Cozy Cull [10] - Pride and Prescience (Or, A Truth Universally Acknowledged) by Carrie Bebris

According to Merriam-Webster:

Definition of CULL

1 : to select from a group : choose  

2 : to reduce or control the size of (as a herd) by removal (as by hunting) of especially weaker animals; also : to hunt or kill (animals) as a means of population control

The plan is:

1. Each week I read one of the MANY cozy mysteries I have among my personal books.  
2. I write a post about it. 
3. Then I offer it in a giveaway in order to cull my "herd" of cozies... as "a means of population control."

 Please spread the word, even if you've already read this week's book. 

This week I have the first book in the Mr. & Mrs. Darcy Mystery series, Pride and Prescience (Or, A Truth Universally Acknowledged) by Carrie Bebris (published May 2007 - first published February 2004). 

You can find my thoughts on Pride and Prescience (Or, A Truth Universally Acknowledged) here.

From Goodreads:

Pride and Prescience (Or, A Truth Universally Acknowledged), a Mr. and Mrs. Darcy Mystery, embroils the joyous newlyweds Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam Darcy in a mystery involving one of their wedding guests.

The lovely Caroline Bingley is engaged to marry a rich and charismatic American. Unfortunately, this windswept courtship is marred by many strange events-- nocturnal wanderings, spooked horses, carriage accidents, and even an apparent suicide attempt. Soon the whole Bingley family seems the target of a mysterious plot, with only the Darcys recognizing the danger

Sinister forces are afoot and the Darcys must get to the bottom of the plot before the blushing bride descends into madness--or worse.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

It's all in the terms and conditions, but in case you missed those...

Giveaway ends Thursday, April 25th (11:59 pm CT). I'll give the winner 48 hours from the time of notification to respond before I move on to someone else. The winner will be announced here once I've received a reply to my email.

It's not required, but feel free to comment!

And the winner is Vanessa of MomLovesDeals!

Pride and Prescience (Or, A Truth Universally Acknowledged)

Title: Pride and Prescience (Or, A Truth Universally Acknowledged)

Author: Carrie Bebris

Publisher: Forge

Series: Mr. & Mrs. Darcy Mystery, Bk 1

ISBN: 9780765318435

Pages: 287

Obtained: Personal copy via PaperBackSwap.com

Comments:

I've had this book waiting for some time.  But then along came the Historical Mystery Reading Challenge 2013 (for which this is set in the early 19th century), not to mention my need to do another Cozy Cull (I'll be giving this away in another post).  The timing seemed perfect.  I had wanted to reread Pride and Prejudice first... I haven't read it in YEARS.  But I managed to get through the story without.  The book makes references to things and people from Pride and Prejudice since the story begins on Elizabeth Bennett and Darcy's wedding day.  But I don't feel having read Pride and Prejudice is necessary to the story, just preferable.

It was fascinating exploring how someone imagines Elizabeth and Darcy's marriage to start.  The mystery was something of an added bonus.  I do have to say, however, that I did guess the bad guy, though not the means.  There were certain signs that felt ... oh, how to say this without giving the end away... off.  I kind of felt like some of the characters didn't take note of the indications well enough.  However, the times then were different enough that I don't know that people would have taken note.  Or if they did how they would have acted on it.  So I suppose that was realistic enough.

I was not expecting the paranormal slant, but that also seemed to work with the story and even, I suppose, with the trends of the time.

I will continue with the next book in this series, Suspense and Sensibility (Or, First Impressions Revisited), if I have time and opportunity.  Since I haven't read Sense and Sensibility before, so it'd be nice if I managed that first.  Even though the characters will still be from Pride and Prejudice, it only seems right.