Tag: HF Reading Challenge

#BookReview #Ad A Gift of Poison by Bella Ellis

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A Gift of PoisonAbout the Book

Haworth 1847 – Anne and Emily Brontë have had their books accepted for publication, while Charlotte’s has been rejected everywhere, creating a strained atmosphere at the parsonage.

At the same time, a shocking court case has recently concluded, acquitting a workhouse master of murdering his wife by poison. Everyone thinks this famously odious and abusive man is guilty. However, he insists he is many bad things but not a murderer. When an attempt is made on his life, he believes it to be the same person who killed his wife and applies to the detecting sisters for their help.

Despite reservations, they decide that perhaps, as before, it is only they who can get to the truth and prove him innocent – or guilty – without a shadow of doubt.

Format: eARC (352 pages)                Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Publication date: 9th February 2023 Genre: Historical Fiction, Crime

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My Review

A Gift of Poison is the fourth and final book in Bella Ellis’s historical crime series featuring the Brontë sisters. I’ve read and enjoyed all the previous books in the series – The Vanished Bride, The Diabolical Bones and The Red Monarch. (Links from the titles will take you to my review.)

As in the prevous books, there is a very touching prologue, after which the reader is taken back in time to the summer of 1847 as Charlotte, Emily and Anne embark on what they are determined will be their final case. The sisters take it in turns to relate the story allowing the distinct personalities the author has given them to shine through. For example, Emily is all action, emotion and instinct, someone who doesn’t suffer fools gladly. At one point she scornfully observes, ‘This will take twice as long as it should now there are men involved’.  Anne is methodical, thoughtful, has a forgiving nature and is more inclined to see the best in others. Charlotte is adept at dealing with people and eliciting information.

Whilst being pleased that her sisters’ novels have been accepted for publication, Charlotte can’t help feeling a little hurt at the rejection of her own novel, The Professor. She is determined to protect her sisters from any hint of scandal – such as their role as ‘detectors’ – that might jeopardise their success.  And she is quietly working away at a new novel, one which will become her most famous book and an enduring classic – Jane Eyre, of course. What I loved is how the author captures Charlotte’s compulsion to transfer her ideas to the page, as she snatches every spare moment to quietly work on the novel, sometimes becoming lost in ‘a frenzy of creation’.

Branwell Brontë also features in the book although by this point, as in real life, he has become a rather pathetic figure in the final stages of an inevitable decline but still touchingly protective of his sisters. There is also a return appearance by real life novelist, Mrs Catherine Crowe ,who manages to charm everyone she meets, including the sisters’ beloved Papa. Charlotte’s dear friend, Ellen Nussey, also features in the story and proves to be, if not quite as courageous as the three sisters, extremely organised and adept at recording vital scraps of evidence.

As with the previous books, part of the enjoyment is trying to spot references to people or places in the Brontë’s novels. The obvious one is the surname of Abner Lowood but I bet there were others I missed. Some of the seemingly  supernatural happenings in this book evoke thoughts of Wuthering Heights and one quite dramatic event appears in Jane Eyre.

Do the sisters find the solution to the mystery? You bet they do, although they have a convoluted journey to get there. The investigation involves the intrepid sisters visiting places young unmarried ladies would not normally be expected to go. And this is Yorkshire so they also have to battle the elements at times. There is also, to Anne’s delight, a visit to the seaside resort of Scarborough although for those with any knowledge of the Brontës this will be tinged with sadness being the site of her grave.

In one touching exchange, inspired by the events they have been investigating, the siblings imagine their afterlives: “Your ghost will always be in the pub, Branwell,” Emily said. “And yours up on the moor, singing with the wind,” Branwell said, fondly. “Charlotte will be ordering everyone around, absolutely furious that no one is paying her any attention,” Emily added. “And Anne will just be Anne, a light for others always.”

Although I’m sad to see what has been a wonderfully entertaining series come to an end, those familiar with the sadly brief lives of the Brontë sisters will understand, given the year in which the book is set, why this must be their final case.

My thanks to Hodder & Stoughton for my review copy via NetGalley.

In three words: Engaging, imaginative, suspenseful

Rowan ColemanAbout the Author

Bella Ellis is the Brontë-inspired pen name for the award winning Sunday Times bestselling author Rowan Coleman. A Brontë devotee for most of her life, Rowan is the author of fourteen novels including The Memory Book, The Summer of Impossible Things and The Girl at the Window.

