Title: Pride and Premeditation
Series: Jane Austen Murder Mystery #1
Author: Tirzah Price
Genre: YA, Retellings, Mystery
Published: April 6th, 2021 (HarperTeen)
Goodreads
Synopsis: When a scandalous murder shocks London high society, seventeen-year-old aspiring lawyer Lizzie Bennet seizes the opportunity to prove herself, despite the interference of Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, the stern young heir to the prestigious firm Pemberley Associates.
Convinced the authorities have imprisoned the wrong person, Lizzie vows to solve the murder on her own. But as the case—and her feelings for Darcy—become more complicated, Lizzie discovers that her dream job could make her happy, but it might also get her killed.
Review:
Thank you to the publisher, HarperTeen, and Edelweiss for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Aspiring lawyer Lizzie Bennet wants to work at her father’s law firm, but must prove herself before he will consider it. When wealthy Mr Bingley is arrested for murder, it is the talk of London high society, and Lizzie sees an opportunity to prove herself. Mr Bingley’s lawyer, Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy, is none too pleased with her interference, but she is determined to solve the murder herself and prove Bingley innocent. But as the case grows both complicated and dangerous, they realize that they may have to work together after all to find the real culprit before it is too late.
Pride and Prejudice is a classic I’ve read multiple times, and I’m very fond of retellings based on it as well. This is the first mystery based retelling I’ve ever read though and it was such an entertaining read! The mystery storyline was fun, and far more complex than I expected. The good thing about the way this is written is that you don’t have to have read the original book to enjoy this, but it does add another perspective if you have – though not enough to spoil the mystery.
“Do you purposefully misunderstand everything I say, Miss Bennet?”
“Do you purposefully overlook all inconvenient truths, Mr. Darcy?”
I really liked that the author presented the characters in a way that they were clearly recognizable, while making only small adjustments to their personalities and situations to account for the new setting of the story. This is of course, still set in the Regency era, which lends it the same familiar feel from the original. However, Lizzy and Darcy’s romance felt a bit lacking to be honest – but their witty banter was hilarious. I wish they would have had more interaction throughout the book as this aspect was rather neglected in favour of Lizzie’s sleuthing. Otherwise, Lizzie was very in character, and her wanting to be a lawyer is just so perfect for her personality.
Here’s the one thing that threw off the feel of the book for me though. It was rather unrealistic, even before you can get to Lizzie wanting to become a lawyer. The strict rules of decorum of the era would have never allowed for half the things that happen in this book to ever take place. Lizzie would certainly not have been permitted to wander about London talking to strangers – and definitely not without a chaperone as she frequently does in this book. This also carried over to the language which sounded quite modern at times. The author’s note indicates as much, acknowledging that some liberties have been taken in this area, but for me, as a frequent historical fiction reader, period authenticity is a huge factor in how much I enjoy a book. If the author wanted a more outgoing Lizzie, the time period of the book should have been changed accordingly.
Apart from that however, this was a quick and enjoyable read, and an interesting twist on the tale. The ending of the mystery itself was a satisfactory conclusion, but with regards to the characters, it leaves things a little open ended which was nice. I’m looking forward to the next two adaptations in the series and I can’t wait to see how those stories are going to go, particularly if Lizzie is going to make an appearance again. As long as you don’t expect a historically accurate rendition, I would recommend this book for fans of both the original and retellings in general.
Pride and Premeditation releases on April 6th, 2021.
Do you plan to read this book? Let me know in the comments below!
All quotes in this review were taken from an advance reader’s edition and may differ from the final version of the book.
Other reviews in this series:
Worlds Unlike Our Own 
Ah, man, I saw this book and new I was going to have to have it. I can’t wait to read this and am super jealous! I can see how some of it would end up being unrealistic though. Great review and thanks for sharing!
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Thanks! The historical inaccuracy took a little effort for me to look past, but after that it was a fun mystery with many familiar faces. Hope you enjoy it!
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I can overlook that so long as the writing is done well enough. And thank you, I hope I do too.. now I just have to get my hands on it!
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I’ve been seeing this book around a lot and I’m gonna give it a try! It sounds like it’s a fun read so far! 😁
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Hope you enjoy it! It’s definitely a very entertaining read
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This sounds like fun even if it doesn’t entirely work for you. It seems a little like it went with the story they wanted, even if elements didn’t fit with the time period it was written for. Still, great review and I’m glad you enjoyed it for the most part.
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Thanks! The story not quite fitting with the time period is a bit of a pet peeve for me, so it really stands out 😅 but otherwise it was a fun read.
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Now that I think about it, I’ve never read any kind of P&P retelling, but I have a few on my TBR. I may need to add this one to that list. I think it’s interesting that the liberties were taken pretty far with historical accuracy (or lack thereof) but I’m glad you ended up enjoying it despite that change.
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Thanks for reading! Yes, this turned out to be a pretty fun read despite the historical inaccuracies. It’s really cool that this is going to be a series, so I’m curious to see which classic is going to be reinterpreted next.
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This was a great review! I really like retelling and this sounds great, really can’t wait to read this! I am too someone that prefers when books stick to times, but I will give this a chance anyway, adding it now to my list x
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Thank you! The historical inaccuracies were a bit annoying, but the mystery was pretty good, so I hope you enjoy it!
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Humorous spins on old classics that make me laugh in just the title are must-reads for me, especially when they are old society murder mysteries! With spring weather on the rise and me wanting to sit outside more, I am only sad I must wait 11 days more to get my hands on this book.
Thanks so much for sharing!
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This is such a perfect read for this season! It actually reminded me a little of My Lady Jane, minus the fantasy aspects.
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Love the title, but when I was reading the blurb at the top and saw she was an aspiring lawyer, I thought, “Nope.” Then I got to the part of your review about the incongruences and the time period – relieved to know I’m not the only one who feels that way! 😁
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The title is what caught my eye too! Historical inaccuracies are a bit of a pet peeve for me so they always really stand out. Thanks for reading!
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Oooh see until now I thought this book was set in contemporary time… Not sure if I want to read it knowing that it gets so anachronistic tbh…
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The funny thing is that this would have probably worked much better if it had actually been set in contemporary times. For a reader not familiar with the era, it wouldn’t be a big deal, but I like to do my research when reading historical-type novels and I spent most of this book fretting about the various things that would have never happened in the Regency era. Still a fun read though.
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