The Mysterious Death of Mr. Darcy by Regina Jeffers (very different variation)

I like Jane Austen variations and I like to read them as a change from the normal genres I read which need a bit more concentration. Right now with coronovirus taking such turns in our country, I thought this was a good choice for me. Boy was I wrong. It was nothing like the other off shoots of a Jane Austen story. Starting with Darcy and Elizabeth only we find them on a cousin's house trying to sort out his estate which responsibility fell to Darcy as a beneficiary. Samuel Darcy has been killed, buried and then his corpse has disappeared. Add to this very strange domestic servants, lots of signs of witchcraft, financial misdealings and then the discovery of not one but several bodies in a row add to the stories general mayhem. When Elizabeth is almost killed by one antagonist, the game steps up and Darcy along with his cousin the Colonel is at their wits end to find out the reasons for the killings which have rocked this tiny village. Completely different from other JA variations, this was a strange but good read. Lots of strands to bring together and the author brings it all home very well. The book was sent to me courtesy of Netgalley for an unbiased review, courtesy of it being Independently Published and forwarded to me.