What would happen if you added magic to the Underground Railroad? This a book that looks into this alternative world where the conductors and those slaves who ran had access to magic. Magic that is all their own, changing and evolving due to circumstances and places and people.

When a friend is found murdered, Hetty and Benjy start to look into his friends, families, and businesses to figure out what caused not only his death, but for a cursed star sigil to be carved into his flesh. As Hetty and Benjy dig further and further into their friend's life and past, and what he was planning on doing now, they find out there is more going on with him and everyone they knew, than originally expected.

Interesting concept, but I DNFed after 50 pages; there was no emotional intimacy with the characters and the setting was so lightly described, nothing felt real. Was it bad? No; it's only that there are so many other books that are better.

This novel had a great, magical premise, but ultimately I found it to be too slow. Everything besides the pace was just alright. The characters were well-written, but I didn't love them. The plot was interesting enough to follow, but I wasn't glued to the pages. This is a title I can recommend to those who enjoy historical fiction rather than mysteries.

The Conductors is a great blend of historical fiction set in Post Civil War America, celestial magic and murder mystery.
Hetty and her husband Benjy who were both conductors for the Underground Railroad are now living a domestic life in Phildelphia on the outside while fighting crime and solving murder mysteries secretly with the help of their magic. One of their friends with whom they have a difficult relationship turns up dead with a cursed sigil, shortly after asking them for help and they set out to find the murderer.
We get to know not only the present but also the past describing exactly how Hetty and Benjy came to be in their current vocation through interludes interspersed with the chapters.
I really enjoyed the setting, the magical system as well as our main two characters and their chemistry. The murder mystery was also equally engaging with the incorporation of magic and sorcery . The narration does lag a bit in some places and could have done better with more editing but overall it was a great start to a series.
I would love to see more books set in this world with Hetty and Benjy solving more interesting cases and would definitely recommend this book for anyone looking to immerse yourself in a fantasy thriller.

This book was archived before I was able to read it :/

I do plan to check this out on Amazon and/or the Libby app. I did see that a sequel is coming out shortly.

The Conductors is a beautifully creative work of historical fantasy centering on Hetty Rhodes and her husband, Benjy. They are former conductors for the Underground Railroad and posses magical powers which now help them to solve mysteries and crimes in Philadelphia. One of their dear friends turns up dead, so Hetty and Benjy set out to unravel a web of lies and secrets in order to find justice for their friend.

Sincere thank you to NetGalley Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and John Joseph Adams/Mariner Books for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Conductors is one of my favorite books of the year so far! It's got a historic setting and a strong magic system that I found really compelling, and the plot is a murder mystery. The main character is Hetty Rhodes, a former conductor on the Underground Railroad and highly powerful magic user. Following the end of the Civil War, she and her husband Benjy now live and work in Philadelphia while solving murders and mysteries. Hetty is a practitioner of Celestial magic, which is wielded only by Black people. Another form of magic known as Sorcery is only legally allowed for white people to use. The magic system is very intricate and detailed, and the descriptions of the personified constellations that perform different spell tasks in Celestial magic are really cool. I also liked how the author blended chapters with scenes from Hetty's past with the present, these all come together at the end for a surprising whodunnit!

Nicole Glover's The Conductors takes readers to a post-Civil War America divided not only by race, but also by magic.

A few of the "rules" governing this world—

1. Whites can use wands to do magic, called "sorcery," and which has all the negatives that name implies.

2. Any white with a wand had the power they need to engage in sorcery.

3. Some, but not all, Blacks are able to engage in celestial magic, which doesn't require a wand, and instead uses "sigils" representing different star constellations.

4. Celestial magic derives from an ability to see and channel the magic in all creation.

5. The existence of magic does nothing to undercut the inhumanity of slavery or the inequality that was still a force in the post-Civil War U.S.

