I loved the newest story of the Brontë sisters. The mystery in this one was so much fun. I was on the edge of my seat the entire book. The gothic settings in this book, and series as a whole, would make the Brontë sisters proud; a fine tribute to them. Can’t wait to see what happens next!

I was hesitant to read this because it was about the Brontë sisters solving mysteries. However, I must say I was very satisfied. This novel had the gothic element that the Brontës were known for. It was as if the sisters wrote it themselves. The Brontës were also depicted well just like their historical counterparts. The mystery was very well-crafted! I’m looking forward to more!
I recommend this fans of The Jane Austen Murder mysteries!

I apprecitate the publisher allowing me to read this book. This is a great read that kept me interested until the end, I can't wait to read more.

Charlotte recounts unknown tales of mystery and detection. The Brontë family has a knack for imagination that helps all 4 of them to have very good deduction skills.
This is an excellent well written book. A true Gothic feeling mystery with country ghost tales. The mystery surrounds bones found in a neighbors home as well as a missing child. The book feels “Brontëan” it is respectful as well as biographical. The various pastoral settings including moors (yes, MOORS!) from the parsonage to various homes and landscapes. As historical fiction it is well researched. The details are superb-the parsonage, family life, local tradesmen and gentry.
The sisters whom we know much about including their passions, devotion and free spirits feel like long lost friends. In this book we get the reimagining of them as detectives. I gasped as Lydia Robinson and Bramwell’s affair is mentioned as “wrong at every turn”. Bramwell’s lovelorn grieving, drinking & poetry writing is honestly addressed. Each Brontë sister’s voice is distinct and hints to their individuality and writings (all while deducing the mystery of the boys living and dead).
I hope this series continues because I really want to keep reading new adventures! Thanks to #NetGalley for a review copy. I highly recommend this book and purchased an audiobook version too.

The Bronte sisters, Anne, Emily, and Charlotte, along with their brother Branwell are discouraged in their pursuits to get published. They have submitted manuscripts and received rejections. When their housekeeper, Tabby tells them of bones discovered in the home of a reclusive neighbor, they decide this is just the case for their new detective agency, Bell Brothers and Company solicitors, and an opportunity to take their minds off their rejections and possibly give them fodder for a new novel.

I have a long lasting love for the Bronte sisters (I mean among book bloggers that has to be pretty common right?). I’ve read all their books, and Jane Eyre is of course one of my five favorite books of all time. So when I heard there is a mystery series that features the sisters I was very excited to read it.

I really enjoyed reading this book. I feel like the characters as they were written were very distinct and close to what we know of the sisters and their personalities. There were no strange moments that pulled me away from my enjoyment of the book or that didn’t jive with what I know of them. The environments were also very moody in just the right way, the moors figure largely of course, and the surrounding neighbors were excellently portrayed.

The mystery centered in the book itself was a lot of fun, and figuring it out made the book hard to put down. Just what you want from a book like this. I really need to pick up the other two books in the series. I’m not sure if each book is dedicated to a different sister, but I felt like this book really focused on Emily, and events in this book seemed to serve as inspiration for her later writings in Wuthering Heights. It’s full of easter eggs for people who love the books written by the sisters. It’s a great, easy, thriller of a book and I hope that if you are Bronte fans you will like this series.

3.5 stars rounded up.

Wuthering Heights has been one of my favorite novels ever since I read it back in high school. Not long afterward, I read Jane Eyre and the rest of Charlotte Bronte’s novels. And not long after that, I got obsessed with the family and started in on the biographies. I’ve never been able to explain my quasi-obsession with the the Brontes, other than to say the remarkable strangeness of their story is hard to resist. That three unknown, self-educated “spinsters” living in the wild moorland wrote such brilliant novels seems like the stuff of fiction, not reality.

So…a Bronte sisters mystery series? Count me in. Especially when the author, Rowan Coleman aka Bella Ellis, is so knowledgeable about all things Bronte. The historical detail throughout was wonderful.

The plot is dark but the humor throughout made this seem almost like a cozy mystery. When the bones of a child are found hidden in a chimney, Anne, Emily and Charlotte start their own investigation. There are plenty of twists and turns that lead readers in all sorts of direction, from Hellfire clubs to ancient tales of magic to a winged monster that makes off with orphans in the night. Of course, there is a grand house located on Top Withens and Emily’s mastiff Keeper makes an appearance, along with their ne’er-do-well brother Branwell, devoted servant Tabby and the library the sisters often visited. Even the local clockmaker becomes a character.

