Lady Jayne Disappears

3.5 stars
I have to admit, I took a chance on this book because the cover is so delightfully interesting! I found the mystery engaging and interesting, though Aunt Eudora's continued keeping of secrets was annoying to me as well as to the heroine. The descriptions of the prison and the country house are very well done and make the scenes easy to imagine. I really loved how the color purple was identified as Lady Jayne's color, and how that thread was carried through to the end.

It's a good story for a debut, and I loved Politano's almost retro writing style. At times I was frustrated with the heroine's immaturity/naivety; though I understood that she had lived a strangely sheltered/exposed life in Shepton Mallet, it doesn't mean I have to like that trait of hers. Also, at times it lost focus a bit, and the lying also bothered me. It seemed like nearly everyone in the story had their own version of something or other that required a glib lie or deception, so each chapter had a new one. That was overkill for me.

The last quarter of the book was excellent, and I didn't put it down at all after about page 275. It definitely works up to a bang of revelation, and I'm still not sure it entirely cleared up Aurelie's view of her beloved father vs. the scoundrel/wastrel others viewed him as. Also, I need to know what happened to Nelle!!

I'll definitely be getting a copy of Politano's next book to see how she grows as a writer.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a review copy. Positive review not required.

Why are so many debuts retellings?? This is a fantastic book, but I would have loved to see more of the author's creativity rather than mirroring Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice plot.

There were plenty of things to make this story stand out. Gothic genre, murder mystery, and the juicy sort of melodrama were a few of my favorites.

This author is definitely one to watch. (I'm already a fan and have read nearly all of her other books. I've got one more to go on her backlist at this point plus her newest.)

Content: tobacco, marital affairs, illegitimate child spoken of