Suspense and Sensibility: Or, First Impressions Revisited (Mr. & Mrs. Darcy Mystery Series #2)

by Carrie Bebris

Overview

Fresh from the curious and unsettling matter of Caroline Bingley (as related in Pride and Prescience), Mr. and Mrs. Darcy have every intention of enjoying their still newlywed status at Pemberly until they are confronted with another mysterious situation, one of...

Suspense and Sensibility

Elizabeth Darcy and her beloved husband Fitzwilliam are taking on the responsibility of finding a suitable suitor for Elizabeth's younger sister Kitty, thereby assuring her a proper place in society.

The angels smile on the young and a perfect match is found, and wedding plans are soon under way. Suddenly a change in personality occurs in Kitty's soon to be model husband—a change so striking as to jeopardize not just the Darcys' social standing, but their lives as well.

A mysterious mirror, an insidious reprobate from the past, and matters far beyond the social circles around Pemberly all come into play in a dangerous puzzle, where the consequences may be the exchange of a soul for a soul.

Once again the Darcys take center stage as the Regency era's answer to The Thin Man's Nick and Nora, searching for truth between tea times, amid the social whirl of Jane Austen's England.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780765318442
Publisher:	Tor Publishing Group
Publication date:	10/30/2007
Series:	Mr. and Mrs. Darcy Mysteries Series , #2
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	551,820
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.68(d)
Age Range:	14 - 18 Years

About the Author

Carrie A. Bebris is a former school teacher and editor for TSR. A member in good standing of the Jane Austen Society, she resides in Wisconsin. Suspense and Sensibility is her second Mr. & Mrs. Darcy Mystery.

Reading Group Guide

Questions for Discussion

1. The book's subtitle, First Impressions Revisited, serves as a theme of the novel. Discuss first impressions in Suspense and Sensibility. What were your first impressions of Harry Dashwood and other characters, and did they differ from the impressions the characters made on each other? How were these impressions changed, or revisited, as events unfolded?

2. Another theme of the novel is that of seeing and reflection. How does each character wish to be seen by others? What events, actions, statements, and objects reflect his or her true nature? Are some characters better at "seeing" than others?

3. Is Sir Francis evil? Was he wrong to trap Harry in order to free himself from the mirror, or was he justified in escaping any way he could?

4. When Mr. Darcy tells Professor Randolph that he is not discontent, Randolph responds, "Everybody wants something, Mr. Darcy." Do you believe this statement is true? Is it possible for a person ever to be perfectly content?

5. After Harry is rescued, he accepts all blame for what happened. Is he indeed responsible?

6. What kind of future will Harry and Kitty have?

7. The book takes place primarily in London during the high social season. To what extent does this setting— including the constant background presence of the ton, or fashionable society—influence the story? What contrast do scenes at Pemberley and/or Norland offer?

8. Jane Austen fans might also recognize the subtitle as an echo of First Impressions—Austen's working title for Pride and Prejudice, the book upon which the Mr. & Mrs. Darcy mystery series is based. If you are familiar with Austen's novel and/or the first book in Bebris's series (Pride and Prescience), how does Suspense and Sensibility revisit characters and elements of those preceding novels? How has the Darcys' relationship—both as a married couple and as a sleuthing team—developed? Was this a satisfying sequel?

9. If you are familiar with Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility, compare Bebris's representations of Austen's characters (the Dashwoods, Brandons, Ferrarses, and Middletons) with the originals.

Editorial Reviews

Thoroughly 'light and bright and sparkling'," in the best Austen tradition with a dollop of murder and mayhem to leaven the whole. A delight.” —Stephanie Barron, author of the Jane Austen Mystery series on Pride and Prescience

“Well crafted ...Bebris works her own brand of Austen magic, whetting the reader's appetite for a sequel...Taking a lighter approach than Stephanie Barron's sleuthing Jane Austen series this one should appeal as much to Regency readers as to Austenites.” —Publishers Weekly on Pride and Prescience

“Charming” —Booklist on Pride and Prescience

“Mannered prose, Regency backdrops, moody country houses, and delightful characterization place this new series high on the to-buy list.” —Library Journal on Pride and Prescience

From the Publisher

Thoroughly 'light and bright and sparkling'," in the best Austen tradition with a dollop of murder and mayhem to leaven the whole. A delight.

author of the Jane Austen Mystery series on Pride Stephanie Barron

Jane Austen fans who regret the author wrote only six full-length novels have reason to rejoice: Bebris's second Mr. and Mrs. Darcy mystery is even better than her strong debut, Pride and Prescience (2004). In the spring of 1813, Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam Darcy agree to sponsor Elizabeth's sister Kitty for a season in London along with Darcy's 17-year-old sister, Georgiana. In the course of their social rounds, Kitty meets Harry Dashwood-a younger cousin of the Sense and Sensibility Dashwoods-and the courtship begins. Mr. Darcy makes inquiries into Harry's character, fortune and expectations, but no sooner does he receive favorable answers than the suitor begins to behave most strangely. Harry gives a friend the "cut direct" outside Boodle's Club, and there are rumors of gambling and worse excesses. It's up to Darcy and Elizabeth to discover the cause of these aberrations, and, if at all possible, see Kitty happily established. The author smoothly combines characters from Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility while remaining true to Austen's originals. A few elements of the paranormal help illuminate the mores of the period. Regency romance readers will also be delighted. Agent, Irene Goodman. (Feb. 1) Forecast: A blurb from Stephanie Baron, author of a historical series with Jane Austen as sleuth (Jane and the Ghosts of Netley, etc.), will cue her readers. Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

Jane Austen's memorable characters from Pride and Prejudice do some sleuthing in this sequel to Pride and Prescience. Elizabeth Darcy and husband find a socially perfect match for her younger sister, but his sudden personality changes endanger their own social position. Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

Less pride, more prejudice. Having barely settled in to her husband's ancestral home in Derbyshire, Elizabeth Bennet Darcy announces to bridegroom Fitzwilliam that they must return to London society to oversee the social life of her younger sister Kitty. Neither Darcy is thrilled to be a part of the social season, but Kitty is, especially when she meets Harry Dashwood at a fashionable soiree. Harry, although he first seems one of many aimless and frivolous members of the ton, tries to improve himself under the influence of Mr. Darcy and Kitty, for whom he apparently has a genuine regard. Those favorable second impressions, however, look mistaken when Harry's character degenerates after he visits his family home, bringing with him several artifacts from a notorious relation, the late unlamented Sir Francis Dashwood. Mr. Darcy is disgusted and Kitty heartbroken at Harry's plunge into dissipation. When the Darcys investigate, they find that several of Sir Francis Dashwood's cronies, former members of the scandalous Hell-Fire Club, have been performing sinister rituals at Harry's home. Mrs. Darcy consults Professor Randolph, her occult expert, about an ancient mirror, and both the Darcys take a terrible risk to destroy the mirror and save Harry. No evil is a match for the witty and happily married Darcys, a moral to which the marriage-obsessed Mrs. Bennet would wholeheartedly subscribe.

Kirkus Reviews