An entertaining duology closer.
Eighteen-year-old Nathalie Baudin must once again use her unusual powers to unmask a killer in Zdrok’s follow-up to 2019’s Spectacle.
It’s 1889, two years since Nathalie, a morgue reporter for Le Petit Journal, learned that she could envision the last moments of a murder victim’s life by touching either the viewing pane in front of the body or the body itself. These powers resulted from blood transfusions by a controversial doctor, and the “gifts” conferred are different for each person, or Insightful. Nathalie’s gift is gruesome, but she enjoys working for police liaison Christophe as an Insightful adviser to help solve murder cases. Outside of work, Nathalie loves exploring the world showcases of the Exposition Universelle with her beau, Jules, also an Insightful, and her best friend, Simone, and her young man, Louis. When they stumble upon a severed head on a pedestal, they soon realize it’s only the beginning for a killer with a flair for the dramatic. The mystery takes a back seat to Nathalie’s personal growth as she struggles with her gift—which has its drawbacks—properly mourns for a friend, and weathers her institutionalized aunt’s decline. All main characters are white, but diversity can be found at the Exposition Universelle. The mystery is thin, but readers will enjoy exploring fin de siècle Paris with Nathalie and her spirited friends while they attempt to suss out a vicious killer.
An entertaining duology closer. (Paranormal historical thriller. 15-18)Pub Date: Feb. 11, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-7653-9971-7
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Tor Teen
Review Posted Online: Nov. 16, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
Fans of historical thrillers that invoke the enduring spirit of Jack the Ripper will have fun, and Zdrok leaves things open...
In Zdrok’s debut, a young woman with mysterious powers seeks to unmask a vicious killer terrorizing 19th-century Paris.
Sixteen-year-old Nathalie Baudin writes about Paris’ unclaimed dead bodies that are on display for public viewing for her column at Le Petit Journal: The more detailed her descriptions, the better. When she sees the body of a young girl who has been brutally slashed, she’s horrified. Placing her hand against the glass barrier, she has a terrifying vision of what seems to be the actual murder. The killer, dubbed “the Dark Artist,” isn’t finished, and the viciousness of the murders grows. Nathalie is intrigued to find out that her Aunt Brigitte, who is in an asylum for acting on her own visions, was a patient of an infamous doctor who offered supernatural powers through blood transfusions. Craving normalcy, Nathalie initially rejects her own powers, but when the Dark Artist slaughters someone very close to her, she resolves to put a stop to his reign of terror. Zdrok explores the universal fascination with death, set among the darker corners of 1887 Paris, and the very idea of the morgue viewings (to which parents brought their children) is chilling. All characters are assumed white. Grisly, plot driven—and very creepy.
Fans of historical thrillers that invoke the enduring spirit of Jack the Ripper will have fun, and Zdrok leaves things open for a sequel. (recommended reading) (Paranormal historical thriller. 15-18)Pub Date: Feb. 12, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-7653-9968-7
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Tor Teen
Review Posted Online: Nov. 11, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
An entertaining tale that breaks no new ground.
Chloe’s life is falling apart.
Her dad has a girlfriend, her mom is suffering from depression and the aftermath of cancer, and she’s had to move with her mom to the town of Joyful, Texas, where she has only one friend, Lindsey, whose mother is lesbian. When she meets Cash, things seem to be looking up. But Cash comes with a host of complications, not the least of which is the fact he’s convinced that Chloe is the same girl his foster parents had kidnapped from them as an almost-3-year-old. But how could that be? Chloe’s parents love her and have never hidden the fact she was adopted. As the two of them dive deeper into the mysteries of the past and the dangers of the present, they also dive deeper in love. But can their fledgling romance survive the onslaught of brutal reality? Hunter (This Heart of Mine, 2018, etc.) deftly delivers a complicated back-and-forth point of view between Chloe and Cash, building suspense along with a steamy sense of attraction between the two teens. Occasionally the plot and dialogue feel canned and forced, sprinkled with clichés and tired exclamations such as, “I swallow the lump in my throat and jerk back, removing my B cup boobs from some guy’s chest.” The book assumes a white default.
An entertaining tale that breaks no new ground. (Romance. 15-17)Pub Date: March 26, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-250-31227-3
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 18, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2019
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