Miss Caroline Bingley, Private Investigator: A Novel

Kelly Gardiner · Sharmini Kumar

Jul 2025 · HarperVia · Narrated by Shaheen Khan

About this audiobook

In this imaginative cozy mystery, the search for a missing maid leads Miss Caroline Bingley from Jane Austen’s beloved Pride & Prejudice into murder and mayhem in the gritty underbelly of Regency London.

Two years after her brother Charles Bingley weds Miss Jane Bennett, Miss Caroline Bingley is visiting her brother's country estate near Pemberley, the home of their best friends, Mr. and Mrs. Darcy. Restless and out of sorts, Caroline wonders if there's more to life than playing cribbage and paying calls on country neighbors.

When Georgiana Darcy's maid, Jayani disappears and Georgiana sets off to find her, Caroline races to to find them in London, where she stumbles on a shocking, cold-blooded murder. Reunited with Georgiana, the pair careen through the gritty, grimy underbelly of London, a world unfamiliar to two genteel aristocratic ladies. Assisted by Caroline's trusty manservant, Gordon, the tenacious Caroline demands answers of shady characters, police magistrates, and mysterious East India Company men to discover the killer. Their search will reveal the cost of Empire on India and its people . . . and Miss Bingley's incomparable powers of investigation.

As Caroline puts her superior new talents to work, she finds out exactly what an accomplished, independent woman with a sharp mind and a large fortune can achieve—even when pitted against secrets, scandal, and a murderer with no mercy.

Ratings and reviews

Caroline Bingley becomes unexpectedly embroiled in a murder investigation in London’s underbelly when her friend Georgiana Darcy’s maid disappears. This is an interesting start to a new cozy mystery series. The plot and characters are well-constructed. I like that the novel weaves themes of empire and injustice into the story. I enjoyed the audiobook narration. Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

About the author

Kelly Gardiner writes historical fiction for all ages. Her books include The Firewatcher Chronicles; Goddess, based on the life of Mademoiselle de Maupin; 1917: Australia’s Great War, which was shortlisted for the NSW Premier’s Young People’s History Prize and Asher Award; the Swashbuckler pirate trilogy; and a picture book, Billabong Bill’s Bushfire Christmas. Her young adult novels include Act of Faith, which was shortlisted for the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards, the ASA’s Barbara Jefferis Award,and Gold Inky; and The Sultan’s Eyes which was also shortlisted for the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards. A former journalist and editor, Kelly now teaches creative writing at La Trobe University.

Sharmini Kumar is the founder and Artistic Director of 24 Carrot Productions and a producer of AustenCon, an annual Jane Austen celebration, now in its fifth year. She has adapted Persuasion and Pride and Prejudice for the stage, Emma for online performance during Covid, and she mostly recently co-wrote and directed the original musical adaptation of Sense and Sensibility. She is currently working on a stage adaption of Mansfield Park. Sharmini has written, directed, and produced many performance pieces and short films including Shakespeare in Therapy and The Regina Monologues, as well as radio documentaries for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. When she's not writing and directing, she works as a doctor and teaches medicine.