Bloodstain with Bronte by Katherine Bolger Hyde is the second book in the Crime with the Classics series and was a good follow up to the first book in the series.

This book starts shortly after the first book ended so readers are now immersed in Emily's renovations of Windy Corners. Katie is the focus of this mystery has her past now come back into her life. The personal revelations lead to murder that Emily feels that she must solve to protect Katie and her daughter, Lizzie. I was perplexed by this plot as to who the murderer might be until the last few chapters.

A smoothly paced plot with well hidden clues that can keep readers turning the pages. The romance between Emily and Luke is also worked into the plot and they must negotiate their "dark moment" in order to reach the next milestone in their relationship. Katie also seems to have found love although that seemed to be more pushed in to the last chapter.

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book from St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books via NetGalley. All of the above opinions are my own.

Emily Cavanaugh is redecorating the Victorian mansion she inherited to be a writers retreat. She adores Katie the single mother and her daughter. Trouble comes after Katie in this second book in the series. How far will Emily go to protect Katie.
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Bloodstains with Bronte is the second book in the series by Katherine Bolger Hyde.

I was intrigued with the first in the series, so I was excited when this new one was offered for review.
Windy Corner, Emily;s inherited home is in the process of renovations which will be open to writes as a quiet haven to pen their thoughts.
It's during a stormy party that a body is found, triggering a who dunnit classic and sending Emily in search of the answers.
It is her fear that her near adopted daughter Katie is in trouble, but Katie hides the truth causing insurmountable troubles.

I did enjoy this story, but it was missing some of the flair that was in the first book.

I voluntarily read an ARC of this book offered by the publisher and NetGalley.

I wanted to like this a lot more than I did- the Brontes have always been among my favorite writers- but it just didn't gel for me. Emily has a big problem on her hands when Katie, who works for her, is found holding a knife while standing over the body of the "corpse" in their staged murder mystery. There's a couple of undercurrents which took this away from where I thought it would go and made it less enjoyable for me. It features Bronte quotes but that's the only influence. That said, it's a quick read. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

I give this book 3.5 stars out of 5. Overall, I liked this book. I enjoyed the premise and how there was literary quotes. I have always been a fan of books that involve books in some way and fashion. I feel I would have enjoyed this book a bit more if I would have read the first one first so I could connect more to the characters. I enjoyed the characterization but found the mystery a tad too predictable for me. Even with it’s flaws I found this book intriguing and want to read the first one at some point to see if I can get a better feel for things.

Thank you to NetGalley, Katherine Bolger Hyde, St. Martin's Press, and Minotaur Books for allowing me to read and review Bloodstains with Brontë. Love this book! I'm excited to pick up the other book in the series to see how it compares. I'd recommend this story to anyone with a love of the genre.

The idea of a murder mystery inspired by the Gothic elements in the books by the Bronte sisters is a great one. Every chapter of Bloodstains with Bronte begins with a quote from one of the sister’s books, and the quote colors what happens next. The mystery stands on it’s own, with the literary connection a nice aspect to the story.

This is the second book in the Crime with the Classics series featuring Emily Cavanaugh. I haven’t read the first one so I’m not sure if I’m missing out on character development, although the plot is pretty solid without needing to know what happened in the first book. I do have reservations about the character development and that mostly comes through the romance between Emily and Luke. As a couple, they didn’t quite draw me in because I felt like their connection was more explained than shown. But perhaps it is built up better in the previous book. Their romantic interest though led to Emily making questionable decisions that made me lose sympathy with her at times.

The story had interesting parts to it - I enjoyed the very human issues and conflicts it presented, with the character of Katie dealing with sexual harassment and worse from multiple male characters, and with the side plot of dealing with religious intolerance. I also enjoyed the warmth and quirkiness of some of the characters, especially Emily. The murder mystery itself didn’t have as smooth a flow to me though - there were a few times when Emily’s feelings got in the way of the investigation, and I felt like it complicated the plot in a way that didn’t feel as believable and made me frustrated with her. I also didn’t feel the urgency of the story as much, even when it got to the end.

The literary connection and the thoughtful way in which the story was presented, made this a good light read and if you are interested in the concept it might be a good idea to start with the first Austen related book in the series.

Fair warning, this is the second book on the Crimes with the Classics series, so expect spoilers below for the first book. But good news! You can read this book and have fun without reading the previous book.

