CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Spies are usually meant to be near the war itself, but Jennie Lovell isn't letting distance stop her from solving her own wartime mystery.
"Picture the Dead" by Adele Griffin and Lisa Brown takes place in 1864 amidst the destruction of the Civil War. Stuck in her Aunt Clara's horrible house, Jennie cannot leave Brookline, Mass.
What began as a wait for her beloved fiance, Aunt Clara's oldest son, to return from battle becomes a stay in purgatory when Jennie learns of his death. She has lost her family to the war and has nowhere else to go. Quinn Pritchett, her aunt's other son, is the only thing keeping her from being kicked out of Pritchett House.
Jennie is eager to learn of anything regarding her fiance Will's death. Quinn is back from the front line due to an injury, but he is reluctant to speak of the war, which sends Jennie on a search for answers elsewhere.
A man who claims to be able to take photographs of the dead holds her interest, but every new piece of knowledge distorts the puzzle she is trying to solve. Jennie falls in love with Quinn while nursing him back to health, and he decides to give her some closure on Will's death.
Between the disturbing nightmares and the whimsy of a new love, Jennie finds herself more confused by her beloved's death than ever. Quinn says Will turned into a monster during the war and was hung, but a little more digging tells Jennie otherwise. Jennie is determined to find the truth and soon discovers that Quinn has been hiding his true identity, as well as Will's.
"Picture the Dead" is a captivating novel with its gradually progressing storyline and realistic characters.
Jennie's activities are scandalous for the time, which is enthralling because you never quite know what she might do next. Unfortunately, because of the disappointing transparency of the novel, you can accurately predict what is going to happen next in the plot. The one exception is the climax.
The characters are the most positive feature of "Picture of the Dead." They are all easy to imagine, but this is not because they are simple or boring. This book is easy to read, which is a direct result of how well Griffin and Brown portray the people they have created.
"Picture the Dead" is an extremely well crafted novel. Reading it, you'll be swept back to the 19th century where ghosts seem possible and a life past the Civil War is impossible to imagine. Spying and a great deal of theft are required to find answers to Jennie Lovell's problems, which makes the story all the more engrossing.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Spies are usually meant to be near the war itself, but Jennie Lovell isn't letting distance stop her from solving her own wartime mystery.
"Picture the Dead" by Adele Griffin and Lisa Brown takes place in 1864 amidst the destruction of the Civil War. Stuck in her Aunt Clara's horrible house, Jennie cannot leave Brookline, Mass.
What began as a wait for her beloved fiance, Aunt Clara's oldest son, to return from battle becomes a stay in purgatory when Jennie learns of his death. She has lost her family to the war and has nowhere else to go. Quinn Pritchett, her aunt's other son, is the only thing keeping her from being kicked out of Pritchett House.
Jennie is eager to learn of anything regarding her fiance Will's death. Quinn is back from the front line due to an injury, but he is reluctant to speak of the war, which sends Jennie on a search for answers elsewhere.
A man who claims to be able to take photographs of the dead holds her interest, but every new piece of knowledge distorts the puzzle she is trying to solve. Jennie falls in love with Quinn while nursing him back to health, and he decides to give her some closure on Will's death.
Between the disturbing nightmares and the whimsy of a new love, Jennie finds herself more confused by her beloved's death than ever. Quinn says Will turned into a monster during the war and was hung, but a little more digging tells Jennie otherwise. Jennie is determined to find the truth and soon discovers that Quinn has been hiding his true identity, as well as Will's.
"Picture the Dead" is a captivating novel with its gradually progressing storyline and realistic characters.
Jennie's activities are scandalous for the time, which is enthralling because you never quite know what she might do next. Unfortunately, because of the disappointing transparency of the novel, you can accurately predict what is going to happen next in the plot. The one exception is the climax.
The characters are the most positive feature of "Picture of the Dead." They are all easy to imagine, but this is not because they are simple or boring. This book is easy to read, which is a direct result of how well Griffin and Brown portray the people they have created.
"Picture the Dead" is an extremely well crafted novel. Reading it, you'll be swept back to the 19th century where ghosts seem possible and a life past the Civil War is impossible to imagine. Spying and a great deal of theft are required to find answers to Jennie Lovell's problems, which makes the story all the more engrossing.
