Book Review: THE VANISHED BRIDE

Title: The Vanished Bride 

Series: Bronte Mysteries Book #1

Genre: Historical Fiction, Murder Mystery, Women's Fiction

Publisher: Berkley Pub

Pub Date: 9/10/19

Author: Bella Ellis

Synopsis: Before they became legendary writers, Charlotte Brontë, Emily Brontë, and Anne Brontë were detectors in this charming historical mystery...Yorkshire, 1845. A young wife and mother has gone missing from her home, leaving behind two small children and a large pool of blood. Just a few miles away, a humble parson's daughters--the Brontë sisters--learn of the crime. Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Brontë are horrified and intrigued by the mysterious disappearance.

These three creative, energetic, and resourceful women quickly realize that they have all the skills required to make for excellent "lady detectors." Not yet published novelists, they have well-honed imaginations and are expert readers. And, as Charlotte remarks, "detecting is reading between the lines--it's seeing what is not there."

As they investigate, Charlotte, Emily, and Anne are confronted with a society that believes a woman's place is in the home, not scouring the countryside looking for clues. But nothing will stop the sisters from discovering what happened to the vanished bride, even as they find their own lives are in great peril...

THOUGHTS: I was very fortunate to have received an Advanced Readers Copy electronically from Berkley as part of a Group Buddy Read with other bookstagrammers led by Berit from @beritaudiokilledthebookmark (Instagram), who made this possible.

The Vanished Bride by Bella Ellis

The Bronte siblings Charlotte, Emily, Anne and Branwell embark in a mystery set in 1845, Yorkshire. The story opens quite dramatically with a possibility of murder and the disappearance of a young mother leaving her two children behind and a macabre of a crime scene with pools of blood all over! The Bronte sisters, living in a Parsonage in Haworth, hear about this horrendous crime. Armed with their extraordinary wit and skill, they decide to become "lady detectors" as they set out to solve this murder mystery on their own.

I loved that despite this being a fictional murder mystery, the historical contexts surrounding the story is actually from known facts about the Bronte's life and family. Ellis beautifully incorporates this into the story and it does make for a wonderful read. As the story began in Aug 1845, this was a known time where the Bronte family were once again all together in one roof for several months, and this was also the time before they started writing their books. This truly was quite an enjoyable read for me and I hear this may be the first in a series and that would be amazing!!! Bella Ellis did an exceptional job incorporating the strong women in the Victorian era using the Bronte sisters who were not only legendary but indeed revolutionary and well ahead of their time.

Thank you NetGalley, Berkley Pub and author Bella Ellis for the opportunity to read this and review. 

Rating: 5/5

AUTHOR INFO: 

Bella Ellis is the Brontë-esque pseudonym of Rowan Coleman, an acclaimed author of numerous novels for adults and children. She first visited the former home of the Brontë sisters when she was ten years old. From the moment she stepped over the threshold she was hooked, and embarked on a lifelong love affair with Charlotte, Emily, and Anne; their life; their literature; and their remarkable legacy.

About Rowan Coleman: I'm Rowan Coleman, and I live in England with my husband, 5 children and 2 dogs! WE ARE ALL MADE OF STARS is my twelfth novel. I am also the author of the internationally bestselling THE DAY WE MET, the double award winning THE RUNAWAY WIFE, and the NYT bestseller THE ACCIDENTAL MOTHER. Growing up dyslexic made my dream of becoming a writer seem impossible, but I never gave up trying and in 2001 I won Young Writer of the Year competition in Company Magazine. This lead to the publication of my first novel, and I've never looked back since.