“SECRETS IN THE SNOW,” by Michaela MacColl, Chronicle Books, Oct. 4, 2016, Hardcover, $16.99 (young adult)
Michaela MacColl is known for taking famous writers and putting them into mysteries — Louisa May Alcott, Emily Bronte, Emily Dickenson, and now Jane Austen.
“Secrets in the Snow” transports us to the late 18th century. Jane Austen is staying with her wealthy brother when she learns her widowed cousin is under investigation for sharing information with France.
Jane won’t spy on her own cousin, and she has serious doubts as to her guilt in the first place. So Jane brings her cousin to the Austen rectory at Steventon where she can question her in private. The two are followed by a highwayman who will change their futures forever.
When Jane discovers a body in the churchyard she quickly steps forward to solve the murder and protect her family’s name. But that decision has consequences — consequences that could cost Jane her one chance at true happiness.
Like her previous author mysteries, in “Secrets in the Snow,” MacColl gracefully marries truth and fiction. Her restraint while weaving imaginative elements with those Austen actually experienced is nuanced refreshing.
There has been a lot of speculation over the years as to what Austen’s true relationship with Tom Lefroy, a young barrister who visited Steventon while Austen was of marriageable age. MacColl utilizes this uncertainty, creating a love interest for Jane that feels realistic and flawed.
MacColl’s prose is welcoming and uncomplicated. Her dialogue and setting feel right for the time period, though they lack the wit Austen fans might be expecting.
Overall, “Secrets in Snow” is a gentle and enjoyable mystery that doesn’t involve a lot of effort on the reader’s part.