Our two central characters—Hetty and Benjy Rhodes—are both capable practitioners of celestial magic. They met as conductors on the underground railroad, married more out of a shared sense of purpose than out of any great passion. Now that the war is over, they've become private investigators in Philadelphia, focused on crimes against Blacks that the white-controlled law enforcement system isn't interested in pursuing.

It's good to have the above information before you start reading. No spoilers, just a few basic facts that will allow you to slip comfortably into the complex narrative web Glover weaves. In this book, which I sincerely hope will be the first of many, Hetty and Benjy are investigating a series of murders. Victims are marked with a curse sigil, clearly a warning—but of what and for whom is unclear, which makes investigating nearly impossible.

One of the reasons that I have hopes for more volumes featuring Hetty and Benjy is that The Conductors brings readers into their lives in media res. A lot of mystery series start with a first case. Hetty and Benjy have clearly been doing their PI work for a while. They reference past cases, both major and minor, and know what strengths (and weaknesses) each of them brings to their partnership. If Hetty and Benjy can talk about past cases, I'm hoping that means that Glover has many more narratives to share featuring the two of them.

I'm also hoping for more volumes because the community around Hetty and Benjy is fascinating in its diversity and mix of individual histories. Some of those community members can do celestial magic, some can't. Some of those community members grew up in the North as free Blacks; some were freed or were able to purchase their freedom before the war; some freed themselves by escaping to the North; and others are only beginning to taste a bit of freedom now that the war has ended.

I just want to write a letter to Glover begging, "Please, please, tell me you'll give me another chance to spend time with these people. Please."

The conductors was released in early March, so it should be easy to find a copy at your local independent bookstore or your local library. Get it, read it, join me in anxiously waiting for the next volume featuring Hetty and Benjy.

I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher; the opinions are my own.

[This review will also be posted on EdelweissPlus and LibraryThing.]

This book was an interesting combination of magic and the Underground Railroad. Hetty and Benjy, who both know magic, are escaped slaves and became conductors on the Underground Railroad. They helped many people escape with courage and the use of magic. Once the war was over they settled in Philadelphia where Hetty is a seamstress and Benjy is a blacksmith. Hetty is obsessed with locating her sister when they were separated after escaping from the plantation where they lived and worked. Both Hetty and Benjy become detectives when a friend of theirs is found murdered in the streets. They search among their community to identify the killer. I received this Advanced Reading Copy from NetGalley and I was very anxious to read it. I was hooked pretty early on, but I found it took patience to finish because I got confused with the big cast of characters and I got a little confused with the plot. However, I am glad that I continued because, by the end, I was ready for the next book in the series. I think the appeal to me was 1) the Underground Railroad and 2) the use of magic. I also liked watching the relationship between Hetty and Benjy change and grow over the course of the book. I want to thank NetGalley for allowing me and early look at this book. I think it would appeal to many readers.

Formatting issues for this really hurt my reading of the text, but will give it a try again soon on audio.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for giving me an ARC of the book in exchange of an honest review.

I DNF this book at 60%. It’s not a bad book but I couldn’t concentrate, it just didn’t work for me.

The magic system is never really explained, yes we get an explanation of the two typer of magic there are but never how they work, so every time they used magic I was confused.

Another one of my problems were the characters, they felt bland and one-dimensional, they didn’t have any development. Even the relationships of friendships felt hollow, there was nothing there.

I did like the mystery but, even thought it is supposed to be the main plot, it seemed a secondary plot. It was slow and nothing really happened. Honestly I was just confused all the time and in my opinion there was a lot of fill in stuff that didn’t need to be there.

This book didn’t work for me, I didn’t hate it or absolutely dislike it but I couldn’t bring myself to care enough to finish it.

The conductors is a story about married couple hetty and Benjy that solved mysteries during the reconstruction era with some magic. Overall a great read and I loved the main couple dynamic so much and can’t wait to start the sequel

This was so good. I thought the mystery and the magic was really interesting and well explained. It wasnt bogged down with exposition but I wasn't overly confused either. I liked the interludes but wished there was more especially about how characters got together and how the got away from certain situations. At the same time I appreciated the lack of overexplaining. It felt like the author trusted you to understand or imagine what had happened in the same way that Hetty did to people she met.