I missed the first book in the series so I’m curious to circle back and read that one. I enjoyed this mystery but I liked it more for the historical references than the story itself. The chapters are broken up into narratives focused on each of the sisters but there didn’t seem to be a pronounced difference between them. I almost wished they had been written in first person but I suppose that would have taken away from the “cozy” feel. All in all, this is fun novel that will appeal to fans of the Brontes and of historical mysteries.

Much thanks to Berkley and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was able to read the second in the series, The Diabolical Bones, and despite thinking I perhaps missed learning about each of their sisters’ personalities, I felt like reading out of order was just fine. The reader finds the sisters living with their vicar father and their brother, and they are still basking in the small glow of success that someone has agreed to publish their book of poetry – under, disappointingly, male names.

The siblings hear that the local spooky mansion at the top of the hill has found a child’s remains within its walls, and they go to investigate. And so begins their sleuthing. I like how the mystery isn’t a cut and dry murder, and that no one in the group is in the wrong place at the wrong time and stumbles over the victim’s corpse, which has been done countless times in other mysteries. The mystery has depth, with layers of family dynamics, romance, and even some occultism.

Ellis breathes life into these women who are mysteries in themselves, and although I can almost guarantee these sisters were not amateur sleuths, for 336 pages, I could believe. Ellis also has a quality voice, reminiscent to the style of a nineteenth century novel without being over the top.

My absolute favorite part, however, was how the mystery clearly inspired Wuthering Heights. A creepy old home, broken hearts, and even characters with names eerily similar to the Wuthering Heights cast. After some harrowing moments, Emily rushes to her writing desk, and the reader is on the secret – she is writing one of the most famous novels ever.

My Highly Caffeinated Thought: A bingeable read filled with duplicity, hidden secrets, and mystery surrounding missing children.

Oh how much I love entering into a world where the Brontës are alive and solving mysteries. THE DIABOLICAL BONES is equally as engaging, mysterious, and filled with sibling antics as the first. Ellis brings to life the Brontës in a way I never thought possible, but thoroughly enjoy.

Here is the thing. A good historical mystery, in my humble opinion, has to have intrigue, diverse characters, and a bit of pomp and circumstance. This book as well as the first in the series has all those things and more. The way the author unravels the story allows the reader to follow the clues and experience the revelations along with our investigators.

What makes this book so good is that even though Anne, Emily, and Charlotte are intelligent and cunning, there is still a bit of naiveness in their approach to mystery solving. They are learning and make mistakes. This allows for growth within the characters, an aspect I particularly delight in with this type of series.

THE DIABOLICAL BONES is a winner for me. It seamlessly brings together a historical setting with an unsettling mystery all the while nurturing the characters of these budding detectors.

The Diabolical Bones is the second book in the Bronte Sister's mystery series. I really enjoyed the mystery in this story, and I found myself completely immersed in the story! It's a wonderful mix of real elements of the Bronte girls and fictional mystery. I think that readers that enjoy a historical mystery will really enjoy reading this one!

The Bronte sisters, Anne, Emily and Charlotte, are busy with their own literary pursuits, both poetry and the idea of writing a novel. But since that doesn’t keep them busy enough, they’ve started their own little detective agency.
When their housekeeper shares the news that a set of old bones has been found bricked up inside Scar Top House, nothing will do but that the sisters look into it at the request of Liston Bradshaw. They aren’t afraid of the rumors that Liston’s father, Clifton Bradshaw, owner of the house, has sold his should to the devil (although he is a hard man).
It seems pretty cut-and-dry since the skeleton was found in Bradshaw’s house, but the young women are nothing if not thorough in their quest.
Ellis does a great job of giving the historical facts about the Bronte family good play, alternating chapters among the sisters.

In The Diabolical Bones, the much anticipated follow up to The Vanished Bride, Bella Ellis has added a dark and tense ghost story element to her already winning formula of literary fiction and historical fiction coupled with a fascinating, well-crafted mystery.

