Like the Bronte sisters’ books, this novel definitely broaches some darker themes, albeit with a light touch. 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. 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. As is true of Arsenic with Austen, Hyde’s second novel is full of literary references. 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.īloodstains with Bronte is the second in Katherine Bolger Hyde’s Crime with the Classics series. Worst of all, Katie is found standing over the body, bloody knife in hand. Unfortunately, what is supposed to be a staged death turns out to be all too real. 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. Despite inheriting a sizable chunk of money-not to mention the house itself-from her aunt, expenses do pile up. “For I too liked reading.” –Charlotte BronteĮmily Cavanaugh is a former literature professor who is remodeling her Victorian home on the Oregon coast into a writers’ retreat. Her loyalty to Katie crashes against her duty to Luke and to the truth as she fights to save Katie from a murder charge. Luke Richards, local sheriff and Emily’s true love, is forced to regard Katie as a suspect, but Emily refuses to accept the situation. All goes well until the supposed corpse turns up actually dead-with Katie standing over him, a bloody knife in her hand. Meanwhile, to raise money for the local clinic, Emily and Katie host a murder mystery dinner on Halloween night. Soon the passions in the house grow as dark and stormy as the weather, and Emily begins to feel as if she’s living in a Brontë novel. Their boss, Jeremiah, is a disturbing presence in a different way with his obsessive, tormented piety. Two of the young workers, Jake and Roman, are showing too much of the wrong kind of interest in Katie, Emily's young single-mother housekeeper. Windy Corner, the Victorian mansion Emily Cavanaugh inherited in Arsenic with Austen, is being remodeled into a writers' retreat. It’s a dark and stormy autumn on the Oregon coast. Bloodstains with Bronte is the second in a series that will puzzle and please fans of mystery and masterpieces alike. Classic novels and crime solving intertwine in Katherine Bolger Hyde's charming series.
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