Surprisingly good 'sequel' to Autobiography of Jane Eyre. Jane's former pupil, Adele, sent to a boarding school for several months, writes pleading for help. Jane travels to the school, arriving on the day another pupil is found dead.

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As one can surmise, Death of a Schoolgirl is a continuation of the Charlotte Bronte classic Jane Eyre. The year is 1820, and Jane and her husband, Edward Rochester, have just welcomed their first child, a son, Ned, into their lives. Jane is flourishing in her new role as a mother after a tough birth, and Edward is still, slowly but surely, recovering from the grievous injuries he sustained during the fire that killed his first wife and destroyed Thornfield, his ancestral home. They are living on the estate in an old hunting lodge built by one of Edward's forbearers with a minimal number of staff which includes an aunt from his mother's side, Mrs. Fairfax, who is standing in as housekeeper.

Adele Varens, Edward's ward, and the reason that brought Jane to Thornfield in the first place (originally she was Adele's governess), is still in boarding school in London. Various reasons (Edward's injuries, harsh winter storms, Jane's confinement, the difficult birth and prolonged recuperation after) have kept Edward and Jane from visiting her at the school for quite a long while, and both sides have depended on a regular exchange of letters to maintain contact until circumstances allow them to be reunited.

Lately though, Adele's letters have been "off." Not only are they quite unlike her usual vibrant missives, they are completely impersonal and appear to be the same communique copied time after time. Concern turns to alarm when the latest letter contains a secret message crying out for help and a scrap of paper which appears to be a threat against Adele.

Jane and Edward decide that they must go to Adele immediately to determine if she is really in danger or if it is some drama concocted by an obviously lonely child. Because the injuries to Edward's remaining eye prevent him from traveling right away, Jane sets off for London alone. She is headed to the home of Edward's best friend, Captain Augustus Brayton who currently serving in India. Jane is effusively welcomed by his wife, Lucy, who almost overwhelms her with affection and a desire to accept her as her new "sister."

When in town, Lucy had been a regular visitor at the Alderton House School for Girls, checking in on Adele for the Rochesters when they had been unable. However, in the past couple of months, a change of superintendent at the school had occurred and Lucy had been denied access to the girl for a variety of shady yet plausible reasons.

Jane sets out for the school herself the morning after her arrival only to be met with chaos at the school: one of the students had been found dead that morning! Jane is surprised to be greeted by the headmistress, an old friend, Miss Nan Miller, a former teacher and later colleague from her days at Lowood. Jane learns that Adele discovered the dead girl, became hysterical, has been sedated with laudanum, and will most likely sleep until the drug wears off the next day.

Before she can make a decision on how to proceed, she is confronted by the new school superintendent, Mrs. Thurston, who mistakes Jane for the newly arrived German instructor (who has been delayed on the road.) Without being given the chance to set the woman straight, Jane is "dismissed" and rushed out of the school. Later that afternoon, however, Miss Miller turn up on the doorstep where Jane is staying to plead with her to come back to the school as "Miss Eyre" to serve as the temporary German and art teacher until the expected lady arrives. It seems the Bow Street Runners are investigating the death of the student as a homicide, and Jane is needed to help protect some of the young ladies until the murderer is revealed.

I really, really enjoyed this book. I loved the idea of a continuation of Jane and Rochester's life together and look forward to many more. Jane, as a sleuth and protector, made perfect sense. The look and feel of the original story by Bronte is retained and enlivened by a good story with a lot of action, twists and turns. I highly recommend this book to cozy mystery readers and those that want a glimpse into what might have been had Jane Eyre kicked off a series.

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First Line: Reader, I am delivered of a son.

That first line will make any lover of Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre smile. The Rochesters live in Ferndean with their six-month-old son Ned, and their servants. It's been a life of seclusion, and Rochester is still recuperating from the injuries he sustained when Thornfield burned to the ground.

Rochester's ward, Adèle Varens is ten years old and in a boarding school in London. Jane is worried about her because what few letters they've received from the girl have sounded strange and have imparted very little information-- a decided change from Adèle's normal behavior.

On the day when Rochester's doctor comes for a visit, they receive a letter from Adèle. It's another short, bland missive, but in a faint scribble on the page, Jane sees the words Au secours! (help) repeated three times. At first the Rochesters believe that the overly dramatic little girl is merely making a bid for attention, but when Jane finds a small note that looks very much like a threat included with the letter, the decision is made that Jane will go to London to make sure that everything is all right. Rochester is under doctor's orders to remain at home and will follow her in a few days.

The journey to London is a nightmare made even worse when Jane is beaten and robbed at one of the stops. Barely pausing at the home of Rochester's friend (where she'll be staying), Jane rushes to the school in time to see a body being taken away in the pouring rain. One of the schoolgirls is dead. What is first believed to be death by natural causes soon turns into a murder investigation, and since Adèle was partnered with the dead girl and vocal about not liking her, the Bow Street Runners are very interested in speaking to her.

The school is one teacher short, and a plan is formulated to have Jane temporarily pose as a teacher to insure that not only Adèle but all the girls are safe while the search is on for the murderer. This decision will put Jane's life in danger as well.

When I first learned of this book, I thought about all the novels based on Jane Austen's characters and thought, "It's about time Jane Eyre got her turn!" I'm not one for re-reading books, but there's always an exception to any rule. Jane Eyre is my exception to the No Re-Reading Rule.

Joanna Campbell Slan writes in a style so very reminiscent of Brontë's classic, but never is she a slave to the original. The style of the writing pulled me in immediately, but the story itself is what made me devour the pages. I was so engrossed and reading so quickly that it's a miracle that my eyeballs didn't catch fire. Little brave, intelligent, observant Jane is a perfect sleuth, and with the dead girl being so universally disliked by everyone at the school, all the clues Jane gathers don't seem to shorten the list of suspects.

The author introduces several new characters that add a great deal to the book, and I was also happy to discover that the police officer in charge of the investigation wasn't a slow-witted, belligerent oaf. A secondary plot line involving Jane's mugging kept me intrigued throughout; I almost couldn't keep myself from peeking ahead to see if I'd solved that particular mystery correctly.

Have you ever read a book in which you couldn't guess the identity of the killer, then when the person is revealed you want to slap yourself silly? That's me with Death of a Schoolgirl. I didn't know whodunit it until the most obvious clue of all was given... and then I realized that the author had placed clues throughout the book that I just hadn't seen. I love it when that happens!

If you're getting the impression that I loved this book, you are one hundred per cent correct. I only had one small item that momentarily threw me offstride (a question about the timeline and the potato famine in Ireland), but I shook that off immediately and kept on devouring the book. If you are a Jane Eyre lover, chances are excellent that you will love this book, too. (Get a copy now!) If you've never read the classic novel, I think that you will still enjoy this book as the marvelous historical mystery that it is.

I only have one question: When will I be able to get my hands on the next book in the Jane Eyre Chronicles???

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