As in The Vanished Bride, we again open with a brief introduction that takes place several years after the events of the story we are about to read, when only Charlotte remains of the Bronte family. In her loneliness, she looks back at a time she holds dear because she still had her father, her brother, and her dear sisters nearby. But in spite of the warmth and kindness she feels from thinking of her family, this is a case that still strikes fear deep into her heart.

The Brontë's beloved housekeeper Tabby plays a larger role in The Diabolical Bones as she is the one who brings the sisters’ attention to the fact that a set of bones has been discovered at the home of the Bradshaws, where they were hidden in a room closed off for several years. Worst of all, these bones clearly belonged to a child.

Clifton Bradshaw is not looked on favourably by many, with some in the village saying he had sold his soul to the devil long ago. But such a simple explanation will certainly not satisfy Charlotte, Emily, and Anne and they begin to thoroughly investigate the matter, in hopes of ultimately putting the child to rest, as well as discovering the murderer.

There are many truly heartfelt (and even occasionally heart breaking) moments in the conversations between the Bronte siblings. They talk, plan, laugh together, and challenge each other in ways that anyone with a sibling will undoubtedly recognise. They clearly genuinely love each other and they each seem to feel it when they have hurt one another. It is extremely endearing and makes the years separating today from 1846 seem to fall away.

The mystery itself is exciting and full of twists and turns throughout. The Diabolical Bones is perfect for fall and winter (for us seasonal-mood readers) as the wintery isolated setting and consistently spooky vibes are front and center throughout the story.

This is a great read.
I love the cover!
It’s a great adventure.
The mystery is well developed and the characters are wonderful.
The story gripped me from the beginning. And I couldn’t stop reading.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an arc in exchange for my honest review.

The Diabolical Bones is the second book in the Bronte Sisters Mystery series by Bella Ellis. Haven't read the first book? Neither have I. But no worries, as this installment is a self-contained mystery and stands alone just fine. It was an interesting concept, having the Bronte sisters being what they call "detectors". I started this book off in a depressed mood: I was not very familiar with this family, and it shocked me that these three women died so YOUNG. The longest one lived was 39 years! I also admit I have not read any of their work. Yes, I know...it's a sin.

It's a bitterly cold February in 1846, and Charlotte, Anne and Emily Bronte are busy writing at the Haworth Parsonage, trying to find a publisher for their poetry. They are also attempting novel writing while awaiting cases for their new detecting agency. Their beloved housekeeper Tabby informs them of a terrifying find at Top Withens, the property belonging to Clifton Bradshaw: a set of bones was discovered bricked up in a chimney! Tabby tells them of the rumors that Bradshaw sold his soul to the devil after his wife's death, and the ladies decide to investigate. Did Bradshaw kill the child to whom those bones belonged? Or are there even more diabolical happenings afoot?

This was an interesting premise on which to base a series. The story started off rather slowly for me, and I really didn't get into it until I was about halfway through. When it picked up, though, it really became exciting. I kept changing my mind as to whodunit. I ended up being correct, but there was MUCH more behind the tragedy than I could ever have guessed! Ms. Ellis does a marvelous job with atmosphere; I felt I was there in the biting cold with the sisters, and could feel the encroaching dread as they got closer to solving the mystery. They were such an interesting family, and also very tragic, knowing the siblings all died so young. The sisters were extremely close, yet they would bicker as sisters are wont to do. Brother Bramwell was also an interesting man, at times clever but usually under the influence. I need to go back and see what I missed in book one, and I eagerly await the next installment!

I received an ARC of this book courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley. I received no compensation for my review, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are entirely my own.

December 1845 at Top Withens Hall, owner Clifton Bradshaw discovers the bones of a child in the chimney breast in his late wife's room.
Meanwhile at the Haworth Parsonage the Bronte sisters are busy with their individual writings. But eager for a new case for their detecting business, Bell Brothers and Company solicitors they are determined to discover the name of the child found and the guilty party.
A slow paced and enjoyable Victorian mystery with the clues slowly exposed. A well-written story also about the interactions between the various members of the Bronte family.
Another very good story in this series which can be read as a standalone book.
An ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Bella Ellis has done an excellent job of weaving facts into this fictional account of the Bronte sisters and their detecting business. The story builds slowly as the sisters gather information and puzzle all of the pieces together. I read the first book in the series....it's an excellent 5 star too....but this one is an easy stand alone. If you are a Bronte fan, you owe it to yourself to read Bella Ellis' Bronte Sisters Mysteries.

