As she explores the abbey, Jane is startled by an unknown man bearing a message from an old friend – Lord Harold Trowbridge. Upon meeting with Trowbridge, Jane is drawn into a mission of utmost importance to the Crown with regard to the ongoing war with Napoleon on the Iberian Peninsula.

Jane is instructed to learn all she can about Mrs. Sophia Challoner, the English widow of a Portuguese merchant whom Trowbridge suspects of acting against British interests. Soon after Mrs. Challoner takes up residence in Netley Lodge, a massive warship under construction is burned to the ground and amidst the rubble the body of a murdered shipwright is discovered. Not long after, another body surfaces, brutally slain in the same fashion.

Torn between her admiration for Mrs. Challoner as an independent woman of great beauty and intelligence and her suspicions that her new friend may be threatening her country’s navy (not to mention Jane’s two brothers, naval captains both), Jane struggles to unmask a traitor and stop a heartless killer.

Writing a mystery novel with one of literature’s most beloved authors as the sleuth is a daunting challenge, but Stephanie Barron is more than up to the task. She captures the spirit of Austen’s writing style and her era beautifully and maintains the tone throughout, never losing sight of her inspiration. Barron does an excellent job of grounding her story in historical accuracy and clearly has thoroughly researched all aspects of the book. The mystery flows naturally and the characters are generally vivid and well-drawn.

Barron’s descriptions of Jane’s mother are particularly delightful - her humorous combination of good intentions and nosiness will likely strike a familiar chord with many readers. The author’s deft treatment of a romantic subplot is also well done as she shows the reader the depths of the characters’ attachment to one another without allowing the romance to dominate the mystery.

Unfortunately, the story is marred slightly as the intrigue falls slightly flat towards the end – for all her careful attention to detail, the author fails to adequately address the how and the why of the perpetrator’s aims. The ending seems somewhat rushed as Barron struggles to tie up a multitude of loose ends in only a few pages. While the ending fits logically with the action that precedes it, the lack of development in the conclusion leaves a modest black mark on an otherwise excellent book.

While not central to the book as a whole, also worth noting are the copious footnotes provided by the editor to elucidate historical points and link the story to real events in Austen’s life as well as her writings. The notes provide many interesting tidbits of trivia, although one seems to serve little purpose other than to promote the author’s prior work in the series (of which this book is the seventh). However, this is but a minor quibble and easily forgiven. Overall, Jane and the Ghosts of Netley is a well-crafted mystery that should appeal not only to Austen fans but fans of historical mystery generally.

--Jessica Plonka