What a delightful read for anyone with even a passing interest in the Brontes. Charlotte, Emily and Anne are all together as is their brother Branwell, in body if not in mind half the time, and the gentle dear Parson, their father. Together the sisters decide to become amateur sleuths to solve the mystery of a missing woman who lived locally, in the house where Charlotte's friend is employed. It is a gentle crime story but the characters of the Bronte siblings shine out as they argue and snipe and help and support each other. The storyline has twists and turns but it is the Brontes who star.

I loved this book!
Reimagining the Brontes and their lives as amateur detectors- it's a brilliant idea and so well done.
What I really loved, aside from the mystery itself, is the relationships between the Brontes themselves. They rely on each other and love each other dearly, but they bicker and argue and mock each other in a way that makes them completely come alive.
Society's attitudes towards women and the limited choices open to them are evident and you can share their frustration and disappointments.
Love the book. Can't wait for the next adventure!
Thank you so much Netgalley for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

I didn't know much about the Bronte sisters' personal life even though I'ver read all their books. This book helped me to get closer to the persons behind the authors and and enjoyed it very much to get to know their personalities, ideas and actions. I think the author managed it quite nicely to show the atmosphere of the time and the life in this famous family. The criminal case was for me not that important, in some parts it was not really exciting and I wouldn't see this book as crime fiction. But I would recommed it to anybody being interested in the 19th century and the Brontes and wanting a nice read.

This is a wonderful atmospheric book set in 1845 .The Bronte sisters ,before they wrote their classic masterpieces having all returned to their Fathers Vicarage decide to become "detectors" when they are told of a crime not far away of a young bride who has disappeared leaving her children and husband and the Police don't seem very interested ..This is such a different book set in a time when women were not known for solving crimes .I really enjoyed this book there was even a little bit of the paranormal and we get to know the sisters different personalities and their brother .Many thanks to the Publishers the Author and NetGalley for my review copy in return for an honest review .

The Brontë sisters (occasionally aided, not always helpfully, by Branwell) turn amateur sleuths in the first in a series by Rowan Coleman writing as “Bella Ellis” (I see what she did there).

When a young woman, wife of a local landowner, disappears - apparently murdered - amid a scene of terrifying violence, Charlotte, Emily and Anne feel compelled to become “detectors” in a bid to find out what has become of poor Elizabeth Chester. Limited as they are by their sex (nobody wants to talk of important matters to mere women) and financial resources, they nevertheless have the benefit of intelligence, determination and boundless imagination. The quest to unravel the mystery takes them in interesting and at times frightening directions.

It was an excellent read, with the distinct characters, as we know them, of the Brontë “girls” shining through, and strands of their known history woven throughout (I was drawn to look up “Miss Celia Amelia”, aka Reverend William Weightman, and he did indeed exist). Of course it would be unthinkable that disguised elements of such adventures, had they really occurred, hadn’t made their way into the Brontë sisters’ writings, and elements of the plot clearly echo, or foreshadow - whatever the right word is here - incidents in their novels.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from The Vanished Bride, but found I enjoyed it very much... a genuinely gripping plot, a very satisfying ending and some insightful observations regarding women’s lives in that era. Coleman is not the first to write about real writers turning detective (Nicola Upson’s excellent “Josephine Tey” series springs to mind), nor is she the first to write a fictionalised account of the lives of the Brontës, but she’s done a great job here of both telling a compelling story and rendering her famous protagonists sympathetic and believable.

Of course, there’s no evidence that Charlotte, Emily and Anne ever really investigated crimes in their spare time. But then - as the author points out in her epilogue - there’s also no evidence that they didn’t.

This is the first in what will, hopefully, become a series of mysteries featuring the Bronte sisters as ‘detectors,’ in their words. I am never sure about putting really, historical characters, into fictional settings, but this novel really does utilise the biographies of the Bronte’s and, in no way, does it trivialise, or romanticise, them. Part tribute and part crime story, this is an excellent read.

The novel begins in 1851, with the news that a married woman has gone missing from Chester Grange, where Matilda French, an old school-friend, works as governess. Wish to comfort her, and, naturally curious, Charlotte, Emily and Anne, set out to visit their friend. They learn that this is an unlucky house indeed, as Mr Chester’s first wife, Imogen, killed herself and now Elizabeth has gone missing. Determined to help, the three set out to find out where Elizabeth is and whether she is still alive.

Much of this mystery hints at later novels the Bronte’s wrote. There is also much about the family; of Branwell, drunk and debt-ridden, their father in poor health and the desire that these three sisters have to become independent and find a way to support themselves. The mystery deals with uncomfortable truths, faced by women at the time; the fact that husbands, and fathers, have a great deal of control over women’s lives, of seduction – and the consequences – of domestic abuse, infant mortality and also the lack of a coherent police force to investigate crime. Indeed, one of the most poignant lines, has to come from Mr Bronte, who unwittingly leaves the sisters feeling diminished, when he comments, “your writing is not work, as it is with your brother.”If you enjoy mysteries and have a love for the Bronte sisters, you will love this.

