untangle the complex threads of this multi-layered mystery, and Miss Dido Kent is just the woman to do it.
The Benefits of Extensive Reading: A Pride and Prejudice Variation
Lory Lilian - 2019
One evening, she finds herself locked in the library with none other than Mr. Darcy himself. Several hours spent together in this awkward situation offer them the chance to talk to one another and to find out more about each other than they have in the entire two months of their previous acquaintance. But what will happen after they are released from this temporary “trap”? How much will that mere incident affect their lives? “The Benefits of Extensive Reading” is a clean, romantic novella of around 42 000 words, appropriate for readers of all ages who cannot have enough of Elizabeth and Darcy.
Murder at Netherfield
Jann Rowland - 2018
Lady Catherine de Bourgh, having heard of her nephew's interest in the second Bennet daughter, descends upon them, demanding her nephew marry her daughter, making all who are trapped at the estate uncomfortable by her behavior. The next day a body is found, leading to a string of murders which threaten the lives of those present. As the tension at the estate rises, Elizabeth and Darcy form an alliance to discover the identity of the murderer and save those they care about most. But the depraved actions of a killer, striking from the shadows, threatens their newly found admiration for each other. The stage is set, a race against time to find a sinister murderer before another victim is found.
Mr. Darcy's Forbidden Love
Brenda J. Webb - 2012
Darcy’s Forbidden Love is a Pride and Prejudice variation. Not a simple retelling, it is an intriguing new story that does not follow canon. It is rated for Mature Audiences. When Fitzwilliam Darcy meets Elizabeth Bennet for the first time, he is already married to another woman. Forced into a loveless marriage, in name only, to the widowed Lady Gisela Grantham because of his father’s sins, Darcy is obliged by honour to remain in the marriage to hide a dark secret. That unhappy part of his life, however, is quickly coming to an end as he meets the love of his life in a little known village in Hertfordshire. Mr. Darcy’s Forbidden Love is the story of a love that was meant to be—a passion too strong to be denied.
On Stranger Prides: A Pride and Prejudice Novel
Amy Cecil - 2018
This book is written for mature audiences. This is a "what if" book. It is not Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. This story is NOT cannon. If you are looking for that type of book, then perhaps this is not the book for you. If you are not, then please continue ... Separated by prideful airs and prejudiced assumptions Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy are convinced they will never see the other again … until, eleven years later; fate sets them both on a different course. Elizabeth BennetAfter receiving the most insulting proposal imaginable from Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, Elizabeth Bennet vows to loathe him for all eternity. Years later, now a widowed duchess and raising her son, the Duke of Grafton, Elizabeth embarks on an adventure with her son and father to the West Indies.Fitzwilliam Darcy After enduring a scathing condemnation of his character by the only woman he would ever love, Mr. Darcy decides he must disappear from society. With the help of his cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam, Darcy secures a ship and crew and sets sail on the open seas. Mr. Darcy’s life takes such a turn that even his closest relative would not recognize him or his new identity as Max Sterling, Captain of the Absolution.When the pirates of the Absolution attack the Duchess’ ship, Captain Sterling receives the shock of his life when he spots the beautiful duchess and realizes that they share a connection, albeit one that was abandoned eleven years ago …