Book Review: Murder In Highbury by Vanessa Kelly

While my favorite Jane Austen heroine is by far the capable and mature Anne Elliot of Persuasion, I’ve been accused often enough of being too much like the eponymous heroine of Emma to not have a fondness for her as well. So when I heard that someone was writing a murder mystery following the events of that latter novel, I knew that I had to take a look. 

And I’m so glad I did because Murder In Highbury is a charming pastiche that faithfully captures the spirit of its predecessor while being a very smart cozy crime novel all on its own. Readers are thrown right into the action on the very first page when Emma and Harriet – now Mrs. Knightley and Mrs. Martin – stumble across the corpse of Mrs. Elton in the village church where her husband is vicar. It’s very clear that Augusta Elton did not die of natural circumstances. After first situating an overcome Harriet in a pew, Emma sets her formidable brain to figure out how best to deal with this horrifying occurrence:

Emma was very fond of her young friend, but Harriet often displayed an unfortunate excess of emotion when distressed as well as a tendency to faint. Neither characteristic was welcome under the circumstances.

 

With Harriet sorted for the moment, Emma could gather her thoughts and determine what must be done next. As mistress of Hartfield, her father’s manor house, and of Donwell Abbey since her marriage to George, she was used to making decisions. Still, while Emma generally trusted her judgment and intellect, a dead Mrs. Elton was a challenge that taxed even her ability to think clearly.

Her talent for organizing quickly alerts the proper authorities, including her own husband George Knightley, whose responsibilities include acting as the local magistrate. But her insatiable curiosity soon has her picking up incriminating evidence, which she swiftly turns over to her sensible husband. Unfortunately, his counterparts in local law enforcement zero in on the hapless Miss Bates as their prime suspect in Mrs. Elton’s murder. Emma knows that the talkative former vicar’s daughter wouldn’t harm a fly and is determined to prove it. Will her meddling ways prove for the best as she seeks to keep Miss Bates out of prison, or will they only do further harm as a devious killer stalks their English village?

Having acquired years of leadership experience in both professional and community settings since reading Emma as a teenager, I can now better appreciate her characteristics and personality – flaws, foibles, and all. It’s very clear that Vanessa Kelly does, too: the Emma of Murder In Highbury has certainly learned several very important lessons as she’s grown up and gotten married, but still possesses that wonderful self-confidence and clarity that allows her to both see the reality of and the very best in people, including in herself:

Her father dramatically sighed.”[I] could barely swallow a bite. Emma did her best to eat something–more for my sake, you understand. I know she did not wish me to worry after her terrible ordeal.”

 

Truth be told, her terrible ordeal had left Emma terribly famished. She had demolished ample portions of the veal and the trifle and had finished dinner with an apple and cheese tart. Though rather insensitive of her, it hardly made sense to pretend she wasn’t hungry.

 

And the veal had been excellent.

 

“That was very thoughtful of Emma,” George wryly replied.

 

She smiled. “You know very well that nothing impairs my appetite, which is surely an unfortunate lack of sensibility on my part.”

 

“Or a great deal of common sense. If we were to lose our appetites every time a tragic event occurred, the human race would starve in very short order.”

In addition to successfully continuing the original’s humor and charm, Ms. Kelly writes a surprisingly dense murder plot, with excellent misdirection to go with the lively characterizations. I was just as absorbed in the twisty tale as I was amused at the ongoing adventures of characters I already know and love. Out of all of Austen’s heroines, the inquisitive, assured Emma is by far the best suited to take on the role of investigator, in my personal opinion. This novel was a treat for me as an Austen fan and as a mystery reader, and I’m hoping that, despite the decisive nature of the book’s final sentence, there will be many more mysteries for Emma and her loved ones to solve together in the future.