by Jodie Lynn Zdrok
♦publisher: Tor Teen
♦release date: February 12th, 2019
♦hardcover, 368 pages
♦intended audience: Young adult
♦standalone (currently)
♦source: received from publisher for honest review
Paris, 1887.
Sixteen-year-old Nathalie Baudin writes the daily morgue column for Le Petit Journal. Her job is to summarize each day's new arrivals, a task she finds both fascinating and routine. That is, until the day she has a vision of the newest body, a young woman, being murdered--from the perspective of the murderer himself.
When the body of another woman is retrieved from the Seine days later, Paris begins to buzz with rumors that this victim may not be the last. Nathalie's search for answers sends her down a long, twisty road involving her mentally ill aunt, a brilliant but deluded scientist, and eventually into the Parisian Catacombs. As the killer continues to haunt the streets of Paris, it becomes clear that Nathalie's strange new ability may make her the only one who can discover the killer's identity--and she'll have to do it before she becomes a target herself.
Sixteen-year-old Nathalie Baudin writes the daily morgue column for Le Petit Journal. Her job is to summarize each day's new arrivals, a task she finds both fascinating and routine. That is, until the day she has a vision of the newest body, a young woman, being murdered--from the perspective of the murderer himself.
When the body of another woman is retrieved from the Seine days later, Paris begins to buzz with rumors that this victim may not be the last. Nathalie's search for answers sends her down a long, twisty road involving her mentally ill aunt, a brilliant but deluded scientist, and eventually into the Parisian Catacombs. As the killer continues to haunt the streets of Paris, it becomes clear that Nathalie's strange new ability may make her the only one who can discover the killer's identity--and she'll have to do it before she becomes a target herself.
{My thoughts}
This was quite a gripping mystery! With the bleek atmosphere of Paris 1800, when folks used to consider a little morgue-visit quite the amusement, Natalie finds herself a person of interest to the Paris's newest serial killer trying to make a name for himself. I would recommend a strong stomach and a taste for the macabre to take this one on. There's twists and gruesomeness and I dare you not to gasp at least once in this dark and gritty tale.
Natalie is a smart, level-headed character. During a murderous rampage by a killer known as the Dark Artist, she's been assigned as a fill-in morgue reporter and is determined to prove herself but frustrated that the social norms require her to disguise herself as a boy to do so. She longs to make her way with her own identity. When her most recent morgue visit results in a overwhelming vision of the victim's murder, followed by a strange memory loss, she begins to dig around to find out why this could be happening---why she seems connected to these murders, and how it seems to tie in to her Aunt's mental health issues as well.
The story is expertly told, jutting off into little pockets of plot that all circle around to weave themselves together eventually. I felt a quick little disconnect somewhere in the middle, but it had me well in it's grasp again before too long. Natalie really struggles to find reason to put herself through this dangerous situation, but is pulled to find answers when it becomes personal on several levels.
It is, in turn, grotesque, intriguing, heartbreaking, and completely enthralling. Definitely worth checking out if you can take a bit of gut-churning blood and death!
{About The Author}
Jodie Lynn Zdrok holds two MAs in European History and an MBA. In addition to being an author, she's a marketing professional, a freelancer, and an unapologetic Boston sports fan. She enjoys traveling, being a foodie, doing sprint triathlons, and enabling cats. Spectacle is her debut.
Purchase the book: Indiebound • BookDepository • Amazon
{About The Author}
Jodie Lynn Zdrok holds two MAs in European History and an MBA. In addition to being an author, she's a marketing professional, a freelancer, and an unapologetic Boston sports fan. She enjoys traveling, being a foodie, doing sprint triathlons, and enabling cats. Spectacle is her debut.
