Jane and the Man of the Cloth

Being the Second Jane Austen Mystery (Being a Jane Austen Mystery, Book 2)

By: Stephanie Barron

Narrated by: Kate Reading

Length: 10 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

For everyone who loves Jane Austen...the second tantalizing mystery in a new series that transforms the beloved author into a dazzling sleuth!

Jane and her family are looking forward to a peaceful holiday in the seaside village of Lyme Regis. Yet on the outskirts of town an overturned carriage forces the shaken travelers to take refuge at a nearby manor house. And it is there that Jane meets the darkly forbidding yet strangely attractive Mr. Geoffrey Sidmouth. What murky secrets does the brooding Mr. Sidmouth seek to hide?

Jane suspects the worst - but her attention is swiftly diverted when a man is discovered hanged from a makeshift gibbet by the sea. The worthies of Lyme are certain his death is the work of “the Reverend”, the ringleader of the midnight smuggling trade whose identity is the town's paramount mystery. Now, it falls to Jane to entrap and expose the notorious Reverend...even if the evidence points to the last person on earth she wants to suspect...a man who already may have won her heart.

©2009 Stephanie Barron (P)2020 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“Eat your heart out, Charlotte Bronte!... Jane's narrative voice stays coolly crisp and witty, never losing its clarity of style and authenticity of tone, even in nerve-racking moments of excitement...captivating...delightful.... Ms. Barron's skillful rendering of Austen's style, attuned to picking up the most delicate fluctuations in social behavior, reveals it to be an ideal vehicle for the classic cozy murder mystery. Who knew?” (The New York Times Book Review)

“The words, characters, and references are so real it is a shock to find that the author is not Austen herself.” (Arizona Republic)

“Delightful...captures the style and wit of Austen.... A real charmer.” (San Francisco Examiner)

Interesting all the way

I really enjoyed the story itself and especially the footnotes , as I am a jane austin fan.

Love this series!!

I read Stephanie Barton’s novels years ago and am enjoying listening to them! Ms Barron absolutely captures the spirit of Jane Austen. Well done!!

keeps you guessing

This novel keeps the reader guessing who the Reverend is for over five hours. I highly recommend.

Jane Austen Mysteries Revisited

I’m enjoying listening to this series by Stephanie Barron and narrated by Kate Reading as much as I was delighted in initially discovering and reading the series! I feel as if I’m Cassandra, knitting away listening to Jane’s correspondence or conversation over tea. A vicarious participant in Jane’s adventures. :)

A little predictable but fun characters

The characters are the best part of this book, although the formula for the plot is becoming predictable.

Overall good

Historically inaccurate to say that Jane Austen’s father, a clergyman in the early 1800s, would have questioned the Biblical account of creation. Jane also went several places unaccompanied which she wouldn’t have done in that era.

Another fine Jane story

I really love this story. I don't really like the actual Jane Austen novels, so the fact that I kept smiling at how clever this story is written is something of a surprise. This Jane is, of course, really a budding feminist, but there is enough 19th century sensibility that it does not seem completely out of place.

When a certain Gentleman Rogue showed up at the end, I thought the author had copped out and brought in a man to save the day, but, never fear, Jane remains the main character.

Anyway, it's a good story and the history lessons in the footnotes is a bonus.