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Okay, so this book finds Emily Cavanagh in the midst of renovations to turn the mansion she inherited from her murdered aunt into a writer’s retreat. Unfortunately, Emily’s ward, Katie, seems to have a horrible past with one of the workers, and the other seems to have developed an unhealthy obsession for the young woman. When one of the young men turns up dead at a murder-mystery fundraiser at Emily’s house, Katie becomes the primary suspect. With tensions running high and the dreary winter storms setting in, Emily must uncover the truth if she’s to save her young friend.

I like a cozy mystery every now and then. A nice bit of fiction to consume in an autumn afternoon. Bloodstains with Brönte fit the bill perfectly. You have a quirky, independent woman pulled unexpectedly into crime solving, a small town with a crazy high murder per capita rate, a great setting in an antique house replete with hidden staircases and dark corners, and colorful local townsfolk to provide a plethora of red herrings for our heroine to follow.

My one complaint is with Emily herself. I expect my detectives to be flawed, and no mystery novel would be complete without pointing the finger at the wrong person once or twice, but midway through the book, Emily completely abandons all logic (it’s actually stated that “He might have reason on his side, but affection trumped reason in her book.”) in the face of Katie’s possible guilt. I’m all for sticking up for friends and family, but I prefer my amateur detectives to be a bit less willing to divorce their investigation from the facts. Fortunately, Emily eventually comes around, and the book continues on in a more satisfying way, but come on.

So cozy mystery lovers and fans of Louise Penny take note. Despite its flaws, this is a fun little tea cake of a mystery series.

An advance copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

An enjoyable literary themed cozy, second in the series. Emily lives in a small town on the Oregon coast and is in the process of refurbishing her aunt's home to become a writer's retreat. To help her she has hired Katie, a young single mother to act as the housekeeper. Things take a murderous turn when Emily hosts a murder mystery night and it comes with a very real corpse. With Katie as the prime suspect and the investigating cop having a relationship with Emily.....things become complicated fast. The pace is a bit slow and I wish the clues were a bit more evident but, overall I liked the plot, the setting and Emily, she of a 'certain age'. That was good casting. The literary quotes were a nice extra and I plan to read the next in the series.

Very much enjoying this series; the NY Metro Region of the Jane Austen Society is hosting a joint event this weekend with the Bronte Society and it would have been perfect to have had this title, along with ARSENIC WITH AUSTEN, available for purchase at the book store this weekend.

“For I too liked reading.” –Charlotte Bronte

Emily Cavanaugh is a former literature professor who is remodeling her Victorian home on the Oregon coast into a writers’ retreat. Despite inheriting a sizable chunk of money—not to mention the house itself—from her aunt, expenses do pile up. So with the assistance of her housekeeper Katie, she arranges a murder mystery night to raise funds for a local clinic she’s pledged to help. Unfortunately, what is supposed to be a staged death turns out to be all too real. Worst of all, Katie is found standing over the body, bloody knife in hand. Emily’s conviction that the single mother is innocent puts her at odds with the town sheriff, who just happens to be the love of her life.

Bloodstains with Bronte is the second in Katherine Bolger Hyde’s Crime with the Classics series. As is true of Arsenic with Austen, Hyde’s second novel is full of literary references. I’m a huge fan of Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre, so I thoroughly enjoyed the Bronte quotes at the beginning of each chapter, as well as the other allusions in the novel. Although I somewhat disagree with Emily’s estimate of Wuthering Heights, I liked the parallels between Heathcliff and Roman, a construction worker whose love for “Katie” borders on the obsessive. Like the Bronte sisters’ books, this novel definitely broaches some darker themes, albeit with a light touch.

The humor sprinkled throughout the novel can be charming and the setting is enticing. Windy Corner is a colorful coastal town, the sort of place I often daydream about living in. I also wouldn’t mind being in Emily’s predicament. Who wouldn’t want to find herself suddenly wealthy, with a gorgeous old house, a stocked library and a long-lost flame vying for her attention? There are a few drawbacks to the book, however. The characters aren’t exactly three-dimensional and they sometimes feel as if they belong to another era, not the 21st century. Though it picks up in later chapters, the plot takes its own sweet time to get underway and is a bit predictable. There is also a slight Christian undertone readers should be aware of, though I didn’t find it off-putting.

Having recently read more than a few high-octane thrillers--my perpetual addiction--Bloodstains with Bronte was a refreshing change. This novel will likely appeal to niche readers of cozy mysteries, especially those who prefer a slower pace and lighter characterization.

