The Highbury Murders: A Mystery Set in the Village of Jane Austen’s Emma

EXCERPT: The death of Mrs. Bates, a very old lady whose hearing had long since gone and who had spent her last few months either in her bedroom or sitting in her chair in the parlor, would have gone unremarked in London, where people spent their time discussing fashion, nobility, and the latest offering at the theatre. In Bath her decease might have been mentioned as a piece of dull news, before the residents and visitors resumed discussing who had been seen at the Pump Room during the day or who was giving a whist party that night. In Highbury, however, Mrs. Bates’s passing was an event which was talked over in every house, both great and small.ABOUT THE BOOKJane Austen’s ＂Emma＂ has been described as a detective story without a body - except for those who read carefully, there actually is a body, and the potential for an excellent mystery story.Set about a year after ＂Emma＂ closes, ＂The Highbury Murders＂ pays homage to the wit of Jane Austen and the whodunits of Agatha Christie. You do not need to have read Jane Austen’s books to enjoy this novel, but if you have - if you regret that she wrote only six - ＂The Highbury Murders＂ is a welcome extension to her world. Pour yourself a cup of tea, settle somewhere comfortable, and indulge yourself with the proverbial good read.

Victoria Grossack adores Jane Austen, and has also written The Meryton Murders: A Mystery Set in the Town of Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice. Grossack is also a co author of six Greek-mythology based novels: Jocasta: The Mother-Wife of Oedipus; Children of Tantalus: Niobe & Pelops; The Road to Thebes: Niobe & Amphion; Arrows of Artemis: Niobe & Chloris, Antigone & Creon: Guardians of Thebes and the just-published Clytemnestra: The Mother’s Blade. Victoria also wrote the column ＂Crafting Fabulous Fiction＂ at Writing-World.com and now contributes to Doux Reviews and Re: Fiction. For more about her, visit her website: www.TapestryofBronze.com.