I enjoyed Bryce Moore’s The Perfect Place to Die which was mostly set in Chicago during the 1890s, with a seventeen-year-old girl travelling from Utah to search for her sister. During this period there was massive population migrations from rural states to the big cities, with the new arrivals being treated like country bumpkins with straw in their hair. This is effectively conveyed in the early stages with main character Zuretta being conned by the first person she meets, losing even the clothes she was wearing and forced to go to the police in her dressing gown. The story has a great sense of time and place and I found myself enjoying this dangerous, but nevertheless lively and bustling city. which is set during the World's Columbian Exposition, bringing even more people to the city for jobs in hotels and visiting the Exposition. Arriving from Utah, Zuretta is concerned that her weekly letters from her nineteen-year-old sister abruptly stopped and finding the police unhelpful begins her own investigation.

Considering she was a Mormon from a small backwater in Utah Zuretta was way too street savvy for a seventeen-year-old girl, however, I guess she learned her lesson when she lost her clothes. Along the way she hooks up with a Pinkerton Detective and the story, in a roundabout way, looks at the situation of women in this period and their lack of opportunities. Zuretta becomes a maid in a hotel, as do most women. The Perfect Place to Die also has a strong true crime vibe and is based on a genuine series of murders, if you are familiar with these crimes (I wasn’t) then that could provide a major spoiler. Also, although it was a murder mystery, the plot lacked any major twists, and the big reveal was no surprise. Zuretta is certain her sister worked in a hotel known as The Castle and ends up getting a job there and quickly finds out this was an odd place to work, due to unfriendly management and a strange structural design. Every chapter is introduced by a quote from the journal of the killer. A lot of research went into this book and it was an entertaining blend of historical fiction, thriller and an earnest look at how tough it was for women to get ahead in this era. Zuretta cracks it in the end though. Go girl! AGE 13+

An okay read with a dash of true crime that takes a swing at America’s infamous serial killer.

“The Perfect Place to Die” takes a girl from Utah to Chicago in the late 1890s as she searches for her little sister not long after her letters stop and soon finds herself standing at the doorstep of The Castle a place girls go to disappear and if she’s not careful she might end up a missing person herself.

This book started strong with this mystery of what happened to Ruby but soon is spoiled by the notoriety of its villain. It’s hard being a fan of true crime and knowing so many of these stories to be surprised at any attempts at a twist and this book sadly fell into that trap of if you know you know which ultimately ruins the ending. That being said I thought Zuretta was a good character who understood that she was in over her head and used what she could to gain the knowledge needed to survive Chicago itself.

I thought the attempts at paranormal was good especially since we have a cover like that and while it didn’t lean into anything like that it was a nice sprinkle of horror since the only real bits of that we get are headers at the start of each chapter. I wish there was more given to the actual people in this book but again I understand that this was a story of fiction built around the truth.

Not a bad book but one that benefits from a reader who is less aware of the source material as those of us who know too much about the things that go bump in the night will crave the monster instead of a story featuring the man.

**special thanks to the publishers and netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for a fair and honest review**

I think the premise of this novel is really intriguing and find the whole real-life aspect frightening, but I don't really feel like this story delivered. I understand this is considered YA because the protagonist is 17, but I don't really feel like she acted 17 years old. Also, there wasn't enough suspense with the villain; perhaps, since we already know too much from real life. I would definitely try the authors other novels, this one just wasn't a good fit for me.
Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire and NetGalley for the advance digital copy to review. All opinions are my own.

In a world of true crime, this is the historical fiction for your patrons! Set in Chicago during the World's Fair, Zuretta leaves an abusive home in Utah to find her sister. Her search leads to "the castle" where serial killer, H.H. Holmes, murdered an unknown number of people. Each chapter begins with an epigraph from Holmes's own journal. which by the way are hugely disturbing. The book concludes with an author's note explaining what was real and what was fiction.

Truly frightening.

A slow-moving storyline, but it fits with the actual history of HH Holmes’s murders. The addition of Holmes’s words at the beginnings of the chapters was an excellent addition that helped add that bit of suspense to the plot.

While I enjoyed the story, I'm also a big true crime fan so the "twist" didn't do much for me -- and I think the premise was relying quite a bit on said twist. Overall, not a bad book by any means, but the connection to a real story is what drew me in and ultimately what disappointed me.

I was very pleasantly surprised by this book. I enjoy historical fiction and have always been fascinated by the HH Holmes story, so this book was right up my alley. I appreciated the research that the author did when writing this book. The main character was easy to root for and the events were very exciting. I do wish the book had ended in a more historically accurate way, but I enjoyed it overall!

The Perfect Place to Die is the book to read this year!!! Bryce Moore had me on the edge of my seat throughout the whole book. It was suspenseful and historical and Brought a personal angle to the story of Dr. Holmes and his hotel of horrors.

I  LOVED this book. This book was marketed as perfect for fans of Stalking Jack the Ripper and this was such a great comparison, as it had a lot of things I loved about the other book. Strong female characters, a great mystery, a sense of tension that builds slowly throughout the plot. I love that Etta had agency over herself and her choices, I loved that there were female friendships in this book and there wasn't a heavy sense of romance. This was a really great historical fiction read!