Much thanks to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was really excited about this book, and even more pumped to learn it was part of a series. This is a fun mystery that includes references to classics. At the beginning of each chapter is a quote from a classic piece of literature. I really enjoyed this and liked finding the connection between that literature and the current chapter.

There is a lot going on in the book, as the characters work through murder charges, a murder mystery dinner, and romantic emotions. I thought that was all good fun. The book is a bit dark, like the gothic writing style of the Brontes, which is also a nice nod to the classics.

Overall, I didn't find the characters very likable or relatable, but this is a fun read for a quick fall/winter day.

Bloodstains with Bronte by Katherine Bolger Hyde, is the second book in the Crime with the Classics series. Emily is remodeling, the mansion she inherited from her aunt, into a writer’s retreat. Each of the bedrooms in the mansion is named after a famous classics writer and the décor of the room matches the style of the time when the author lived and the works that were produced. She has hired Katy, a young single-mother as her housekeeper. Emily quickly becomes attached to Katy and thinks of her as the daughter that she never had.

Emily offers Windy Corner as the venue for a Halloween murder mystery fundraiser. The mock murder becomes a real one and the prime suspect is Katy and Luke, Emily’s love interest is the investigator. Emily must decide how far she will go for love and if she is willing to withhold valuable information from Luke for Katy’s sake. Emily picks up Wuthering Heights solace as the body count increases and the tension between she and Luke thickens.

Fans of classic literature or cozy mysteries will love the Crime with the Classics series. Sufficient details are provided in Bloodstains with Bronte by the author such that this book can be thoroughly enjoyed without having read the first book in the series. Katherine Bolger Hyde does a masterful job of mining just the right quotes from the classics to introduce each chapter in the book. Her character development and talent for bringing to life the small-town charm of a cozy mystery is what makes Bloodstains with Bronte a delightful read.

This is the first book that I have read by this author; she has one previously published mystery in the series. Each chapter begins with a literary quote from either Wuthering Heights or Jane Eyre. These presage events and/or emotions experienced by the characters in the chapter. I enjoyed the quotes and the many book references throughout the novel. The main characters were appealing although overall the characters and mystery would have benefited from greater depth and nuance. This was a good, cozy read.

Hooray! A book that doesn’t have a 20-year-old ingenue for the main character! Emily is a woman of a certain age, having the time of her life turning her aunt’s palatial home into a writer’s retreat. Less successful are her attempts to start a clinic in town, so she hosts a”mystery dinner” to help raise funds. Unfortunately the staged murder becomes all too real and Emily finds herself looking at everyone, wondering who was responsible. Her guests? The two young contractors working on the restoration? There are some tie-ins with the Bronte sister’s books, Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre, hence the title. There’s no gore or strange, demented characters, rather this is a literary cozy mystery that will appeal to fans of the genre

I hadn't read the first book in the series, but Bloodstains stands fine on it's own.

The story starts each chapter with excerpts from Wuthering Heights which sort of played into the main story, but I quickly stopped reading them. They didn't add anything for me and I hadn't read the book before. It was interesting that the main character and presumably the author aren't fans of the book by the comments given. It's supposed to be a classic (I have only liked a couple "classics" I had to read in school so I can relate) and the author chose to use it. There are also additions from Katie's journal, though we never read about her writing in it. While it gives us Katie's POV and some info. about what happened in her past, I could have done without it as well and usually skimmed them quickly. I felt it could have come out in her interactions with other characters. I can see them both probably appealing to other readers, but it's not my preference for an author to use these devices.

The mystery kept me guessing though there were very few characters that are given motives. A good part of that was due to the lack of clues for the reader to follow to figure out whodunnit. The killer does something towards the end which basically outs themself. Again, not my preferred device to solve the mystery.

The characters were fine and I especially liked how the author has the mother of one of the victims respond to the situation, I was expecting something else. I also appreciated the author's development of Emily's situation as an older woman with no family and how she is handling it, and the realism of what happens when she goes back to her former job and what happens to her there and how it makes her feel. The story line also moved along well.

Some less pleasing elements: while I wouldn't consider this a "Christian" read, one of the characters is very religious and then another starts bringing her religious beliefs into the mix as well. I didn't feel beaten over the head by it though. What happens to the main characters at the end was a bit too sweet and rushed.

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

This is an excellent cozy mystery featuring Emily Cavanaugh, a likeable, well rounded "woman of a certain age" as its heroine, a wonderful setting and the intruiguing concept of aligning a present mystery with the literary story of "Wuthering Heights". I was caught up in it from the first page to the last and didn't want it to end.