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olap's review against another edition
3.0
Similarly to book 1, quite gruesome and slow paced. While I appreciate the Bronte tidbits I'm not sure I am into it all fully ?
zoer03's review against another edition
4.0
I still cannot give this book the stars it deserves because for me personally there is too much melodrama for me to feel really comfortable with. But I did like at times some of the sister’s characteristics, even if by the end it became almost incredibly um unbelievable and some of their naivety and prejudices again shone through. They didn’t to me feel like woman more like teenagers and I found the last scene really stupid and just plain off that I basically laughed in disbelief. I know it was setting up for a dramatic denouement but this was a bit unbelievable even for me. I am also getting increasingly annoyed with all the preaching of “men” and it’s a “mans world” and “us woman can be better than the men” maybe I am not seeing in between the lines or I am blinded by what’s on the page, but at times it becomes a bit stodgy and slow and some of the way it’s written is jarring.
Having said all of that, this is a remarkably gothic and creepy and terrifying book, one in which I don’t think The Brontes would mind, in my head I can see them smile and glance mischievously at each other. And maybe just maybe wink a knowing look and put a finger to their mouths….
Having said all of that, this is a remarkably gothic and creepy and terrifying book, one in which I don’t think The Brontes would mind, in my head I can see them smile and glance mischievously at each other. And maybe just maybe wink a knowing look and put a finger to their mouths….
bohemianharrison's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
lunaseline's review against another edition
2.0
Varje gång jag läser OM den här serien blir jag sugen på böckerna. Trots det blev bara första delen läst, och föll i glömska.
Jag tror jag förstår varför nu. Det är... omständligt. Delvis kanske lite "research-tungt" (Ellis vill såklart väva in allt hon kan eller kan gissa om Brontë-systrarna och deras tid), men främst är berättandet i sig segt. Det är alldeles för många scener med syskonen stående i ett rum, diskuterandes samma sak om och om igen. Ordet "scener" är också relevant: det känns... "stagat".
Och mysteriet...? Nja. Det är okej fram till upplösningen, som blir överdriven och ogrundad.
Jag borde nog ge en trea, för språket är kul (också omständligt, men det känns motiverat i och med tidsandan och systrarnas lyriska liv), men jag blev lite för trött på "god idé otillräckligt genomförd för läsglädje".
Moving on.
Jag tror jag förstår varför nu. Det är... omständligt. Delvis kanske lite "research-tungt" (Ellis vill såklart väva in allt hon kan eller kan gissa om Brontë-systrarna och deras tid), men främst är berättandet i sig segt. Det är alldeles för många scener med syskonen stående i ett rum, diskuterandes samma sak om och om igen. Ordet "scener" är också relevant: det känns... "stagat".
Och mysteriet...? Nja. Det är okej fram till upplösningen, som blir överdriven och ogrundad.
Jag borde nog ge en trea, för språket är kul (också omständligt, men det känns motiverat i och med tidsandan och systrarnas lyriska liv), men jag blev lite för trött på "god idé otillräckligt genomförd för läsglädje".
Moving on.
sb27's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
The author knows her characters really well and writes a good mystery, but it didn't grip me as much as u had hoped.
cheekylaydee's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
myadventurewithbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
thenovelbook's review against another edition
5.0
Now that this book is finally available for sale, it's time for me to share a couple of my favorite passages. It's amazing to me how such a dark mystery can have such great LOL moments. Most of them are Emily's lines. Of course. Like this one:
"I have received a request that, though on the one hand would give me great pleasure in its execution, would also require me to be...social...and nice to those I am not at all interested in. In short, other people.”
----------------------------------------
"I agreed to do as you wish, didn't I?" Emily asked.
"You did," Anne said. "And with such good grace and humour, one might have mistaken you for a great lady yourself."
"Well, greatness is something one is born with," Emily said. "I suspect I was born with rather more than most."
----------------------------------------
"Missus!" Hattie yelled into the house, her eyes still fixed on Branwell and Charlotte. "That small lady from Haworth is here to see you, and she has a sort of man with her."
"My name is Miss Charlotte Bronte--" But Charlotte was cut off before she could introduce Branwell.
"Miss Charlotte Bronte, she says!" Hattie yelled at the top of her voice.
"And my brother, Mr. Branwell Bronte." Charlotte couldn't help but finish her introduction, even though she knew what was coming next.
"And this other feller is her brother!" Hattie shouted.
