There are plenty of reviews remarking on the problems of this book. Dame's Suede's is my favorite one and is honestly better written and more in Austen's style than the entire novel. There's waaaaaay too much telling and summarizing of important events/character interactions; all the characters are tired; Elizabeth doesn't say a single snarky thing; there are glaring plot holes and points of confusion (the corner also has a reputation as, strangely, a lawyer; Mrs. Younge has somehow been a London innkeeper and a lady's companion during the same years); the solution to the mystery is provided through extremely convoluted backstory.

Considering PD James' many awards, I feel like something went horribly wrong with this book. It feels like a first draft that an author rushed through, simply jotting down ideas for scenes and plot points and sending it off. Or maybe P&P's antiquated prose style was too intimidating, and the author focused so much on the sound of the words that they forewent everything else important to story. Honestly, it feels like Knopf was so eager to publish that they didn't let the manuscript go through the full editing process. There ARE a few bright points in the novel, if you squint: the backstory of the Darcy's estate is interesting and Georgiana's suitor, lovely. There's an undercurrent addictive quality, like when you're trying to nail two pieces of wood together and you've already banged your thumb twice, but you're compelled to finish the job. Or when digging out a stubborn splinter, even when it hurts awfully. I want to read James' other works because I feel in my bones that this author is good, but maybe at something else.