The perfect mix of Jane Austen and a murder mystery to solve. A great read which brings together elements of the day-to-day life of Jane Austen with a crime to investigate, hampered by the restrictions of 18th Century England. A great read - I would thoroughly recommend this title, especially for reading groups.

Huge thanks to the author and publisher for the ARC, in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed this, it’s a great twist on a very real author which I love. The mystery and romance had me hooked. I can’t wait for the next book.

This book is such a joy!

A young Jane Austen is hoping for a proposal from her beau Tom Lefroy when - horror - the body of a woman is found in a closet, bludgeoned, yes BLUDGEONED, to death. Jane recognises her as the young woman who sold her a bonnet just days before and as no-one else seems interested in getting to the truth, Jane begins her own investigation. Stakes are heightened when Jane's learning-disabled brother George is accused of stealing the young woman's jewellery, and of possibly being the murderer.

This all sounds like a jolly good romp, but what makes the book far more meaningful is that we find out about the bonnet maker (who turns out to be a lace-maker, not a milliner); Jessica Bull makes sure she is not yet another nameless female victim, there to move the plot along. We discover the realities of the criminal system in the late 18th century; we feel the pain of Jane's failed romance (no spoiler here: we all know Miss Austen remained unmarried).

The book is written with the wit and verve of Jane Austen's originals. We are in the expert hands of a writer who knows every last detail of Jane Austen's life. It's wonderful how Jessica Bull has woven in the historical facts. We meet some of Austen's many brothers, get to know her cousin Eliza who escaped revolutionary France by the skin of her teeth.

This is such a rich seam, and I look forward to more books entwining a detective story and the real history of Miss Austen.

Thank you to the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in return for an honest review.

This is an entertaining fictional tale featuring real characters - one of whom many of us are very familiar with indeed!

It is 1795 and the young Jane Austen is hoping for a proposal from Tom Lefroy. But at a party that she is attending, things take a decidedly untoward turn when a milliner's corpse is most unfortunately discovered in, of all places, a linen closet.

After her brother Georgy falls under suspicion, Jane is determined to step in and find the real culprit. With the risk of losing her brother to the hangman's noose if he is found guilty, the stakes here are far higher than *any* game of whist or faro...

This is a surprisingly convincing story, featuring various members of Jane Austen's family and giving us some insight into what her personal life may have been like. Definitely worth checking out for fans of Jane Austen and/or readers who enjoy historical murder mysteries. It gets 3.5 stars.

Jane Austen is at a party hoping for a proposal, when instead she happens upon the lifeless body of a milliner that recently moved into the local area. Soon her brother Georgy is falsely accused of the murder, and Jane has to race against the clock to save him from being convicted of thievery - or worse.

Miss Austen Investigates is a fun murder mystery. The book has lots of twist and turns and is really funny at times. It's well written and the pacing is great. I was surprised that it's 450 pages long, but actually it never gets boring or overly long-winded.

I wasn't really sure what to expect from a story told from Jane Austen's perspective and was worried it might fall flat - but Jane's really well written with depth, and none of the cliches that we've come to expect when reading about women from her era (by great coincidence, none of them like/are good at embroidery!). There's definitely some creative liberties taken (we can only hope Jane wouldn't have taken offense at her hapless blundering into situations) but this didn't bother me and added to the character being relatable.

The author mentions in the afterword that she aimed to tell the stories of some of the people around Jane that history has erased - I didn't know much about Jane Austen's family (perhaps a side effect of not growing up in the UK) and I was interested to read which characters were actually real!

Overall rating this 4/5 as I really enjoyed it.

