The year is 1909, and Artie Quick—an ambitious, unorthodox and inquisitive young Bostonian—wants to learn about crime.
By day she holds down a job as a salesgirl in women’s accessories at legendary department store Filene’s; by night she disguises herself as a man to pursue studies in Criminal Investigation at the YMCA’s Evening Institute for Younger Men.
Eager to put theory into practice, Artie sets out in search of something to investigate. She’s joined by her pal Theodore, an upper-crust young bachelor whose interest in Boston’s occult counterculture has drawn him into the study of magic. Together, their journey into mystery begins on Boston Common—where the tramps and the groundskeepers swap rumours about unearthly screams and other unsettling anomalies—but soon Artie and Theodore uncover a series of violent abductions that take them on an adventure from the highest corridors of power to the depths of an abandoned mass transit tunnel, its excavation suspiciously never completed.
Will Theodore ever manage to pull off a successful spell? Is Artie just wearing that men’s suit for disguise, or is there something more to it? And what chance do two mixed-up young people stand up against the greatest horror Boston has ever known, an ancient, deranged evil that feeds on society’s most vulnerable?
My review
With huge thanks to Melville House for providing a proof copy of this exciting book to read along with a fabulous little monster! With an intriguing intro to something that can provide mystery, magic, adventure and with some really engaging characters I was ready for this story.
Artie is our main character who knows how society expects her to be, but she wants more out of life, so she decides the only way to do this is to dress up and act like a male, borrowing a suit from a friend (which later becomes apparent that this is no normal suit!) and show her skills off with a natural flare as others see through her. From the beginning her character was engaging, being part of the investigative course disguised as a male, for it only to be clear that she has some special talents. Her normal job working in a department store is more of a people watching hobby!
The book progresses really quickly with screams from the local park, women being abducted by the ruthless! Theodore – her magical learning friend works well with Artie, they bounce off each other and are a perfect match for this engaging adventure. Allowing Artie’s skills to be fully encouraged, with the help of Theodore being male he can do some things Artie isn’t allowed to do, due to the society they live in.
Throughout the story we become engaged in the magical world where Theodore learns more about what he can achieve and how someone magical he knows goes missing – is this another female that has been abducted – the chase begins but is magic part of this and why?!
Throughout the story it is a true mix of the crime classics like Agatha Christie with a twist of Harry Potter and a touch of supernatural, the author is very good at getting the right mix to make this story work, three strong areas that seem to come together with ease.
This an amazing story, keeping you intrigued in 1909 not your normal magical murder mystery! Described as wild, weird and genre-bending – yes it is and a must read!
Author biography
Jeremy P. Bushnell is the author of two earlier novels with Melville House: The Weirdness (2014) and The Insides (2016). He is also the co-founder of Nonmachinable, a distributor of optically interesting zines and artists’ books. He teaches writing at Northeastern University in Boston, and lives in Dedham, Massachusetts.
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