It's December 1845 and the Brontes- Charlotte, Emily, Anne, and Branwell- find themselves drawn into the mystery of bones which have been walled up in a chimney at an adjoining estate. This is fan fiction of the highest order (I know, I know, but give it a try). Who was the child and equally importantly, who put it there? The search for an answer leads the siblings to face religious hatred, an orphanage with horrible conditions, witchcraft, and a surprising villain. Emily, Charlotte, and Anne each provide their third person pov while Branwell remains a foil (he's got some great lines). Each of them has a distinct personality. The other characters (love Tabby) are equally well rounded. Know that this is written in sort of the style and at the pace of books of the times-it might feel a bit slow compared to modern mysteries- but that's a lovely attribute. It's also got some surprisingly funny interaction between the women. I admit to being a fan of the Brontes (I just re-read the Tenant of Wildfall Farm) so this was catnip for me. Ellis clearly knows her stuff and she's respectful as well as thoughtful in her approach. I think this would be perfect enjoyable even if you are not familiar with the Brontes. The mystery is good, the atmospherics are wonderful (oh the moors), and it's just delightful. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Highly recommend for Bronte fans and fans of historical mystery.

(The following review will appear on CriminalElement.com the week of publication.)

The Brontë sisters—Charlotte, Emily, and Anne—are eagerly anticipating word from their publisher on whether or not their book of collected poems will be printed. With Christmas quick approaching and their brother, Branwell, still in a depressed and drunken mood following an ill-advised affair with a married woman, the sisters have plenty on their hands.

But the Universe is about to put a much heavier weight upon them: just across the moor, in the dilapidated manor house of Top Withens, the bones of a child have been discovered, bricked up in an abandoned fireplace.

The entire town of Haworth is more than happy to blame Top Withens’ master, Clifton Bradshaw. Bradshaw is known to be a black-hearted and ill-tempered beast of a man, a suspected devil-worshipper and hedonist. His grown son, Liston, turns to the Brontës for help in clearing the Bradshaw name and identifying the unfortunate victim.


“This were round its neck,” he said, delivering it into Emily’s hands.
Emily frowned at the object that lay lightly in her palm.
“A medallion,” she told her sisters as she closely examined the object under candlelight. “Here on the front an engraving of the Virgin Mary, and the date eighteen thirty. And on the back these symbols and stars, and another date that appears to be roughly etched: eighteen thirty-two. Here.” She moved her palm around for all to see.
“Eighteen thirty-two is but thirteen years ago,” Anne said. “The child was placed here much more recently than we assumed.”
“Well within living memory,” Charlotte added.
“It was the year my mother died,” Liston said heavily. “The year my father locked away this room and all the secrets it contained. Do you suppose…? No, I cannot say it aloud.”
“Say what aloud, Liston?” Emily asked him.
“That my father may have known that the bones were interred within this room?”
Liston looked so lost, so afraid that he might be speaking the truth, that Emily wished she was able to reassure him. She was not, however.
“We cannot know,” Emily said. “At least not yet, Liston. But my family has a knack for detecting the truth, no matter how well it might be hidden.” She looked in turn at all gathered there as she spoke. “From this moment on, we must assume the circumstances of this child’s death to be most heinous and wicked. And regard this room as the scene of a murder.”


What at first seems to be clear cut and obvious—who else but Bradshaw would be able to hide a murder at Top Withens for so long?—quickly becomes muddied and ominous. The more the Brontës dig, the more frightening and confusing the clues they uncover. Arcane symbols, perverted Catholic charms, and a history of dark sacrifice emerge.

Soon, the young writers-turned-detectors are confronted with witches, madness, and settings that could’ve been ripped from the Gothic pages of their own imaginations. And they must get to the bottom of things fast: with the disappearance of another young boy, tensions are rising. If they don’t catch the culprit, their town will dissolve into yet another witch hunt and the pile of diabolical bones will only grow…

With her second installment in her Brontë Sisters series, Ellis continues to weave the biographical facts of the famous family with thrilling fiction. Historical locales and peoples—including the improbably named Zerubbabel Barraclough—ground the more Gothic flourishes, and Ellis clearly has fun alluding to possible inspirations for the ladies’ classic novels.

