The Brontë sisters' first poetry collection has just been published, potentially marking an end to their careers as amateur detectors, when Anne receives a letter from her former pupil Lydia Robinson.
Lydia has eloped with a young actor, Harry Roxby, and following her disinheritance, the couple been living in poverty in London. Harry has become embroiled with a criminal gang and is in terrible danger after allegedly losing something very valuable that he was meant to deliver to their leader. The desperate and heavily pregnant Lydia has a week to return what her husband supposedly stole, or he will be killed. She knows there are few people who she can turn to in this time of need, but the sisters agree to help Lydia, beginning a race against time to save Harry's life.
In doing so, our intrepid sisters come face to face with a terrifying adversary whom even the toughest of the slum-dwellers are afraid of . . . The Red Monarch.
What did I think?
I am completely addicted to The Brontë Mysteries series so I have been so looking forward to book 3, The Red Monarch, and it does not disappoint. Bella Ellis has created such a wonderful portrayal of the Brontë sisters that it feels as if their very essence is woven into the pages. It's just brilliant and I loved every single page.
With their brother Branwell suffering from a broken heart and the three sisters awaiting the first review of their poetry collection, a distraction is most welcome. So when Anne receives a plea for help from a former pupil in London, the sisters put on their detector hats once more. London is indeed a very different place to Yorkshire but the Brontës are fearless and always look out for each other, so I had no doubt that whatever was awaiting them in London would be no match for them.
Filled with danger and so very atmospheric, The Red Monarch isn't just a step back in time it's like stepping in the Brontë sisters' shoes. Bella Ellis' writing is sublime; it's so authentic that I often forgot I wasn't reading one of the Brontë sisters' classic works. It's such a wonderful book in a wonderful series and I really can't recommend it highly enough.
I received an ARC from the publisher to read and review for the blog tour; this is my honest and unbiased opinion.
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