The only magazine dedicated to SW Washington families.
The only magazine dedicated to SW Washington families.
Midnight in Austenland by Shannon Hale (Bloomsbury USA, 2012)
Charlotte Kinder is certain the all inclusive, Austen-era, total immersion resort, Pembrook Park, is just the thing to help her get over her recent divorce. What could be better than living out her very own Jane Austen fantasy while wearing empire-waisted dresses and playing whist with handsome actors whose main goal is to set her heart aflutter. But Charlotte’s two-week stay at Pembrook Park quickly turns from Regency Era pheasant hunts, formal dinners and turns in the garden to a murder mystery when Charlotte finds a dead body in an unused, upper room. But, when she brings the other guests and actors to see for themselves, the body has disappeared. Did she really see a body? What has become of the troublesome Mr. Wattlesbrook? What secret is Miss Gardenside hiding? And is there more to gorgeous, brooding Mr. Mallery than he’s letting on?
The blithe fan of Austen’s works will enjoy Shannon Hale’s homage and delightful escape into Regency Era England. Charlotte’s voice is edgy and fun and feels like a chat with your best girl-friend. Midnight in Austenland is the second in Hale’s Austenland series, but is not a sequel, so the books can be enjoyed in any order.
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Read and reviewed by NW mother of three boys and obsessive reader, Afton Nelson.
