"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a brilliant idea, conceived and executed by a clever young woman, must be claimed by a man."

Being a Pride and Prejudice retelling is hard - you know you can never top the original and depending on what you change you can either ruin the story or create something new while staying true to the OG vibes. Luckily for me, this fits the second category.



1. the genre is different and it’s not a carbon copy, some plot lines differ to the OG which is exactly why the story works

2. the main characters are the same - they have the same morals, same pride, same feelings of loyalty and love towards their family and friends which is why, despite changing some things, this can be called a retelling

3. this is not a romance, it’s a mystery first with hints of romantic feelings. Not to mention, the whole book is rather light and can be funny, which is basically the ideal for me - having a murder mystery with a dash of humor.

"Miss, there's been a murder."

Lizzie:



4. if you forget that it’s a retelling and change all the names - the story still holds, it’s got good twists and great characterization. Darcy is of course, the tall dark and moody guy who hides his feelings well but cares deeply about his friends and family. Lizzie Bennet is this feisty brilliant girl who just wants men to stop taking credit for her work and everyone else to stop asking her when she'll marry.



5. the writing was simple but effective - I could clearly imagine the setting and the time period without having to read 45 pages of descriptions

6. it also includes discussions of the lack of power women have - both in choosing a profession and choosing a husband. This topic is handled nicely and was not made fun of despite the overall tone of the book which leans on the humorous side.

"Men can choose, women may only refuse."

The only thing I disliked was the fact that there is no sequel. The main mystery is resolved but there are still some loose ends and potential plot lines for sequels. When you open this book on GR you’ll see that it’s a part of the Jane Austen Murder Mystery series, but the other books are unrelated. Although, when you go to the author’s book list, there are 2 unnamed books that have this tag “Lizzie and Darcy #2 and #3” so maybe there is something cooking

The idea of a murder mystery twist on Jane Austen's work is not particulary innovative, but it's still a fun premise. Successful books in this vein manage to balance the historical, romantic, and comedic/satiric elements of Austen's original with the demands of a mystery plot and genre. Unfortunately, Pride and Premeditation didn't really succeed on either front.

While the author included a note on historical accuracy (and her choices about when to stick to historical reality and when to stretch things a bit), it didn't cover everything, and the overall feel and flavor of the book suffered from the historical slopoiness - it took a while before I could even tell for sure that it was meant to be set in the Regency era.

As for the romantic element - it takes a back seat to the mystery, which is fine, but doesn't develop successfully even in the background the way a slow burn romance usually would. Elizabeth's attraction to Darcy seems forced in at awkward intervals, and there's no other romantic storyline but theirs, since Jane and Bingley don't even meet on the page, and their relationship is just a throw away line at the end. The comedy of manners/social satire of the original isn't present, either, replaced with a heavy-handed feminism that wouldn't be out of place except it just lacks any subtlety or sense of history. (Something else, far more petty, that bothered me was lowering Elizabeth's age to 17 - it might have been to make the book fit the requirements of YA, but it didn't make a lot of sense, and it made the lines about Georgiana being only 15 slightly ridiculous.)

Then there's the mystery itself. The solution manages to be at once convoluted and too obvious. The most fun thing about this book is seeing the ways in which the author molded Austen's original characters into her law firm/murder mystery set-up, but that approach means anyone familiar with the original Pride and Prejudice can see the revelations and villains coming from a mile away.

Overall, there just wasn't much going on in this book. On every front, it lacked development, subtlety, and substance, taking the easy, flimsy, or heavy-handed option at every turn. I'm no purist, and I love a good Jane Austen fanfic or adaptation - but this was merely a mediocre one.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperTeen for the advance review copy!