Jane and the Stillroom Maid by Stephanie Barron

A couple of years ago, I really jumped into this series. I do not consider myself a mystery reader, but I really enjoyed these books. Perhaps it is because the main character is Jane Austen, and I have been known to enjoy an Austen book or two.

Jane, her mother, sister, and cousin are on a trip to Derbysire (which is beautiful country, I must add). On an afternoon of visiting the countryside, Jane discovers a dead, and mutilated body. It turns out that while on first appearing like a man, the truth is shared that it is the Stillroom maid from a local estate.

Naturally, Jane , with the help of Lord Harold, begin to uncover clues as to the murder of this less than admirable woman. There a web of falsehoods and lies, they discover the truth and save the person that appears to be taking the blame.

I must admit, I had a hard time getting into this book. So if you have liked the others, but find this one slow going in the beginning: stick with it.

Confessions of a Counterfeit Farm Girl by Susan McCorkindale

I must admit that I have a dream to live on a farm. Nothing like the farm she describes in this book. I would like 5-10 acres to have sheep... for my dogs. The thing is I am born and breed in the suburbs and while my husband is from a farm state (Nebraska) he is not only against living on a farm but he is not handy around the house. Worse he does not want to learn. So when I read the cover of this book I thought I could get some insight.

Susan was the marketing director for the publishing company that publishes Family Circle. While it is her husband's idea to move to the farm, she was okay with leaving her job. She did not enjoy the job or the commute into New York everyday. Her husband's brother has money and purchases the farm with the idea that Stu ( Susan's husband aka Hemingway) and his family (Susan and their two sons) would live on and run the farm. Stu seems to jump in with enthusiasm and seems to be proficient at taking on the role of running a 500 acres cattle farm. Lack of knowledge never seems to be an issue on his part. Lack of money never seems to be an issue on anyone's part which I find interesting because Susan leaves a job that must have had a pretty nice paycheck attached to it.

While the beginning of the book had me interested talking about the move, the why behind the move, and the initial getting use to where they lived, I felt that it became her talking about how she refused to wear farm clothes (even if where her designer shoes endangered her life), how there was no Starbucks, and how she had to drive 20- 45 minutes to get to any real shopping. She also spends a lot of time talking about the gross things her sons do... which makes me glad my kid is a girl.

I enjoyed her voice that came through in the novel and her use of sarcasim. I just which there had been some change or depth to her. While I am sure this is not the case, she came across as someone that only worries about material possessions, and how they were harder to get. I did totally enjoy the chapter titled "Swimsuits in the Sticks" becaue everyone goes through same feeling every spring where trying on bathing suits, and as I mentioned she is funny.

I wouldn't call her a counterfeit farm girl because she never attempts to become a farm girl. My understanding is that a publisher read her blog and approached her about publishing it as a book. Perhaps that is the most valuable thing I took away from the book.