There followed a short and intensely awkward silence as Hattie remained exactly where she was, staring at Branwell and Charlotte in turn as they waited for a response from within the house.
Great scene :D
-------------------------------------------------
Original review follows:
"Chilling" and "addictive" sum it up perfectly. This second entry in the Bronte Mysteries series is one thrill after another. Bella Ellis deftly weaves biographical details and larger than life personalities in the midst of a truly spine-tingling plot.
There's so much to enjoy here, from the thoughtful portrayal of all three Bronte sisters (and their brother), to the well crafted atmosphere of secrecy and tension on the Yorkshire moors. Although many readers may quickly pick up on which character they shouldn't trust, the speedy pace and well written sense of peril ensure they'll be glued all the way to the last page.
The characterizations were delightful, and I found myself highlighting passages again and again. Emily is my favorite, with her staunch outsider status and utter disregard for subtlety. I find myself laughing out loud at some of the things she says, and wondering whether she means to be funny or not. At times like those it was easy to forget that an author is putting words in her mouth.
There's something about the Brontes' lives that lends itself to this type of book, that makes it not ridiculous. Their short, difficult lives somehow combine believably with the dire situations that the author gives them to unravel, and the fact that the reader knows where their lives are headed adds gravitas to the story.
Content note: Heavy references to superstition, paganism, and ritual.
Thanks to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for this advance review copy.
"I have received a request that, though on the one hand would give me great pleasure in its execution, would also require me to be...social...and nice to those I am not at all interested in. In short, other people.”
----------------------------------------
"I agreed to do as you wish, didn't I?" Emily asked.
"You did," Anne said. "And with such good grace and humour, one might have mistaken you for a great lady yourself."
"Well, greatness is something one is born with," Emily said. "I suspect I was born with rather more than most."
----------------------------------------
"Missus!" Hattie yelled into the house, her eyes still fixed on Branwell and Charlotte. "That small lady from Haworth is here to see you, and she has a sort of man with her."
"My name is Miss Charlotte Bronte--" But Charlotte was cut off before she could introduce Branwell.
"Miss Charlotte Bronte, she says!" Hattie yelled at the top of her voice.
"And my brother, Mr. Branwell Bronte." Charlotte couldn't help but finish her introduction, even though she knew what was coming next.
"And this other feller is her brother!" Hattie shouted.
There followed a short and intensely awkward silence as Hattie remained exactly where she was, staring at Branwell and Charlotte in turn as they waited for a response from within the house.
Great scene :D
-------------------------------------------------
Original review follows:
"Chilling" and "addictive" sum it up perfectly. This second entry in the Bronte Mysteries series is one thrill after another. Bella Ellis deftly weaves biographical details and larger than life personalities in the midst of a truly spine-tingling plot.
There's so much to enjoy here, from the thoughtful portrayal of all three Bronte sisters (and their brother), to the well crafted atmosphere of secrecy and tension on the Yorkshire moors. Although many readers may quickly pick up on which character they shouldn't trust, the speedy pace and well written sense of peril ensure they'll be glued all the way to the last page.
The characterizations were delightful, and I found myself highlighting passages again and again. Emily is my favorite, with her staunch outsider status and utter disregard for subtlety. I find myself laughing out loud at some of the things she says, and wondering whether she means to be funny or not. At times like those it was easy to forget that an author is putting words in her mouth.
There's something about the Brontes' lives that lends itself to this type of book, that makes it not ridiculous. Their short, difficult lives somehow combine believably with the dire situations that the author gives them to unravel, and the fact that the reader knows where their lives are headed adds gravitas to the story.
Content note: Heavy references to superstition, paganism, and ritual.
Thanks to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for this advance review copy.
rach345's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
lisas_library_factory's review against another edition
3.0
"Der namenlose Tote" war ein sehr unterhaltsames und bisweilen auch spannendes Buch mit überraschendem Ende. Die grundsätzliche Idee, die Bronte-Schwestern als Kriminal-Ermittlerinnen arbeiten zu lassen, finde ich großartig und originell. Abzüge musste ich für die Sprache geben, die bisweilen etwas einfach und "gezwungen" wirtke. Das mag aber auch an der deutschen Übersetzung liegen. Darüber hinaus spielt der Roman viel mit Mythen und Klischees, die es um die Familie Bronte gibt, was mich zeitweilig beim Lesen etwas gestört hat. Nichtsdestotrotz dieses Buch eine tolle Abwechslung und genau das Richtige, wenn man auf der Suche nach "leichter Kost" ist.