The Suspicion at Sanditon: Or, the Disappearance of Lady Denham

May 25, 2015
Bebris’s pleasing seventh Jane Austen homage (after 2011’s The Deception at Lyme) takes Fitzwilliam Darcy and his wife, Elizabeth, to the stately home of Lady Denham in the village of Sanditon on the Sussex coast, for a social evening. When their widowed hostess vanishes, the guests speculate on who is to blame—perhaps one of Lady Denham’s heirs. Or does her going missing have something to do with Mr. Thomas Parker’s plans to “make Sanditon a respectable resort that draws families of good character, without the crowds and glamour and problems of the large, highly fashionable places”? The subsequent disappearance of other ladies raises the ante. Once the mystery of what happened to Lady Denham is solved, the true revelations begin. This certainly isn’t everyone’s cup of souchong, but plenty of Janeites will appreciate this kind of lively and at times tongue-in-cheek Austen-toned escapism. Agent: Irene Goodman, Irene Goodman Literary Agency.

July 1, 2015
It's been four years since Bebris' last Mr. and Mrs. Darcy mystery, The Deception at Lyme (2011), and, having run out of completed Austen novels, Bebris now draws from an eleven-chapter fragment, Sanditon, to create the latest intrigue in which Elizabeth and Darcy find themselves embroiled. The Darcys decide to accompany Elizabeth's friend, Charlotte Heywood, to the seaside resort town of Sanditon after meeting the town's biggest enthusiast (and primary fund-raiser), Thomas Parker. Once there, they are invited to a dinner at the house of Lady Denham, a dowager whose estate is the subject of interest to all of her relations, many of whom are in attendance at the dinner. When Lady Denham goes missing just before she's supposed to greet her guests, Elizabeth and Darcy fear something nefarious is afoot, and their suspicions seem to be confirmed when several more ladies from the party disappear in quick succession. With the influx of new Austen-related books on a downswing in recent years, Bebris' charming and humorous mystery should please die-hard Austenites.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)