Manslaughter Park

Jane Austen Murder Mysteries, Book 3

By: Tirzah Price

Narrated by: Morag Sims

Length: 9 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

In this queer retelling of the classic novel and third book in Tirzah Price's Jane Austen Murder Mystery series, Mansfield Park is the center of a deadly accident (or is it?). Perfect for fans of the Lady Janies and Stalking Jack the Ripper.

Aspiring artist Fanny Price is an unwelcome guest at her uncle Sir Thomas Bertram’s estate. It’s his affection for Fanny that’s keeping her from being forced out by her cousins Tom and Maria and nasty Aunt Norris, back to a home to which she never wants to return. But then Sir Thomas dies in a tragic accident inside his art emporium, and Fanny finds evidence of foul play that, if revealed, could further jeopardize her already precarious position.

Edmund, her best friend and secret crush, urges Fanny to keep quiet about her discovery, but Fanny can’t ignore the truth: a murderer is among them.

Determined to find the killer, Fanny’s pursuit for justice has her wading into the Bertram family business, uncovering blackmail, and brushing with London’s high society when Henry and Mary Crawford arrive at Mansfield Park with an audacious business proposal. But a surprising twist of fate—and the help of local legends Lizzie Bennett and Fitzwilliam Darcy—brings Fanny more complications than she ever expected and a life-altering realization about herself she never saw coming.

©2023 Tirzah Price (P)2023 HarperCollins Publishers

BookClub Choice

I would recommend this book it is funny and engaging. The narrator is nice to listen to and never jars you out of the story like I’ve experienced in the past.

A Clever & Nuanced Retelling

Northanger Abbey was always going to be the most difficult book to adapt for anything like Tirzah Price’s Jane Austen Murder Mystery series, but Manslaughter Park seems very true to Austen’s intent while still making some wild additions and dramatic changes. Surprisingly, all the main characters have the same feel and I hate many of them just as much in this adaptation. Fanny is a difficult heroine to understand in a modern context but had quite a lot of pluck and backbone given her circumstances. I listened to this book straight through and truly enjoyed it. Recommended!

I can appreciate this story

It's a good story and narrator. The description said it was a "queer re-telling...", but I thought it meant "strange". Everything is pg, just kissing and their relationship isn't a huge part of the story. It's just not my cup of tea. But I can appreciate that many other people would like. It's more of a 4.5 star book.

A wonderful reimagining

Like the original, it takes a minute for the story to really get going but once it does you'll enjoy a wildly fun new version of this beautiful classic

Surprised by content

I didn't like the sexual content of this one! Not worthy of Austen nor the time setting nor was it worthy of the first 2. I was disappointed of the blatant same-sex characters displayed in this title and so un-Austen worthy! I will not read anymore of this writers titles!

Not an homage to the original genius

The idea of the story isn’t bad, however the queering was not enjoyable. Not because of a repulsion to the idea, rather to the departure from Ms. Austin’s work. If Ms. Austin had wanted her work to reflect homosexuality, she would have done that. It would have been much better, IMO, if the author had come up with her own literary idea, than to bastardize the work of such a great author. I looked forward to a building on the original work, this did not do that.

Terrible adaptation-another inclusivity victim

Unfortunately this book in the series has butchered Jane Austin's wonderful setup of characters that are still discussed 200 years later to this day. This book tried to make it an all inclusive narrative causing the wonderfully balanced and realistic characters she initially created to fall way short of their original dynamics. If you would like to try something good, try book 1 or book 2 in the series.