I wasn’t sure if I would enjoy this story as sometimes famous authors as characters fall short.
I felt that the story was enjoyable in the most part but I did find myself skipping large sections of the descriptive passages to move the story forward. It is obvious that the author is extremely knowledgeable about the Brontes, but I felt a little less information on them would have helped the story. Gosh could they walk a long way!!
I thought the story was a little unbelievable but enjoyed it overall.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for allowing me to read a preview copy

What an intriguing idea to have the Brontë sisters investigate a crime! Each of the sisters, and their brother, are well rounded characters and I found myself to be drawn into the story as the family were believable _ the plot was a little far-fetched at times;. But overall the book was enjoyable and different.

Although I am a fan of historical fiction and, in particular, of historical mysteries, this novel was not for me. I did not find the Bronte family as detectives an enthralling idea and I thought the plot here was agonisingly slow in its development and somewhat lacking in spark. My interest was not grabbed, and I found my attention wandering.

There will be many lovers of Victorian crime who will jump at the chance of reading this and more in a series. Sadly, I am not among them . I thought this as unremittingly dull as the Yorkshire moors in drizzle.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder and Stoughton for the digital review copy.

I am sorry but this book is not my cup of tea. I did not like the writing style and it does not seem true to the historical period. The ending is unoriginal. If you are a big fan of the Brontës this book might be for you.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

Having lived near Haworth I have always been fascinated by the lives of the Bronte sisters and was pleased to receive a copy of the book to review. It's obvious that the author has researched the family well and woven facts about their lives into,the book even the name Bella Ellis used by the author is a clever twist

The sisters become detectives surrounding a mystery involving a friend from their time at the Boarding school they attended. Their friend is governess to the two,children at the hall. The first wife died under mysterious circumstances and now the second wife has vanished - can the three sisters solve the mystery?

The book was enjoyable and an easy read. Having visited Wycoller on many occasions, a village only accessible on foot, it was easy to picture the hall, the cottages and the small stream. I think you need to know about the Brontes to appreciate a lot of the writing In this book. I'm not sure I would rush to,read any further books should the author decided to make it into a series

Do you remember the late 70s series 'Charlie's Angels' where Charlie runs a detective agency through a speaker phone with his trusted personal assistant John Bosley and employs three beautiful women to be super sleuths?
Well close your eyes and picture three other women, Charlotte, Emily and Anne all living in a parsonage on the wild moors of Yorkshire alongside their brother, the bold, drunken Branwell and their father the Vicar of Howarth who also are sleuthing detectives.
Seems crazy. Well not to the imagination of this author who says she is a huge fan of the Brontes, and it shows in her details about the old Parsonage and surrounding countryside of Howarth and the lives of the three young women who were to become both famous and yet tragic writers of some of the most famous Victorian novels of the 19th century.
So what's the plot? Contrived somewhat as the sisters know Matilda (Maggie) French who is the governess at Chester Grange, a big pile of a house and estate, where one morning she discovers her mistress's bedroom covered with blood, signs of a huge struggle - yet no body to be found. Just as the sisters are reading of the new Detectives being employed by the Metropolitan Police in far away London they receive news of the dastardly crime down the road and set off keen to solve the mystery.
Written at a cracking pace, I couldn't help but smile at the placing of so many Bronte themes in the plot. A young governess who may love her Master. Violence towards a young bride. Children taken on by a stepmother when the first wife has mysteriously killed herself and of course a fire! It's all interwoven with narration from the point of view of the three sisters. Thoughtful Charlotte (more the detective than the others), Emily who's far too forceful for her own good and says things out of turn (but gets them out of scrapes) and dear Anne (always dismissed but quietly clever and an observer of the smallest of facts that no one else has noticed).
The plot takes us to familiar scenes for Bronte fans, the Black Bull inn where Branwell drinks and destroys his life, the towns of Bradford and Leeds and the windswept seaside at Scarborough. All the short traumas of the sister's lives are played out through the tale and yet this detection seems to draw them together. It's a tangled plot with lots of potential suspects but I enjoyed the ride. Aspects of a good Gothic tale of folklore, gypsies, ghosts and strange goings on also appear which set the scene marvellously amongst the heather on the wild moors with rain and wind never stopping the gallant girls.
We are left with an obvious second novel and why not! Great fun and if you love the Brontes and are not a stuck up academic you'll go with the flow. There may even be a TV series...... after all if Charlie can do it....

