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A review by outsmartyourshelf
A Gift of Poison by Bella Ellis
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5
Haworth 1847 & it has been just over a year since the events of The Red Monarch. Anne & Emily have had their first books accepted for publication, whereas Charlotte's first manuscript 'The Professor' has been rejected. Still, a visit from her friend, Ellen Nussey, can always be relied upon to raise her spirits, plus she has recently had the idea for a new book, one that she knows will be successful. The Rev. Patrick Brontë has had a operation which has restored his sight, but young Branwell is continuing his decline into drink to forget his disastrous love affair with his employer's wife.
The sisters are approached by a man notorious in the area for being being a wife beater, & the recent trial which acquitted him of murdering her by administering poison. Abner Lowood declares that he is innocent but that people still suspect him, & wants the Brontë sisters to clear his name once & for all - otherwise he will tell their father about their 'detecting work'. The sisters do not want to work for Lowood especially given his abusive affair with an innocent young girl which has ruined her reputation forever, but feel they have no choice given his threats, & perhaps they will find the evidence along the way to prove his guilt beyond doubt.
Like the previous books in the series, I love the way that the author weaves people & actual events into her narrative, especially as both Rev. Brontë & Arthur Bell Nicholls played larger parts in this story. As always, Emily is by far my favourite character. The mystery itself I wasn't so keen on, I found it waffled a bit & my attention wandered a couple of times. The author's strength in these books is definitely their ability to capture the Brontës as I would have imagined them to be. It seems that this is sadly the last in the short series featuring the siblings. There's more than a touch of pathos evoked in the reader, knowing that less than 18 months after the ending of the book, 3 of the 4 siblings will have died, leaving Charlotte alone to care for their ailing father before her tragic death in 1855.
My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Hodder & Stoughton, for the opportunity to read an ARC. I am voluntarily giving an honest review.
The sisters are approached by a man notorious in the area for being being a wife beater, & the recent trial which acquitted him of murdering her by administering poison. Abner Lowood declares that he is innocent but that people still suspect him, & wants the Brontë sisters to clear his name once & for all - otherwise he will tell their father about their 'detecting work'. The sisters do not want to work for Lowood especially given his abusive affair with an innocent young girl which has ruined her reputation forever, but feel they have no choice given his threats, & perhaps they will find the evidence along the way to prove his guilt beyond doubt.
Like the previous books in the series, I love the way that the author weaves people & actual events into her narrative, especially as both Rev. Brontë & Arthur Bell Nicholls played larger parts in this story. As always, Emily is by far my favourite character. The mystery itself I wasn't so keen on, I found it waffled a bit & my attention wandered a couple of times. The author's strength in these books is definitely their ability to capture the Brontës as I would have imagined them to be. It seems that this is sadly the last in the short series featuring the siblings. There's more than a touch of pathos evoked in the reader, knowing that less than 18 months after the ending of the book, 3 of the 4 siblings will have died, leaving Charlotte alone to care for their ailing father before her tragic death in 1855.
My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Hodder & Stoughton, for the opportunity to read an ARC. I am voluntarily giving an honest review.