Jane Austen Meets Agatha Christie via Nora Roberts

Would you rather listen to it? Click here for an audio review. 


Publisher Summary

It was the perfect vacation fling. And then a body showed up.

Jane Austen fan Amelia Bennett sneaks away from a dull tour of an English country manor, only to run into a man more dashing than Mr. Darcy himself. About to lose his ancestral home to family debts, charming aristocrat Tom Calder invites his American guest to join him in drinking his way through the estate’s priceless wine collection. But when they wake in his bed the next morning, they’re convinced that in their drunken haze, they witnessed a murder.

The problem is, the body has vanished and no one believes them—except the shadowy figures stalking them through the estate's empty halls and lonely woodlands. On the run for their lives, Amelia and Tom must piece together their shifting memories and a string of baffling clues to expose the crime—while navigating their morning-after awkwardness and the undeniable sparks between them. As their unexpected bond deepens, they begin to wonder if their own love story could be one for the ages—if they manage to survive at all.

 

I was on a crime thriller hiatus when this little one was suggested by Audible. A rom com with a little murder mystery set in England… I mean, interesting, isn’t it? Plus, I have a thing for British accent. In fact I’ve a thing for a bunch of them… British, Irish and French … It just does something to me listening to them. So when I realised that I would have a handsome Brit as a protagonist, I was delighted.

Brynn Kelly’s A Murder to Remember, is a pure beach read. Something to read and enjoy on a vacation, even though it isn’t set at a beach or if you are not at one either. 😊 It’s light, bright and a pure delight. It has all one can ask for from a relaxing read. The mystery, the romance, the drama and a perfectly pretty English manor house.

Amelia is on a much-needed vacation at the English countryside. Doing a Jane Austen tour. Now a quick confession… I’ve never read Jane Austen. So I don’t understand the fandom but I understand the concept of fandom. And I’m a fan of Downton Abbey, so I understand the wish to go on a tour in a manor house. And I also understand the wish to sneak off away from the tour group to explore the said house on my own.

And then something happens that only happens in novels and TV serials… she runs into a handsome rogue. Well… not actually RUNS into… more like falls onto… he he he… but even then… stuff like that doesn’t happen in real life. The realm of “only happens in the books”, takes on a new meaning altogether, when this handsome rogue turns out to be the owner of the manor, an aristocrat… although he’s broke, he’s still a good company. He invites her to join him in finishing off the wine from his cellar, coz the manor is set to be demolished. And obviously, she joins in.

There’s an instant connection… well, obviously… this is a romance novel after all. And they end up with a one-night stand urged on by the alcohol.

In most cases, the morning after a drunken one-night-stand is awkward… but things take a turn for strange when they both think they saw a murder the previous night, but there are no signs of a murder in the house.

The police thinks they drank a strange wine and are hallucinating, but both of them are completely convinced that they indeed saw a dead body being moved.

What follows is a funny little story about hazy memories and strange neighbours and plot twists and of course, inexplicable attraction that is labelled love.

 

Like a good old vacation read A Murder to Remember, gives you all the high points. A cute couple, with some light mystery, literary references, spooky manors and some great dialogues. It’s a breezy little book that shouldn’t be taken too seriously. No point in wondering how can a one night stand evolve into … “you are the missing piece of my heart” style declarations of love. Absolutely no reason to wonder, how did a grown man not know of his own past. And please, don’t expect grand sleuthing of Holms or Poirot…  enjoy it for what it is… a quirky little Jane Austen meets a Murder Mystery

 

Go on… have fun…

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