A Gift of Poison, fourth in the Brönte Mysteries series by Bella Ellis, does not disappoint. It is a fast-moving, threatening and spooky tale of a murderer who may be innocent. Or not. Charlotte, Emily and Anne must investigate. Based on a real poisoning case, The Haworth Poisoner, is a tale of innocent until proven guilty, of poison, of ghosts, of revenants returning from the grave to demand retribution. Abner Lowood – the choice of surname, echoing Lowood School, is pertinent as Charlotte is writing Jane Eyre throughout A Gift of Poison – appears at the parsonage in Haworth. He has heard that the sisters are detectors and he demands they clear his name. If they refuse to help him he will disclose their secret detecting to their father. Disgusted by Lowood but desperate to protect their father from more anguish given the rapid deterioration of Branwell’s health, they agree.
Proven innocent in court of murdering his wife, Lowood claims the continued gossip and rumour that he is guilty is ruining his life. The sisters, Branwell is now so lost and ill that he plays no role in detecting, detest and distrust Lowood. But, following the example set throughout their lives by their father, they give him the benefit of the doubt. If he has been wronged, they will prove it. But, they warn him, if they find proof that he is a murderer they will not hesitate to report their evidence to the police.
The sisters are ably assisted by Charlotte’s friend Ellen Nussey, who is staying at the parsonage when the action takes place, and by author Mrs Catherine Crowe. The latter arrives with her scientific equipment to prove that the revenant – Lowood’s wife Barbara, said to have risen from her grave to identify her murderer – is in fact a hallucination. The balance of science versus emotion, logic rather than emotion, is the first instinct of the ladies. Their search for the truth leads them to Scarborough – where a year later the real Anne Brönte was to die, and is buried – where the decision of one man holds the key.
This is a case of double bluff and triple bluff with added cruelty, deprivation and gothic hauntings. The story is set in 1847, a time when superstition was widespread. Woven into the fictional crime case are glimpses of real life. Bramwell really did set his bed on fire, while Charlotte watched Emily and Anne correct the proofs of their first novels – Wuthering Heights and Agnes Grey – soon to be published though her own The Professor was rejected.
This is the last book in the series. In an Author’s Note, Rowan Coleman, aka Bella Ellis, says farewell to her detectors. “I chose to leave them here, for now, at the moment Charlotte is sending off the manuscript for Jane Eyre and before the great waves of tragedy that were to follow all too soon, because although their lives have often been defined by sorrow, I want to celebrate the amazing victories and achievements they carved out for themselves.”
Quickly read and hugely enjoyed.

Click the title below to read my reviews of these other Bella Ellis novels:-
THE VANISHED BRIDE #1BRONTEMYSTERIES
THE DIABOLICAL BONES #2BRONTEMYSTERIES
THE RED MONARCH #3BRONTEMYSTERIES

And one by Rowan Coleman:-
THE GIRL AT THE WINDOW 

If you like this, try:-
‘The Secrets of Gaslight Lane’ by MRC Kasasian #4THEGOWERDETECTIVE
‘The Various Haunts of Men’ by Susan Hill #1SIMONSERRAILLER
‘The Lost Ancestor’ by Nathan Dylan Goodwin #2MORTONFARRIER

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
#BookReview A GIFT OF POISON by Bella Ellis https://wp.me/p2ZHJe-6J0 via @SandraDanby

COMING SOON… THE NEXT BOOK I REVIEW WILL BE:-