Spectacle

A Historical Thriller in 19th Century Paris

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Pub Date 12 Feb 2019 | Archive Date 28 Feb 2020

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Description

Spectacle is a YA murder mystery from debut author Jodie Lynn Zdrok in which a young reporter must use her supernatural visions to help track down a killer targeting the young women of Paris.

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.

Spectacle is a YA murder mystery from debut author Jodie Lynn Zdrok in which a young reporter must use her supernatural visions to help track down a killer targeting the young women of Paris.

Paris...


Available Editions

EDITION Other Format
ISBN 9780765399687
PRICE $17.99 (USD)
PAGES 368

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Average rating from 175 members


Featured Reviews

Spectacle is one of those historical fantasy books that is able to serve up the right story with all the flairs of the past. If you've been searching for a book that is full of mystery, mysterious powers, and power that can be both a blessing and curse. I knew I was going to really enjoy Spectacle from the beginning. What I wasn't counting on, is how obsessed I would be. Whether you're in the mood for a story about a girl discovering her powers (and struggling with the question of using them), or a good murder mystery, you're in for a treat.

Whenever you have books where the characters have dangerous powers, the question always comes up - should we use our powers? And what is the cost? Magic without a price has never made sense to me. And that's part of what I love about Zdrok's book - is that not only does everyone's magic speak to a very intimate piece of themselves, but it also exacts a hefty toll. Without going into a lot of detail about the magic in this book, in Spectacle we witness characters using their powers for good, for an advantage, for cons, and for something entirely more sinister.

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This book is a perfect intersection of the morbid fascination we have with true crime and the intrigue of a twisty, supernaturally-tinged mystery. The main character had a strong voice made even more compelling by the question of whether she—and the reader—could trust her own telling of her story. I especially enjoyed the dynamics the main character had with other women, from her mother to her friends, to her aunt, and more. Despite the decades of separation in our worlds, I found the characters extremely relatable. They could have been any teens, any family, any true crime fanatic of today!

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I absolutely loved this book! Spectacle was a thrilling journey through 19th century France that I didn't want to put down.

The main character, Nathalie, just got a job reporting on the daily goings-on at the public morgue (people used to visit a public morgue for entertainment? Gruesome!). When Paris is struck with a series of murders, she discovers that she has a gift that allows her to see the murders through the eyes of the murderer.

She discovers that this gift doesn't come without consequences. She also learns that other people in the city are gifted in different ways too, and maybe these gifts are connected to the murders. As the deaths continue, they start to hit closer to home. Will they catch the killer, or will the killer catch her first? You'll want to read this book to find out, but don't worry, you won't want to put it down.

I loved the setting, the characters were believable, and the magic in this book was interesting. This story was marvelously told. Spectacle is going to be one of those books that I'll be telling my friends about for months. It was incredible.

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Spectacle is an atmospheric YA debut that promises thrills and horror and, fortunately, the story delivers; set in 1887 Paris, we begin the story following Nathalie, a 16-year-old burgeoning reporter who is tasked with writing the morgue report for Le Petit Journal. While visiting the morgue, which is open to the public, to research her daily article, Nathalie finds herself supernaturally entangled in a mystery of a serial killer, and discovers she may possess unique gifts that could help the police unmask the murderer. Aided by her best friend Simone and a cute young investigator, Nathalie puts her journalism skills and her unique gifts to work in unraveling a gruesome mystery.

Throughout the book, Zdrok does an excellent job capturing the morbid fascination with true crime that was as true in the 19th century as it is today. In Nathalie's world, Parisians view corpses at the morgue with their toddlers in tow, visit wax museums depicting scenes of murder victims, and enjoy celebratory drinks after watching a public execution. Even though this book takes place in the summer, it has a very eerie vibe and the setting really drew me into the story with its cafés, cabarets, and catacombs.

In addition to the time period and the setting, I also really enjoyed being in Nathalie's head; she's smart and rational, so I wasn't constantly yelling at her like I find myself doing so often with mystery books. I also loved that Nathalie actually had friends who were fully developed and had their own lives, only adding to the realism of her world, and her parents really added to the story instead of fading into the background, which I find happens all too often in YA novels. I don't want to discuss too much of the plot in this review in order to avoid spoilers, but I thought there actually were a good amount of twists and turns to keep the reader guessing. I almost didn't trust a single person throughout the story, especially due to the elements of mysterious magic, missing memories, and visits to the insane asylum (I'm telling you, this book has it all). At times, the middle of the book was paced a bit slow, but it quickly picked up and sucked me back in.

I found this debut to be an excellent read that I would recommend to lovers of historical mysteries (I read all of the Lady Julia Grey books, so I'm the target audience) who also enjoy fantasy and horror elements thrown in as well. This is kind of a dark read with some gruesome details, but to me that adds to its appeal. I hope there are more books planned set in this world, because I'm dying to find out more!

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