Amy Myers is known for her short stories and historical novels featuring Victorian chef Auguste Didier and chimney sweep Tom Wasp. Her contemporary series feature ex-cop Peter Marsh and Daughter and classic car detective Jack Colby, and she is currently working on a new series starring Cara Shelley who runs a café in the grounds of stately home Tanton Towers.
Website: www.amymyers.net
Bella Ellis is the pseudonym of the author Rowan Coleman, who is now bursting into the historical mystery field with the first in a series, The Vanished Bride. Her sleuths are none other than the three Brontë sisters, a passion of hers since childhood days.
I have never been drawn to reading novels with real-life people as major characters, but all that changed when I began to read The Vanished Bride. The research is impeccably woven into this novel, which is recorded by Charlotte in 1851 who tells the story through the viewpoint of each of the three sisters in turn, each with her own style.
Set in 1845, this is the first, I hope, of many of their adventures – in which Branwell plays his part equally well. When he brings the news of a terrible event at nearby Chester Grange, Charlotte, Emily, and Anne are intrigued. They are all living at Haworth Grange at this time and are longing to find something to do. They find it at Chester Grange where Elizabeth, second wife of the dislikeable Robert Chester, has vanished, leaving only a vast amount of blood in her bedroom. Surely this must be murder, but where is the body? And what other secrets does the Grange hold, with its sinister atmosphere and the creepy Mrs Crawley?
The characters are convincing, both for their own time and in today’s terms, the plot deepens and develops well – and it’s most enjoyable to read. What more can one ask for? The next one, please.
