Book Review: Another Jane Austen Mystery

Jane and the Genius of the Place by Stephanie Barron--6.5
Fourth in the Jane Austen Mystery Series
Yup, I have been running through this series rather quickly. This installment has an unfortunate lack of development in the relationship between Jane and Lord Trowbridge, but the mystery is engaging nonetheless. Jane is staying with her brother in Kent, and attends the Kent Races. There she witnesses the discovery of the corpse of a Mrs. Grey, a Frenchwoman who had the sad distinction of making many enemies in the Kentish countryside. Her French heritage is even more troublesome, as it is 1806, a time when England feared an invasion by Napoleon himself. Soon Jane and her brother are on the case, stumbling into matters that hint menacingly at Mrs. Grey's involvement with schemes to aid Napoleon. The plot is a bit convoluted, trying to walk the line between international and domestic intrigue (it seems that Mrs. Grey had more than her share of affairs, perhaps raising the ire of a jealous husband). But the characters remain engaging and the writing is otherwise tight.