I loved the characters, they were all so interesting and complicated. Hetty and Benji's relationship was so funny and well developed. Like these two idiots are married and dont realise they love each other. I love it. Honestly I wanted more focus on their romance but I understand that isnt the focus of the book and the romance didn't feel lacking just not as much as I would like.

I thought how the author explored the time period was really well done. It felt well thought out how magic would be used and work within that time period. The racism and discrimination the characters would have faced wasnt avoided but it also wasnt a focus. It's always at the periphery and in the foundation of the society but the focus was on the black community. I dont think there was a white character with lines in the story and it wasn't needed.

Looking forward to the sequel. Highly recommend.

The Civil war is over, but there is sill plenty of racism. Hetty and Benjy literally carry the scars of being slaves and work together to solve mysteries. They have a particular type of magic which helps them along, but they need to keep it secret and so although their skills are known in their own community, it is kept quiet from mainstream society.

This is an interesting blend of historical fiction and magic and not a bad first novel. I didn't really feel connected to the characters or the magic system which made it hard to keep engaged.

I would still recommend to HF fans who like this time period and don't mind a bit of magic.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Conductors by Nicole Glover is a fantasy novel set in Philadelphia after the Civil War. Magic is real in this world and is part of everyday use. The protagonists, Hetty and Benjy, are a married couple that before slavery was outlawed, used to bring slaves to the North to freedom (thus why they are named conductors) and now help people in Philadelphia. When one of their friends is murdered and a particularly sinister form of magic seems to be involved, the pair set out to find out who is behind it with many twists and turns along the way. The author does a good job incorporating magic into the world and the implications of that in a world with racism present (magic collars being used to keep track of slaves, African Americans not being able to legally use wands). The author does a really good job of fleshing out black society in Philadelphia as it grew and prospered and the lingering effects of slavery. However, I feel that the mystery at times was neglected in favor of exploring black society in the city at that time and the plot lacks urgency as more people fall prey to what is going on. The payoff at the end wasn't that satisfying either in my opinion but it doesn't ruin the story story for me but prevents it from being a stronger book. I believe there will be a sequel and this first entry was good enough for me to want to pick up the second entry to see where the character go from here.

This book is excellent and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Great world building and characters, a gripping and entertaining plot, a vivid historical background.
I loved it and can't wait to read another story by this author.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

The Conductors draws you in from the start. It's look at African conjury/alchemy and Black witches' quest for personal freedom in life outside the white gaze is remarkable. Nicole Glover does a remarkable job at painting positive and exuberant pictures of Black magic as a tool for not only individual power and pleasure but as a guide on a quest for justice. The Conductors is a breath of fresh air. It's a riveting and exciting journey.

I loved the magic involved in this story telling of the Underground Railroad. The characters, the mystery, and the fantasy combined to make a great read.
Many thanks to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

An interesting genre bender that worked very well as a historical mystery and not quite so well as a historical fantasy.

Conceptually this book was really intriguing, and as someone who enjoys a fair amount of Fantasy I didn’t expect to be put off by that component of the story, but I finished this book feeling like it would have been a better story without the magical elements.

I loved the historical mystery aspect of this, as well as the setup for how Hetty go started in her unusual line of work. The world building is excellent purely from a historical perspective and didn’t need the magical elements to make it interesting.

I get that the magic is part of what makes a book like this appeal to young readers, but I don’t think it needed it. A very similar mystery could have been crafted without it, and the characters and general world building were solid on their own.

I loved Hetty enough to read another, but can’t help speculating about how great this story might have been if it functioned more like a pure detective novel and didn’t bring magic into a plot that had plenty to offer without bending reality.

I liked it. It was interesting but I didn't always know what was going on and I think that the magic-system could have been explained more. I liked the mystery part though and I'm going to read the next book in this series.