This was a very enjoyable read, it is set in 1795 when Jane is around 20 years old. There is a murder to solve and Jane just has to get involved. It must have been very frustrating as a woman, for people not to take note of your opinions and ideas, simply because as a woman you were not thought to be capable of intelligent thoughts. Jane’s background is revealed and her siblings also play a part, particularly her older brothers. There is the usual sibling banter, not always kind! The murder is not a simple affair and one of the accusations affects Jane’s family. There is also the heartache of first love. Jane is nothing if not determined to see justice done. I will certainly look out for the next in this series. I received a copy and have voluntarily reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

What a wonderfully enchanting read, and a very good cosy historical whodunnit. Jane Austen has to investigate when her brother is accused of murder and I was swept up by the story and the period details. Jane comes across just as imagined her- strong willed, determined but also devoted to her family. Definitely want to see what comes next for her to investigate.

Like a lot of bibliophiles, I adore Jane Austen and have my own little collection of her work, and so this intrigued me instantly. It is such a fun unique play on the historical figure, but Jessica has put enough recognisable bits in so that she appears familiar to us.

When reading this, I felt like I was taking a walk with a friend. I don't know a huge amount about Jane Austen, only what the average reader does. But she felt so well formed and layered in this that it felt I really knew her, which was perfect.

I was so engrossed in it that I didn't really notice time passing, but at the same time, I really wanted to give time to it, to savour it, as I think it is really rather special.

At the crux it is a murder mystery, a classic Agatha Christie whodunnit, but it's expertly twinned with a historical novel befit of a Jane Austen. It really looks at societal issues, at relationships and friendships, at disability, financial difficulties, and class. Whilst it would have been fabulous I'm sure as "just" a murder mystery, Jessica has infused it with so much more that it's simply delightful.

It is fun and exciting, sad and morbid, joyful and loving and hopeful, fun, entertaining and interesting and thoughtful. Everything is balanced so well that it never seems too much of any one emotion, which I think is a hard balance to find.

Books set in the 1700-1800s always fascinate me. For the historical aspects yes. But to read about women. Yes, I'm glad we have rights and choices and overall this era is probably better to be a woman, but I find it fascinating that these women - fictional or otherwise - spent their day wearing fine dresses and reading or taking a walk around the gardens. If you remove all the issues, which is a big ask, it sounds quite idyllic. And so it's my guilt pleasure to read books like this.

On a more trivial note, Jessica has managed to get the word "flibbertigibbet" in it, and as a wordsmith, this made me so happy. You don't get many books with that nowadays.

This is Jessica's debut novel and it is outstanding. It appears to be the first book in a series and I am thoroughly excited about that. It definitely could stand up to the Miss Marple or Poirot series. It's simply fabulous and I'm going to be buying copies for everyone to read.

Well I really enjoyed that. A great fun read and if you are an Austen devotee you will recognise a raft of names in this book. Great characters and a good cozy mystery plot made this eminently readable. Jane comes across as a very forceful character, often acts impulsively often with unpleasant consequences and is very single minded - but underneath her bold external she is easily hurt and she loves her family deeply. A spinster who quietly wants marriage and her own family with her secret love Tom Lefroy. I was completely engrossed in the book from start to finish, the letters to her sister provided a bit of humour as she explains her thoughts about the possible killer, and happy to see book 2 is in progress.

Briefly, at a local ball to announce the engagement of Jonathan Harcourt there is a shock discovery of a dead body in a linen closet. Shortly afterwards Jane’s brother Georgy is found in possession of a necklace belonging to the dead woman and is taken into custody with the threat of hanging the likely outcome. Georgy doesn’t speak and is unable to convey how he came by the necklace. Determined to prove her brother’s innocence Miss Austen Investigates!

I loved I’m not sure Jane is the best detective. She rashly accuses people wrongly and didn’t work out who the killer was until the very end. However, her commitment was the reason the truth came out so I can forgive her bungling. Georgy was the character that really affected me. I just wanted to give him a big hug. I love how the author has combines fact (clearly an Austen devotee) with fiction to provide a charming and enjoyable story. A good cozy historical mystery that kept me entertained throughout.
4.5⭐️ rounded up

What a delightful book. Jane is a young woman and her brother is accused of murder. She knows he is innocent so tries to prove that. Twarted by convention and the rules of society as a woman she finds it hard to make headway. Increasingly desperate, time is running out; will she save her brother from the gallows....