That’s certainly one of the greatest draws to this series; Brontë fans will enjoy catching all of the Easter eggs for Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre, and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. The colorful characterizations of the sisters (and their ne’er-do-well brother) are also entertaining. As to be expected, Emily is the wild child of the family, Charlotte the emotional one, and Anne the quiet and thoughtful glue holding everyone together, who sometimes feels diminished compared to her more vibrant siblings:


“It’s different for you and Charlotte,” Anne said. “Both of you have a gift for creating worlds out of words—whole landscapes of emotion. I fear that all I have is myself, my own thoughts and feelings, regrets and hopes that are so very small and ordinary. How can that ever be considered to have any literary merit?”
“Why wouldn’t your honest and true reflections have merit equal to any words ever written by anyone?” Emily asked. “What greater merit is there than the communication of the experience of one human soul to another? In this world of men, the literary types seek to elevate themselves above the ordinary. Their thoughts must be superior, their feelings more important than yours or mine. It’s all artifice, Anne. Your thoughts, your feelings, your sentiment, as you put it, will ring true with those who read it. They will see honesty and integrity, and though you may never know their names, you and they will be connected somehow, not only now but for all of time. Besides, if I am honest, it is you who have the greatest courage of us all, you who speak the truth and will not flinch from it.”
“Perhaps if that is so, it will be enough.”
“Besides, we don’t write for accolades.” Emily thought for a moment. “We write because our souls demand it of us, and that is enough.”


The Diabolical Bones is told through perspective chapters that alternate between the sisters, ensuring everyone gets moments of introspection and moments to shine. The winter setting provides both nostalgic holiday flourishes and a bleak, chilling backdrop for some truly nefarious goings-ons.

Ellis packs a lot into this mystery, moving her heroines like chess pieces as the pursue each clue and painting vivid descriptions of snowy moors, decaying manors, and dark caves. Plenty of space is devoted to the Brontës’ familial relationships, religious sentiments, and hopes for their creative careers, and intertwined with the core whodunit is commentary on class, poverty, bigotry, and misogyny.

Ellis is working with some heavy material and very hallowed figures, but handles it all with a fairly light touch that makes for easy, quick reading. There are some dark details in The Diabolical Bones, but overall it’s still more of a cozy yarn than a true thriller, and a perfect fit for the current cold snap this winter.

Given the short timeframe left to work with—this story takes place in 1845 and Branwell, Emily, and Anne are all dead by May of 1849—it will be interesting to see just how many more mysteries Ellis can squeeze into this series. Hopefully, the next will be even more exciting and fantastical.

The tone of this series drives me wild. I should take a murder of a child seriously but the people are so strange that I just want to laugh. The people are all so melodramatic that they are more like caricatures of people who live in the Moors. The main characters aren't well drawn out. They feel like different aspects of the same person.

This review is based on an advanced reader copy provided through Netgalley for an honest review.

5 Star Book review

Review placed on Blog, Goodreads, Twitter and Facebook. To be placed on Amazon following book's release.

Blog:https://abookandareview.blogspot.com/2021/02/the-diabolical-bones-bronte-sisters.html

My opinion: I have read both books in the series and have several thoughts on these books.

First, I have started many a series only to be disappointed by the next books in the series. The first book is fantastic, but then the writing becomes weaker with each passing release. Ms. Coleman's novels shows none of these issues. I found The Diabolical Bones to be as well written and inviting as The Vanished Bride. The Diabolical Bones comes out swinging with a unique storyline partnered with an inviting writing style. I absolutely loved this book setting and Ms. Coleman does a phenomenal job at conveying it. It is apparent everything about this book from setting, time period and main characters have been well researched.

Second, normally I am a stickler about reading series in order. Especially in strong character driven series, it a must if the reader wants to enjoy the full experience of the book and/or character. In my opinion, Ms. Coleman has written these books to be able to stand on their own if the reader so desires. While the Bronte sisters are present in the novel, I don't find their character development to be so strong that one must read the books in order to enjoy the series or not feel lost.

Third, the author does a fantastic job of writing a painting a dark atmospheric story, she ensures that some light attached to it. While the story was sad and dark, the author didn't beat the reader down with it. Ms. Coleman was able to maintain a story that kept moving without being depressing despite the reader.