Thursday Reading

I’m skipping the Thursday meme because I couldn’t figure out how to answer it. Instead, I’m going to take a look at what I’ve been reading lately.

I recently finished Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor by Stephanie Barron.

The synopsis:

On a visit to the estate of her friend, the young and beautiful Isobel Payne, Countess of Scargrave, Jane bears witness to a tragedy. Isobel's husband—a gentleman of mature years—is felled by a mysterious and agonizing ailment. The Earl's death seems a cruel blow of fate for the newly married Isobel. Yet the bereaved widow soon finds that it's only the beginning of her misfortune...as she receives a sinister missive accusing her and the Earl's nephew of adultery—and murder. Desperately afraid that the letter will expose her to the worst sort of scandal, Isobel begs Jane for help. And Jane finds herself embroiled in a perilous investigation that will soon have her following a trail of clues that leads all the way to Newgate Prison and the House of Lords—a trail that may well place Jane's own person in the gravest jeopardy.

What I thought:

I actually started reading this book back in March during my California trip. It was easy to put down and leave it for three months. If I had a rating system, I’d give it 2/12 out of 5 stars for “it was okay”. I didn’t hate it, but it didn’t grab me in the least. I like Barron’s writing style in that it truly seems like Jane Austen is telling the story. The “whodunit” aspect of the book was fun and I didn’t figure out who the murderer was until right before Jane did. I’m like that though. I never figure out the culprit until he or she is revealed, lol.

I'm not sure that I feel compelled to read anymore of Barron's series though. I have to be drawn in to a series to continue reading it and this book just didn't do it for me.