THE RUSHWORTH FAMILY PLOT (MR. DARCY & MISS TILNEY MYSTERY), By Claudia Gray, Vintage, June 17, 2025, Paperback, $18 (young adult/ new adult/ adult fiction)
Amateur sleuths Jonathan Darcy and Juliet Tilney must solve a murder involving the family of Edmund and Fanny Bertram in The Rushworth Family Plot, by Claudia Gray.
Jonathan Darcy and Juliet Tilney understand each other perfectly; it’s a pity their families do not. A series of misunderstandings, misplaced pride, and—indeed—prejudice, has led their parents to deem the pair unsuited to wed.
Now, with the Season approaching, Juliet’s grandfather, General Tilney, has sent her to London with a new wardrobe and orders to prove herself worthy of someone better than the snobby Darcys.
Meanwhile, Jonathan has been forced to accept an invitation to stay in town with old friends Edmund and Fanny Bertram at the house of Edmund’s brother, Sir Thomas. Oblivious to and undesiring of female attention outside of Juliet’s, Jonathan is at risk of being ensnared by Caroline Bingley’s previously rebuffed plans to make herself—or her daughter—mistress of Pemberley.
But when Mr. Rushworth, the former husband of Edmund’s sister Maria, is discovered dead in his home, Jonathan and Juliet find themselves with problems far weightier than the marriage market. In one of the greatest scandals of its day, Maria abandoned her new husband in favor of the notorious rake Henry Crawford, and when he wouldn’t marry her, was forced to flee to the continent in disgrace.
Now Maria is back, accompanied by a daughter she claims Mr. Rushworth fathered after their divorce—and who he wrote into his will just before his death. To spare Edmund and Fanny further social shame, Jonathan and Juliet must unmask a killer before the drama surrounding the Rushworth family fortune claims another victim. —Synopsis provided by Vintage
The Rushworth Family Plot is the fourth book in Claudia Gray’s Mr. Darcy & Miss Tilney Mystery series, which follows Jane Austen’s famous characters from multiple novels. The first three books, The Murder of Mr. Wickham and The Late Mrs. Willoughby and The Perils of Lady Catherine De Bourgh are lots of fun, and so is Gray’s latest offering.
Author Claudia Gray has crafted a timeline in which all of Austen’s characters fit: Darcy and Elizabeth have a grown son, and Catherine Morland and Henry Tilney have a grown daughter. Edmund and Fanny are married with no children. Tom Bertram is in search of a wife. And don’t forget Mrs. Norris, who is still stuck caring for Maria.
This series is an ode to all things Austen, and while you could start at the beginning, you won’t get as much out of it if you don’t a familiarity with Austen’s novels.
Gray’s world that is an extension of Austen’s. Her writing style is warm and comfortable but in keeping with the source material and progression of time. It’s not the fastest read but moves at a comfortable pace.
In The Rushworth Family Plot, Jonathan and Juliet are very much drawn to each other and have high hopes for a future together. Solving Mr. Rushworth’s murder gives them an opportunity to build on their relationship and allows Juliet’s mother a chance to observe them.
While not specifically a young adult novel, The Rushworth Family Plot is an enjoyable mystery perfect for Jane Austen fans of any age.
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