Welcome to my stop on the Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour for Crime & Culpability: A Jane Austen Mystery Anthology. Stop by each blog on the tour for interviews, guest posts, spotlights, reviews and more!
Crime & Culpability: A Jane Austen Mystery Anthology
by Regina Jeffers, Riana Everly, Jeanette Watts, Michael Rands, Linne Elizabeth, Emma Dalgety, and Elizabeth Gilliland
Crime & Culpability: A Jane Austen Mystery Anthology
Cozy Mystery Anthology
Settings – (Regency England, modern-day America)
Publisher : Bayou Wolf Press (September 10, 2024)
Print length : 176 pages
“No one can withstand the charm of such a mystery.” – Jane Austen, Persuasion
Jane Austen mysteries have become a popular subgenre of Austen variations, but this is more than just a trend. Austen was a masterful storyteller who embedded clues within her stories for her readers to follow, inviting readers to read between the lines and “gather the evidence” to follow her intricate plotlines.
In this anthology, various authors who are also fans and admirers of Austen’s work have taken the challenge to add some mystery to Austen’s stories and characters. From Regency sequels to film noir retellings to cozy art heists, Crime and
Culpability: A Jane Austen Mystery Anthology explores the many faces of Austen and all of her
enigmas.
Featuring stories by Regina Jeffers, Riana Everly, Jeanette Watts, Michael Rands, Linne Elizabeth, Emma Dalgety, and Elizabeth Gilliland, with a foreword by Regina Jeffers and an introduction by Elizabeth Gilliland Rands.
Character Blog Post – by Linné Elizabeth
New Year’s Resolution 1/1/2025 – Liam Darcy
The last thing I expected on New Year’s was to be dragged from my bed by the news that something was stolen from The Pemberley. After a long night of babysitting spoiled aristocracy, I barely closed my eyes when Charlie spoke four words that would keep me awake for the foreseeable future: “The crest is gone.”
The Pemberley Crest, a piece of my family history, one of the club’s most prized artifacts, had vanished.
Vanished.
From my club.
Under my nose.
This is more than a simple theft; it’s an assault on my family’s legacy. This breach is personal. The crest holds no worldly value—it’s a symbol of my family’s history and achievements. Only someone close to my family would understand the pain its absence would cause me.
Fitz and I took every precaution leading up to this party. We doubled security. New hires were supposed to be paired with seasoned staff. Yet here we are, dealing with a breach that never should have happened. Look, I get it. On New Year’s Eve, people deserve to let loose. But those people shouldn’t be on my payroll. The security staff’s laxity combined with their collective, unsanctioned buzz turned what should have been a routine night into a security disaster.
The initial reports were sparse. The crest disappeared sometime between 3 and 5 a.m., right when the club was packed to capacity. Security footage shows a grainy image of a hooded figure near the secret door to the lobby where the crest and other family achievements are displayed.
Luckily, these grim prospects morphed into at least two leads:
- Collins, a new hire, saw someone – whom he identified as Izzy Bennet – slip out of the secret door that leads to the lobby. Of course, he didn’t think to tell anyone about it last night. Damn his incompetence! And Damn this Izzy Bennet. I didn’t recognize the name until Caroline filled in the blanks about our impromptu kiss. Caroline’s claim that Izzy was acting as a distraction for the theft and Collin’s description of Izzy’s magnetic draw doesn’t equate to guilt, but it’s enough to warrant a discussion. Why exactly was Izzy at the club last night?
- In addition to Izzy, Caroline’s cryptic comments bred suspicion for a second culprit: Whickham. She saw him hanging around the outside the club. Ballsy, given his lifetime ban. Wickham, with his past connections to The Pemberley, has means, motive, and enough charm to convince an outsider to do his dirty work inside the club. Caroline’s gift for psychological games is torture, but this time her insinuation of Wickham and Bennet’s partnership might be true. Now all I need to do is track him down.
Charlie is gathering intel on Wickham. Fitz is reviewing the security footage. And I’m getting ready to formally meet Izzy Bennet. I need answers, and I need them fast. Losing the crest is like losing a piece of my heritage, a tangible connection to the past that’s irreplaceable. This search isn’t just about recovering a valuable artifact; it’s about protecting my family’s legacy and ensuring that The Pemberley remains a beacon of security and tradition. My New Year’s resolution is clear: Find the crest.
About the Authors
Writer Elizabeth Gilliland was photographed in Mobile, Alabama.
Elizabeth Gilliland: Elizabeth Gilliland is the author of the Austen University Mysteries series, including What Happened on Box Hill, The Portraits of Pemberley, and two prequel novellas, Dear Prudent Elinor and Sly Jane Fairfax. (Look out for book three sometime next year!) She has written and presented at various academic confer‐ ences on Jane Austen and wrote her dissertation on Jane Austen adaptations, dedicating herself to watch the lake dive scene as many times as necessary for scholarly pursuit. She also writes Gothic horror as E. Gilliland and romance as Lissa Sharpe, and she is the co-founder of Bayou Wolf Press.
Author Links
Website: www.bayouwolfpress.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/egilliland
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id= 100094046020056
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/ 21986541.Elizabeth_Gilliland
Blog: https://lissag7.medium.com/
Newsletter: Signup form at https://www.bayouwolfpress.com/
Website – https://www.bayouwolfpress.com/
Twitter – https://x.com/BayouWolf3
Regina Jeffers – Regina Jeffers writes books about corsets, rakes, daring heroines, dashing heroes and all aspects of the Georgian/Regency era. She is an award winning author of cozy mysteries, historical romantic suspense, and Austenesque vagaries. Jeffers has been a Smithsonian presenter and Martha Holden Jennings Scholar, as well as having her tales honored by, among others, the Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense, the Frank Yerby Award for Fiction, the International Digital Awards, and the Chanticleer International Book Award.