As a Jane Austen fan I loved this book.
Jane in the flurry of romance stumbles across a body and her quick mind is determined to get to the bottom of the murder. When her brother is falsely accused she is even more determined.

Woven into the text are little clues to lines and plots from Jane’s works. We follow her as she unravels the mystery, coming up against the frustrating limitations that a woman of her time faced.

A very clever whodunnit!!

Thank you to Net Galley, the publishers and author for the copy for me to review. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

***advance review copy received from NetGalley in return for an honest review***
A readable book with some admirable world building around setting the narrative in 1795, but for me Jane Austen as a character in this was not a particularly believable sleuth. Perhaps this is just the first outing and Jane will gain ground in successive novels, but she accuses most all of the characters who could possibly be the culprit through the course of the book - it’s a wonder she doesn’t lose face in society and have people generally turn away from her - and even at the last she admits she didn’t actually know who the murderer was until the character admits it.
For me, I read quite a lot of murder mystery novels and more than a few in this sort of genre, it’s a different style certainly but I think on the whole I prefer my sleuths a little cleverer and more sure of themselves than Miss Austen presents here.

This was a great story. Really fun to read a book with (obviously) instantly recognisable characters but seeing them in greater depth and with added dimensions. I enjoyed the mystery and unravelling the story behind the “french” hat maker- even if her story didn’t end particularly happily! Will be looking out for more investigative missives of Miss Austen

Jane Austen makes a perfect (endearing, impulsive, clever, and even wry at times) detective! In fact, I am already looking forward to the next title of what I hope becomes a series, as Jane is only 20 when she solves this case!

I have enjoyed the historical setting, the biographical elements, the social comment, and the overall style and tone of this strong classic whodunnit. The atmosphere of the Austen's parsonage, the grand neighbours' house, the streets of Basingstoke, or Winchester's jail are well captured and the actual case (excellent reasons for Jane to want to investigate) kept me interested, even if I was reading the clues perhaps a bit too easily. The characters are varied and well defined, their behaviours plausible... the murder, suitably disgusting; and the law, inflexibly terrifying.

I definitely recommend this book for a cozy evening and I don't think that even real connoisseurs of Austen's work and biography will be too put off by their heroine's detectivesque foray. Jane Austen comes out as intelligent and perceptive (well, she is still quite young, so there are some funny gaffes!), and Jessica Bull, an author to follow,.

After being fully committed to the Bronte Sisters as detectives (thank you, Bella Ellis!) I came to this book half-hopeful, half-worried, because I have to say, I love Jane Austen a bit more than I love the Brontes, and so I really wanted it to be good. It actually didn't take long for me to be caught up in the story but I have to say, I wasn't convinced that it *was* Jane. In spite of all the family members named, and the locations, and the mentions of her early attempts in writing, Jane came over as a bit too selfish...I had imagined her as headstrong and brave, but there are moments where she is foolish and mean, and that didn't sit very well with me. So as I read, I set her (Jane's) books aside in my head, and the person I'd imagined her to be, and just went with the flow of this story.

It's very much a story written post-Bridgerton I think (what a lockdown relief that show was!) and shows a more tawdry and wild depiction than the world of my old favourite pin up Colin Firth as Darcy. Here Jane is drinking heavily at balls, sneaking around in woodlands and kissing her secret (not so secret!) boyfriend and suffering with a hangover. Perhaps it is because she is still very young in this story, but it just didn't feel very Jane somehow. Her father is a vicar, she's very aware of the social niceties required by society, and it felt unbelievable that she would have so much freedom as to be sneaking away kissing her young man quite so often.

Anyway, all that aside, I still found the crime story aspect engaging. I occasionally felt cross at Jane's continued leaps to accusation, but they did liven the story up, and kept the tension growing as you wonder what is going to become of her brother, who stands accused. It felt like it went a little bit too long towards the end, but the final revelations that occur did end up being exciting, enough that I read it past my bedtime.

