The Suspicion at Sanditon, or The Disappearance of Lady Denham

Bebris’s pleasing seventh Jane Austen homage (after 2011’s The Deception at Lyme) takes Fitzwilliam Darcy and his wife, Elizabeth, to the stately home of Lady Denham in the village of Sanditon on the Sussex coast, for a social evening. When their widowed hostess vanishes, the guests speculate on who is to blame—perhaps one of Lady Denham’s heirs. Or does her going missing have something to do with Mr. Thomas Parker’s plans to “make Sanditon a respectable resort that draws families of good character, without the crowds and glamour and problems of the large, highly fashionable places”? The subsequent disappearance of other ladies raises the ante. Once the mystery of what happened to Lady Denham is solved, the true revelations begin. This certainly isn’t everyone’s cup of souchong, but plenty of Janeites will appreciate this kind of lively and at times tongue-in-cheek Austen-toned escapism. [em]Agent: Irene Goodman, Irene Goodman Literary Agency. (July) [/em]