Seems that I am going to be out of step with most of the people who reviewed this book. I have truly have no idea what all the fuss is about. Whilst agreeing that the Brontë Sisters were really very independently minded for women in the mid 19th Century, this story is beyond credible. I cannot imagine, even in the 21st Century, that three women, aged 29, 27 and 25, could achieve what the Brontë Sisters achieved in this fiction set in 1845; especially by bumbling around, mostly incoherently. I sincerely thought this story was going to be a real page turner but it was not to be.

Having read and enjoyed “Mr Rochester” by Sarah Shoemaker and “The Girl at the Window” by Rowan Coleman, I was looking forward to a new Brontë fanfiction book. However, the register of “The Vanished Bride” is way off the mark for a mid-19th century setting. It’s more like: The Famous Five do the Brontës.
A wife (not a bride!) has disappeared leaving a lot of blood behind and the Brontë sisters, portrayed as one-dimensional characters, don their bonnets to solve the case.
Awkward nods to a jumble of the Brontë’s own story plots, down to the author’s assumed name of “Bella Ellis”...per-lease!
I guess it would appeal to a heavy-duty Brontë fan, but sadly it is not for me. Just made it to ***; shan’t bother with any sequels.

When I first came across this book I wasn’t at all sure I wanted to read it, as I’m never very keen on books about famous authors solving crimes. However, the Brontë sisters books have been amongst my favourites for years and I was curious find out what this book was all about. So, I was delighted to find that I thoroughly enjoyed The Vanished Bride, and that it is not all a flight of fancy, although of course the story of how they became ‘detectors’, or amateur sleuths, is pure imagination.

‘Bella Ellis’ is the Brontë inspired pen name for the author Rowan Coleman, who has been a Brontë devotee for most of her life. I haven’t read any of her other books but I’ll be looking out for them now. The Vanished Bride is historical fiction that brings the period (1845) and the setting vividly to life, Charlotte, Emily and Anne and their brother, Branwell becoming real people before my eyes in their home in the Parsonage at Howarth.

I think it helps that is not all pure fiction – in the Author’s Note she explains that it is based on biological facts or inspired by them. The book begins with a short passage in 1851 when Charlotte is alone in the Parsonage her sisters, brother and father had all died and she looks back to the year 1845 when they were all together. That is fact – and in the following September they began to consider writing for their living.

The mystery whilst it is well plotted is not to difficult to solve and I had predicted the basics of it quite early on in the book, although I didn’t guess the full detail until much later on. But the real joy of the book is in the historical detail and the depiction of the characters and the insights given to their personalities through their conversation. The story is told through each of the sisters eyes, each one clearly distinctive, whilst Emily is the standout character. All three are clearly individuals, women caught in a society dominated by men and each wanting to lead independent lives.

The book ends as a letter arrives for the sisters presenting a new case for them to investigate. Their curiosity is immediately ‘taking flight’ – and so is mine!

My thanks to Hodder & Stoughton for an e-book review copy via NetGalley

It seems this is something of a marmite read, there are so many enthusiastic reviews but I’m afraid, despite my best efforts I can’t finish it. From the opening pages when I read Charlotte’s musing, ‘Here they had laughed and argued as she had written Jane Eyre, and her sisters their own great works, not one of them guessing at the whirlwind they were inviting into their small humble lives’ I feared that I was in for a cliched sentimental read. Reading on I was proved right. It is well researched and the mystery is a good one, but overall I found it just too twee.
This seems to be the first in a planned series of Bronte detective stories, it seems they will be popular, but not for me I’m afraid.

'Oh dear, I do worry about all the deceit that comes with detecting. It doesn't seem very godly at all'.

When I started this I thought to myself, who dreams up this kind of stuff, the Brontè sisters as investigators! Now however I'm like this is genius, the Brontè sisters are detectives! Or 'Detectors' as they like to call themselves.

From the first page you can tell how much this author adores these sisters and I was astonished when reading the back notes how much fact is woven into this piece of fiction, it's just incredible and researched to a whole new level. The fact and fiction worked so well together and I feel that although the plot is fiction, I understand the lives of girls, who they were, their surroundings, their upbringings so much more.

This isn't a book, this literally came alive in my hands, it's very well crafted and so three dimensional I felt like a forth sister.

Easily four stars.

Thank you to NetGalley for a free advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This charming, well-researched little detective story imagines the Brontë siblings trying to solve the mystery of a woman whose body disappears after her room is painted with blood. Ellis has thought very carefully about accurately tying in the historical details of the siblings’ lives with the fictional account, and a lot of love has clearly gone into recreating their characters. I have read a lot about the Brontës and their works and was convinced by the feisty, well-defined characters Ellis has formed.

Although Brontë purists may strongly dislike this book (as purists are wont to do), they should be best placed to appreciate the multiple hints towards the sisters’ writing in the detective story, particularly Jane Eyre and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. Even knowing the books well, there were definitely elements I missed until I stopped to think about it, as I was carried along by the story itself.