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Bronte Mysteries Bella Ellis

#BlogTour #BookReview #Ad Dead of Night by Simon Scarrow

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Dead of Night final bannerWelcome to the final stop on the blog tour for wartime thriller, Dead of Night by Simon Scarrow. My thanks to Jess at Ransom PR for inviting me to take part in the tour and to Headline for my review copy. If you’ve been keeping up with the posts by the other bloggers taking part in the tour, you’ll be aware of the praise heaped on the book so far: ‘A gripping page turning thriller‘, ‘An absolute must-read for fans of historical crime fiction‘ and ‘a story full of intrigue, tension and danger‘

Dead of NightAbout the Book

BERLIN. JANUARY 1941. After Germany’s invasion of Poland, the world is holding its breath and hoping for peace. At home, the Nazi Party’s grip on power is absolute.

One freezing night, an SS doctor and his wife return from an evening mingling with their fellow Nazis at the concert hall. By the time the sun rises, the doctor will be lying lifeless in a pool of blood.

Was it murder or suicide? Criminal Inspector Horst Schenke is told that under no circumstances should he conduct an investigation. The doctor’s widow, however, is convinced her husband was the target of a brutal hit. But why would anyone murder an apparently obscure doctor? Compelled to dig deeper, Schenke learns of the mysterious death of a child. The cases seem unconnected, but chilling links soon begin to emerge that point to a terrifying secret.

Even in times of war, under a ruthless regime, there are places in hell no man should ever enter. And Schenke fears he may not return alive . . .

Format: Hardback (432 pages)           Publisher: Headline
Publication date: 2nd February 2023 Genre: Historical Fiction, Thriller

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My Review

Being an avid reader of wartime thrillers I’m not quite sure how I managed to miss Blackout, the first book in the series, when it was published in 2020. I shall certainly be snapping up a copy at some point as, although Dead of Night can definitely be read as a standalone, there are lots of things I’d love to know more about, especially the book’s protagonist, Criminal Inspector Horst Schenke. For example, how Schenke’s relationship with Karin Canaris came about and his involvement with Ruth, a young Jewish woman, who seemingly played a pivotal role in events in the previous book.

Most of us, I imagine, are aware of the vile actions of the Nazi regime towards Jewish people but perhaps less so about the atrocities committed against other sections of the population in pursuit of Hitler’s warped and perverted ideology. (As the author notes, sometimes fiction can do a better job of shedding a light on such things than ‘dry tomes of history’.) It’s just such an atrocity that Schenke uncovers in the course of his investigation. But is it an act of personal revenge or something more sinister?

I thought Schenke was a brilliant character. He has a strong sense of justice and isn’t afraid to bend the rules if he believes it is right. It places him in all sorts of risky situations, even threatening the safety of those close to him, something that is never far from his mind. Bringing criminals to justice and forcing them to face the consequences of their actions is what he believes in, it’s what drives him but sometimes, perhaps, even he has to face the possibility he hasn’t the power to do so – at least not yet.  He tries to comfort himself with the thought, ‘There will be a reckoning for the evil that is being done, but I fear that won’t come for some time. Months . . . years . . . who can say? In which case, it is our duty to survive and bear witness.’

Writing about the inspiration for Dead of Night, Simon Scarrow describes it as being the story of how ‘an extreme ideology prepares the ground for unthinkable and unconscionable actions’. I expect we can all think of contemporary parallels. Navigating such a situation while keeping his integrity intact is the dilemma Schenke faces. He’s a patriot but one who has become ashamed of what his country is doing. It’s these difficult choices that make the book so powerful, exposing as it does some of the darkest deeds of the 20th century. 

Dead of Night is a skilfully crafted, completely engrossing historical thriller that will delight fans of the genre. I really hope there will be more books in the series.

In three words: Compelling, assured, chilling

Try something similar: The Pale Criminal by Philip Kerr

Simon ScarrowAbout the Author

Simon Scarrow is a Sunday Times No. 1 bestselling author with several million copies of his books sold worldwide. After a childhood spent travelling the world, he pursued his great love of history as a teacher, before becoming a full-time writer. Best known for his Roman adventure stories, Simon took to writing WW2 thrillers, and last year Blackout set in WW2 Berlin, was chosen as a Richard and Judy Book Blub pick.

His Roman soldier heroes Cato and Macro made their debut in 2000 in Under the Eagle and have subsequently appeared in many bestsellers in the Eagles of the Empire series, including Centurion, Invictus and Day of the Caesars. Many of the series have been Sunday Times bestsellers. (Photo: Twitter profile)

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