Jane and the Prisoner of Wool House (Jane Austen Ser)

Rating:
Summary: Better and Better She Gets...
Review: ... but less and less like Jane Austen. So? Who cares? Well, the Austen purists do, but they probably quit reading the series long ago. Yep, Jane is behaving downright unnaturally for a true Regency spinster--isn't it fun? The endless reflection and ratiocination of the earlier books is replaced with more action in the recent books, and I for one consider the change an improvement. This is my favorite book so far; when I read Netley, that will undoubtedly become my new favorite. Read Jane Austen if you want to read Jane Austen; read this series if you enjoy good mysteries with interesting characters and well-researched local/historical color.

Rating:
Summary: Pretty Good
Review: I have enjoyed the whole series of Jane Austin mysteries. I think this one is a bit weaker than the earlier ones, but entertaining nonetheless. My main concern here is that the action in this seems a little farfetched. I know that the time of Jane Austin was much more liberal more women than the Victorian age, but I have a very difficult time imagining that Jane would actually have been able to do all the things that she does here. Rowing out to a burning prison hulk and nursing French sailers in a military prison seem unlikely, even for a character of Jane's pluck.

There is plenty of action here--the story is engaging and the characters are good. I continue to like the way this series is developing.

Rating:
Summary: A great addition to the series
Review: Jane and the Prisoner of Wool House is the sixth book in Stephanie Barron's series based on discovered material supposedly written by Austen herself. This time around the action takes place in Southampton and Portsmouth and involves a naval captain who has been accused of murdering the captain of a captured French ship. What follows is a somewhat tangled plot as Jane and her brother Frank attempt to discover what really happened. The only thing missing is an appearance by the Gentleman Rogue, although this lack is somewhat made up for by the introduction of Etienne Laforge. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and am eagerly anticipating the next in the series!