It was really nice to have a nod towards the fact that in the 1840s detection was very much in its infancy. One of my main criticisms, however, is that though the sisters are from the offset determined to solve the mystery with their own intellect, I felt that the final conclusion involved a bit too much guesswork and being filled in by other characters, which was a little disappointing.

Hopefully it is not giving too much away to say that I did struggle to understand the killer’s motive in this book. Additionally, the mystery of why Elizabeth became so afraid of Chester immediately before their marriage is never really explained. Also I didn’t see the need to have each chapter headed by the sister’s name whose perspective it would be from; as the book is told in the third person we are always told this anyway.

Those minor quibbles aside, this was a great concept for a book and really nicely planned out and written, with the promise of further mysteries for the Brontës to solve.

As soon as I heard this was coming out, I had that feeling it was the book I had been waiting to read. A book where the Bronte sisters themselves played the role of detectives? I mean why has someone not written this before? I’m pleased they haven’t as Rowan Coleman is the only writer I think who could have done it and made it into this fine mystery.

The brilliant thing is is that she’s not just written a mystery out of nowhere, she’s actually used many real facts and events from the Bronte family life, so it shines with authenticity from the off. It’s set in Yorkshire, at their house in Haworth (now the Bronte Parsonage of course) and it would be perfect for a booktrail! The year is 1845 and it was a time when the Bronte family were once again all together in one roof for at least several months. Even more interesting is the fact that this was also the time before any of the Brontes started writing their books. So you really get a sense that you are meeting these wonderful, real historical people before they become famous writers. IT’s like time travelling and it felt great reading it knowing what became of these women later on in real life.

I could really believe this story could happen and had they all lived longer, maybe it would have done. When the Bronte sisters living in a Parsonage in Haworth, hear about the horrendous crime involving a missing mother, they decide to become "lady detectors" and I was swept up in this magical world from the start.

It was sad to finish this book but then it’s only the first one of a brand new brilliant series and coming from a die-hard Bronte fan, I can’t wait!

It’s 1851 and the prologue to the book sees Charlotte, now the last surviving member of the Brontë family, looking back on her and her sisters’ lives before they became famous authors. It underlines how tragically short their lives were, Emily having died in 1848 and Anne in 1849. Charlotte herself was to die in 1855.

The book’s very engaging premise is that the sisters were enterprising ‘detectors’ before they were novelists and The Vanished Bride represents their first case undertaken in 1845 (before, for example, the publication of Jane Eyre or Wuthering Heights in 1847). In a clever nod to the fact that the Brontë sisters’ novels and poems were initially published under pseudonyms (Currer, Ellis and Acton Bell) in order to disguise their gender, the author has adopted Bella Ellis as her pen-name for this new series of historical mysteries. That’s only one of very many clever nods to the works of the Brontë sisters that feature in The Vanished Bride and readers who are familiar with any of the novels of the Brontës will have great fun in spotting the allusions. I know I did but I probably missed just as many more. (There is also at least one allusion to another famous fictional detective in the reference to what might be described as a ‘curious incident’.)

The book also makes references to events in the lives of the sisters. There is one especially poignant scene where Charlotte and Anne visit Scarborough as part of their investigation and Anne remarks that, apart from Haworth, Scarborough is ‘the only other place in the world that she ever wished to be…standing on the clifftops, marvelling at the boundless magnitude of the sea, and wondering at what might lie beyond it’.

The sisters take it in turns to relate the story and, as well as making engaging narrators, it allows the reader to appreciate their different strengths when it comes to the art of ‘detecting’, neatly mirroring what you might imagine were their characters in real-life. For example, Emily is all action, emotional and instinct, whereas Anne is methodical and thoughtful, and Charlotte is in her element when dealing with people and eliciting information. Collectively, the sisters find their gender is a positive advantage on a number of occasions, something very different from the position they find themselves in as members of society. Fans of Branwell Brontë will be pleased to know that he also features, although very much in an assisting role.

I wouldn’t want what I’ve said so far to put off readers who are unfamiliar with the lives or works of the Brontë sisters because The Vanished Bride works perfectly well as an engaging historical mystery even without such knowledge (although, I suspect readers may be tempted to pick up one of the sisters’ novels afterwards). The sisters’ investigation involves everything you’d expect from a mystery: examining the scene of the crime, looking for evidence, interviewing suspects, even a bit of undercover work and an early outing for what we’d probably recognise today as psychological profiling. Those with good powers of observation may pick up clues along the way but you definitely won’t know if they were significant or ‘red herrings’ until the final chapters.

The Vanished Bride is an accomplished, entertaining historical mystery that is also great fun for Brontë fans. I shall certainly be looking out for future books in the series.

I received an advance review copy courtesy of Hodder & Stoughton via NetGalley