Murder at Mansfield Park by Lynn Shepherd

The latest book to land on my desk is Lynn Shepherd’s “Murder at Mansfield Park” a variation on the infamous “Mansfield Park” by Jane Austen. Austen wrote the book at Chawton Cottage in Hampshire spending the last eight years of her life there in the 19^th century (Don’t say you never learn anything on here!)

Update: Murder at Mansfield Park is now available on E-Book and a must for any discerning Christmas stocking!

Approaching it with a slight trepidation, for I must confess I have never read Jane Austen, “Murder at Mansfield Park” offered a new challenge breaching my comfort zone with ease! The one major benefit this afforded me however was a fresh and unhindered look into the world of Austen and her colourful cast.

Available from The Book Depository & Amazon

Carrying little baggage and few pre-conceived ideas I settled down to what proved to be an invigorating journey into the world of the haves and the have-nots and all and sundry at Mansfield Park.

Taking all this into account it will come as no surprise to many of my readers that I found the first 30 pages rather sedentary given the old style English narrative and a never ending cast of characters. I felt overwhelmed by the experience and on many occasions I found myself reverting back to the invaluable list of characters at the beginning of the book.

However, once I’d settled into the rhythm and feel of the book I felt the pace quicken and take on a more natural flow. There is no doubt that the prose is elegant and beautifully written, it’s clear that Shepherd has taken a great deal of care to make “Murder at Mansfield Park” as authentic as possible.

The first half of the book is all about building a deep and informative foundation. With new surrounds, grandiose homes, colourful characters and a variety of complex relationship implications; boredom is effortlessly kept at bay with a rich and atmospheric narrative.

I found Mrs Norris a terribly annoying character, one I would have happily throttled on numerous occasions! She was overbearing and opinionated to such a degree that she became loathsome – you always need a character you despise in a book and Mrs Norris fitted that role for me!

Kindle Edition

When one of the principle cast members is brutally killed, the book moves up a gear and becomes an enchanting murder mystery. Can one class a murder as enchanting?! The grim discovery of the body in a muddy ditch introduces us to an assured thief-taker, or private detective to you and me – Charles Maddox.

He was by far my favourite character of the whole piece. Clever, confident yet strangely fallible; Maddox sets about investigating the murder and will stop at nothing to bring about swift justice. For me he guides the second half of the book – everything centres around the detective – and as the investigation intensifies, Shepherd weaves an intriguing web of deceit, bribery and scandal all culminating with the discovery of the guilty party.

Maddox at times reminded me of a combination of Columbo, Sherlock Holmes and Horatio from CSI Miami (without the scientific breakthroughs, DNA and angled sunglasses!). An early adopter of profiling and a study of human nature, Maddox is confident in his abilities – he deserves his own book!

Funnily enough, when I mentioned I would be reading this book a number of people warned me of Austen’s famous Fanny Price! “A horrible character” they said, “you won’t like her” said another – hand on heart, I didn’t have a problem with her!! Sure she’s no saint but I found her evocative and colourful, a victim of her upbringing perhaps?

Full of twists and turns, “Murder at Mansfield Park” is a beautiful and very well written book. It’s clear Shepherd had a great deal of fun writing the story, and the book is her vision of what might have happened had there been a murder at “The Park”!

I never for one moment thought I would enthuse over a book of this type but I have to admit it is, without doubt, definitive proof that readers should every once in a while challenge themselves and try something a little outside their comfort zone.

Deliciously opulent, Murder at Mansfield Park is a must read.

Published by Corsair Murder is available from The Book Depository (Free Del) & Amazon & now E-Book format.