'Miss Austen Investigates' by Jessica Bull.
Welcome to Hampshire, 1795, where a young Jane Austen has her sights set on securing a marriage proposal from the dashing Tom Lefroy at a local ball. But when a shocking discovery is made - a milliner's lifeless body tucked away in a linen closet - Jane finds herself embroiled in an unexpected murder mystery. As she races against the clock to clear her beloved brother Georgy's name, Jane uses her sharp wits to navigate the treacherous waters of society, unmasking secrets and unearthing hidden motives along the way. With every twist and turn, Jane's determination to solve the case deepens. And if she fails, her brother will face the ultimate punishment - the hangman's noose. Join Jane on her quest for justice as she faces down danger, deceit, and scandal amidst her own friends and neighbours. Will she uncover the truth in time, or will the real killer go free? One thing's for certain - in Hampshire, nothing is as it seems.
I really enjoyed this book and I didn't work out the killer until near the end of the book so it was definitely a good murder mystery. I really loved all the different characters especially all the members of the Austen family.
For fans of cosy crime I would give this book a read.
Thankyou to NetGallery UK, the publishers and the author for letting me read the book in return for an honest review.

Thought I was going to love this book but unfortunately not. It all felt a bit contrived. Jane didn't seem at all like the image of the real Jane Austen I have in my head. She comes across as selfish and uncaring and a bit crass in her investigating skills. She bumbles a bit. Not sure these ideas really work. To be continued? I really dislike this sort of comment. The ending doesn't have to be definitive and neatly wrapped but it does have to end.
Not for me I'm afraid. It dragged and I struggled to finish

Thank you to Net Galley and Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House for this ARC! I was very excited when I saw the title and concept - Jane Austen & murder mysteries are two of my absolute favourite things to read, and a combination was right up my street. I think I am in the minority here, but unfortunately I did not enjoy this book at all, and am stopping at around 300 pages, with the possibility that I will skip ahead to find out ‘whodunnit’. The main reason that I’m not finishing is the characterisation of Jane - she comes across as nasty and stupid, in her treatment of her family and so called friends, and her bumbling attempts at investigating. My two stars isn’t a reflection on bad quality writing or anything like that, just a lack of enjoyment and a struggle to get through the book.

This was such a fun read. Some things were annoying in their historical inaccuracy/some of the representations of Jane Austen, but beyond that it was an entertaining story, Would probably read a sequel!

3.5* rounded up - Thank you to Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House and Netgalley for providing a DRC of "Miss Austen investigates" (Released January 2024) in exchange for my honest and voluntary review.

Set in 1795 we meet Jane Austen, 20 years old, a budding author and intrepid amateur sleuth. This Regency era murder mystery sees Jane trying to clear her brother's name and solve the mystery of who murdered an unknown milliner at a country ball, and why.

This was a truly entertaining read and Jessica Bull has certainly got a great grasp of Austen's style, especially the wit and banter, as well as the Regency period overall. This may have been written in the present but it certainly doesn't feel out of place as a piece of Regency historical fiction.

I do enjoy mysteries that cast well known historical figures as detectives (see also the SJ Bennett series with HM Queen Elizabeth II helping to solve murders around the royal palaces) as they do tend to be a lot of fun to read and this is no different.

The book is well paced with a robust case and plenty of characters to cast our net wide for potential suspects. There are plenty of red herrings and twists and turns along the way leading to a satisfying conclusion and definitely a desire to read more in the series to see where Jane can get involved next.

My reason for 3.5* was that despite how well written and paced this was I didn't fully enjoy the use of the 3rd person present tense. This isn't a perspective/tense combination I normally read in, especially for mysteries so it took me a while to get used to it and at the start it took me out of the story.

Once I got used to it however I was able to dive wholeheartedly into the story in front of me to be able to appreciate the wit, drama and intrigue more fully. I did want to make note of the tense in this review as I know for other readers it can be a little off putting so may not work for all but the quality of writing and story being offered here means I definitely recommend giving it a try as you won't be disappointed by the strong case with a highly likeable lead that we have offered here.