September 3, 2008 at 11:08 am · Filed under Book Reviews, Historical Fiction, Mystery and Suspense, Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror
Suspense and Sensibility by Carrie Bebris (Gothic mystery)
I can’t say I was very impressed. I enjoyed it even less than Pride and Prescience, because it lacked even the small amound of suspense in that book.
At Mrs. Bennett’s urging, Elizabeth and Darcy agree to sponsor Kitty for the Season, hoping to find her a good husband who won’t mind her small dowry. Kitty is drawn to one of the very first men she meets: Mr. Henry Dashwood of Norland. He seems to feel the same way, but after they become engaged, he changes out of all recognition.
I won’t give away the cause of Henry’s personality change, although it wouldn’t be much of a spoiler, since Bebris makes it perfectly obvious right from the beginning exactly what’s going on. Unfotunately, she doesn’t choose to give Elizabeth and Darcy the same insight she shares with her readers, so they spend most of the book completely unaware of the supernatural reason for Henry’s behaviour.
I really, really hate knowing more than the characters do, and this story gives more away to the reader than just about anything else I’ve ever read. Gothic novels, although not necessarily examples of great literature, are at least supposed to be mysterious. When the sweet, kind hero suddenly starts acting like a jerk, I want to be able to wonder why. Unfortunately, Suspense and Sensibility contained no suspense at all.
To be fair, I actually enjoyed the beginning of the novel. I kind of wish Carrie Bebris would write straight Regency romances instead of gothic mysteries, because I think she’d be much better at it.
Tags: 50 Book Challenge 2008, Carrie Bebris, Mr. and Mrs. Darcy Mysteries
August 29, 2008 at 8:01 pm · Filed under Book Reviews, Historical Fiction, Mystery and Suspense, Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror
Pride and Prescience by Carrie Bebris (Historical mystery/horror)
I generally avoid all Jane Austen pastiches because they are usually crap. At the age of thirteen, having devoured all six of her novels, I tried a few of the modern sequels written by Emma Tennant and her ilk, and gave them up in disgust. And anything that I considered too sappy, implausible, and contrived to be bothered with in the eighth grade is something I would not now touch with a ten-foot pole.
However, I read good things about Carrie Bebris’s series, which now consists of three novels, with a fourth soon to be published. Featuring the new Mr. and Mrs. Darcy as the protagonists, these books add supernatural mysteries to Austen’s world, which the Darcys must unravel. Through the course of the series, they meet characters from the other novels.
The switch from romance/social satire to supernatural detective story is what makes this series more tolerable than other Austen continuations, since it sticks to imitating Austen’s style which, though tricky, is far easier than successfully reproducing her substance. Even the style isn’t perfect: unfortunately, a number of modern words and idioms break the flow of the narrative. The biggest flaw, though, is in the presentation of Elizabeth, whose sudden belief in the supernatural is entirely out of character. And anyone who’s read Northanger Abbey will appreciate why mixing genuine supernatural occurrences with Austen characters doesn’t work well.
Still, the book was entertaining enough, once I forced myself to suspend my disbelief. After their wedding, Darcy and Elizabeth are looking forward to starting their new life together at Pemberley, so they’re disappointed when Caroline Bingley’s sudden engagement and wedding spoil their plans. Only hours after the wedding, the Darcys find Caroline wandering in an unsavoury area of London, with no explanation for her presence. Her strange behaviour soon escalates, and mysterious and dangerous events plague a house-party at Netherfield, culminating in the murder of one of the guests.
I am clearly not the ideal audience for this series, being (a) an Austen fan(atic), (b) persnickety about historical detail and period tone, and (c) less than enthused by supernatural mysteries. Pride and Prescience was okay, and actually had some genuinely funny moments, but it just wasn’t my kind of book. I also found the solution too obvious, but it’s at least believable that none of the characters would have figured it out. (It’s not so much that the characters were dim, but that for some reason the author felt the need to hit the reader over the head with really obvious clues–when in fact there was no need to give the reader any kind of clues at all, much less to hammer them home like that.)
Verdict? Meh. I’m reading the sequels, but I advise against spending money on this one, unless you’re sure it’s your cup of tea. I’ve heard the next two are better, so…we’ll see.
Tags: 50 Book Challenge 2008, A ~ Z Reading Challenge, Carrie Bebris, Mr. and Mrs. Darcy Mysteries, R.I.P. III
