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A witty debut whodunit that reimagines Harriet Smith, the gullible sidekick of Jane Austen''s Emma , as a spitfire con woman, hired to break off an engagement and uncover a murderer in the genteel village of Highbury. "Seldom, very seldom, does complete truth belong to any human disclosure." --Jane Austen, Emma Is a killer lurking in the idyllic country domain of Emma Woodhouse? No longer Emma''s naive companion, Harriet Smith is a feisty con-woman-turned-detective tasked with breaking off Frank Churchill''s engagement and uncovering his aunt''s would-be murderer. The shrewd Mrs. Churchill suspects Frank''s unsuitable fiancee, Jane Fairfax, is out to kill her, while Harriet suspects little more than a society scandal. But what begins as a routine investigation among Highbury''s elite quickly spirals into a web of deception, deadly secrets, and a game of survival. As Harriet interrogates a growing list of suspects with the help of her long-suffering best friend, Robert Martin, not only does she have to contend with a potential homicidal maniac and striking out as a single woman in Regency society but is also afraid her father (and former partner-in-crime) is out for revenge. With a cast of unforgettable characters--including a charming scoundrel, a lovesick farmer, a ghoulish butler, and a ruthless heiress determined to hide her skeletons at any cost-- this brilliantly reimagined mystery featuring the characters from Jane Austen''s Emma is as deliciously dark as it is delightfully clever.
About the author
Lucy Andrew is a crime writer and crime fiction scholar who has an unhealthy fixation with Jane Austen. She has a PhD in English Literature from Cardiff University and was a Senior Lecturer in English Literature before leaving academia to concentrate on her writing. Andrew was shortlisted for the Penguin Michael Joseph Undiscovered Writers’ Prize and was a finalist at Bloody Scotland’s Pitch Perfect. She is a member of the Jane Austen Society and lives in Wolverhampton, UK, with her husband and septuagenarian tortoise.