Author Links:
Every Woman Dreams (Blog) https://reginajeffers. wordpress.com
Always Austen (Group Blog) https://alwaysausten.com/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Regina-Jeffers-AuthorPage-141407102548455/?fref=ts
Twitter https://twitter.com/reginajeffers
Amazon Author Page https://www.amazon.com/Regina-Jeffers/ e/B008G0UI0I/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1479079637&sr=8-1
Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/jeffers0306/
BookBub https://www.bookbub.com/profile/regina-jeffers
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/darcy4ever/
You Tube Interview https://www.youtube.com/watch?v= vzgjdUigkkU
Regina Jeffers Website https://rjefferscom.wordpress.com/
Riana Everly: Riana Everly is an award-winning Canadian author of Austenesque fiction, both Regency and contemporary. Her historical mystery series, Miss Mary Investigates, has quickly become a favourite of Jane Austen fans and cosy mystery fans alike. Trained as a classical musician, she also has advanced degrees in Medieval Studies, and pretended to be an academic before discovering that fiction doesn’t need footnotes. She loves travelling, cooking her way around the world, playing with photography, and discussing obscure details with her husband and children. Possibly in Latin. She can be found in the usual places and loves connecting with readers, so please give her a shout!
Author Links:
Newsletter: https://form.jotform.com/80367829232259
Website: rianaeverly.com
Facebook: facebook.com/RianaEverly
Instagram: instagram.com/RianaEverly
Amazon: amazon.com/Riana-Everly/e/B076C6HY27
Jeanette Watts: Jeanette Watts is a dance instructor, writer, seamstress, actress, and very, very poor housekeeper. With books on historical fiction, modern romantic comedy, LGBTQ romance, Jane Austen-inspired stories, and she is contemplating writing steamier works, what do all these genres have in common? Jeanette writes about people with a secret. Secrets are fun. Keep up with the various parts of Jeanette’s brain at her YouTube Channel, “History is My Playground,” and her webpages, Jeanette‐ Watts.squarespace.com and DancingThruHistory.com.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeanettewattsauthor/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JeanetteWattsAuthor/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JeanetteAWatts
Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeanette-watts3b212228/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/ UClz5LwyUEhPYhBS6piNpBqQ
Website 1: https://jeanettewatts.squarespace.com/
Website 2: https://www.dancingthruhistory.com/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6967936.
Jeanette_Watts Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/ Jeanette-A-Watts/author/B00ICRA7JC?ref=ap_rdr&isDramInte grated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true
Michael Rands: Michael Rands is the author of the novels The Chapel St. Perilous and Praise Routine Number Four, co-author of the economic satire The Yamaguchi Manuscripts, and Kamikaze Economics (a story of modern Japan). He’s co-author of the humorous dictionary Stay Away from Mthatha. He co-created the audio drama The Crystal Set and co- hosted the podcast Detours Ahead. In South Africa he worked in television as a writer, director and producer. He taught English in Japan. He holds an MFA from Louisiana State University, and currently teaches English and Creative Writing at the college level. He is the co-founder of Bayou Wolf Press. He lives with his wife, son, and labrador, in Alabama. His new novel, When the Witch Calls, comes out in November 2024.
Author Links
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michael.rands.14
Twitter: https://twitter.com/mikerands
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michaelrands/?hl=en
Blog: https://medium.com/@notmikerands
Linné Elizabeth: Linné Elizabeth is an English instructor at Utah Tech University, a freelance content writer, and an award-winning author. When she’s not devouring chocolate while nose-deep in a book, you can find her playing in the russet desert of southern Utah with her four incredible – sometimes feral – kids and her handsome husband. Check her out on Instagram: @library4one or on Facebook: @linneelizabeth
Author Links
Website: https://sites.google.com/asu.edu/ linnemarshportfolio/home
Instagram: @Library4One
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ linneelizabethmarsh/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LinneElizabeth
Blog: https://wordpress.com/view/linneelizabeth.wordpress.com
Emma Dalgety: Emma Dalgety grew up in Mobile, Alabama. She received a BA in Music and English from the University of Mobile in 2023. As a musi‐ cian and a writer, she has performed violin across the Southeast and internationally, finding creative inspiration and filling notebooks with story fragments throughout her travels. When she isn’t writing, she is researching interdisciplinary connections in literature as she works towards an MA in English, or teaching music lessons in her private studio.
Purchase Link – Amazon
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Crime & Culpability TOUR PARTICIPANTS
September 16 – Mystery, Thrillers, and Suspense – SPOTLIGHT
September 16 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
September 17 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – AUTHOR GUEST POST
September 18 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT
September 19 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
September 20 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
September 21 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT
September 22 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW, AUTHOR GUEST POST
September 23 – Sarah Can’t Stop Reading Books – REVIEW
September 23 – Reading Is My SuperPower – AUTHOR GUEST POST
September 24 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST
September 24 – Baroness Book Trove – SPOTLIGHT
September 25 – Reading, Writing & Stitch-Metic – AUTHOR GUEST POST
September 26 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT
September 26 – Boys’ Mom Reads! – CHARACTER GUEST POST
September 27 – Books, Ramblings, and Tea – REVIEW
September 27 – fundinmental – SPOTLIGHT
September 28 – Cassidy’s Bookshelves – REVIEW
September 29 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT
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