The book details the business dealings of a travelling circus that dates back as far as the late 1700s. As Simon reads and researches deeper, he finds a sinister thread winding through this circus's history. All of its mermaid acts have all drowned on the same date - July 24. As if that weren't coincidental enough, his own mother - also a former circus mermaid - also drowned on July 24th. With the date fast-approaching, his concerns turn toward his estranged younger sister, a fortune teller in a traveling circus that just so happens to be in town.
This book was a difficult one to put down. In addition to the summary outlined above, there's at least two other sub-plots and a parallel story in every other chapter that details how the curse on Simon's family started. I mean, this author intended to debut with a bang, and for the most part, I think she did.
I have to confess, I have a weak spot for "mysterious book" stories. Some of my favorite novels are The City of Dreaming Books, The Book of Heroes, and The Neverending Story. If there's a "mysterious book" involved, you've already got my attention. You never know where any book is going to lead you, but a "mysterious book" guarantees a wild ride.
The other thing that grabbed my attention in this story was the variety of characters. I've seen books with librarians; I've seen books with circus performers; I've never seen anything that tries to combine the two characters. You would think that it would make for a clashing combination, but it actually works really well. Swyler does a good job of fleshing out personalities and balancing them against each other. There are some characters I would have liked to have seen more development of, in particular Simon's love interest, but given how much is going on in the story, it's hard to see when there would have been an appropriate time to put that in.
The book has some fairly good pacing and switches between present-day and the 1700s every other chapter or so. This means that the stories develop at a pretty steady pace and rise and fall for the most part in a natural rhythm. However, once the action takes off, it rushes through the climax to a somewhat unsatisfying ending. The pace was a little more measured in the plotline taking place in the 1700s. I wonder if Swyler intends to pick up these characters again at a later time.
I enjoyed all the little twists and turns Swyler added into the story to keep it too hard to guess what would happen next. In particular, I liked seeing how everyone involved was connected in some way through the circus. It was actually almost believable that people from so many different walks of life would still be drawn together by their past associations. Other little coincidences, such as how Enola just so happens to be back in town so close to the Fated Date, are a little more strained, but still work within the confines of fiction.
My only complaint about this book is that the romance between Simon and Alice felt a little weak. I almost felt like they were obliged to become lovers because they were "childhood friends" and it would add extra tension to their relationship on top of everything else that was going on. I didn't feel like it enhanced the story at all.
Overall, I think that this book would make an excellent book club read. There are interesting themes to explore here that would make for some great conversation and debate material. I'm looking forward to future writings by this author.
This book was a difficult one to put down. In addition to the summary outlined above, there's at least two other sub-plots and a parallel story in every other chapter that details how the curse on Simon's family started. I mean, this author intended to debut with a bang, and for the most part, I think she did.
I have to confess, I have a weak spot for "mysterious book" stories. Some of my favorite novels are The City of Dreaming Books, The Book of Heroes, and The Neverending Story. If there's a "mysterious book" involved, you've already got my attention. You never know where any book is going to lead you, but a "mysterious book" guarantees a wild ride.
The other thing that grabbed my attention in this story was the variety of characters. I've seen books with librarians; I've seen books with circus performers; I've never seen anything that tries to combine the two characters. You would think that it would make for a clashing combination, but it actually works really well. Swyler does a good job of fleshing out personalities and balancing them against each other. There are some characters I would have liked to have seen more development of, in particular Simon's love interest, but given how much is going on in the story, it's hard to see when there would have been an appropriate time to put that in.
The book has some fairly good pacing and switches between present-day and the 1700s every other chapter or so. This means that the stories develop at a pretty steady pace and rise and fall for the most part in a natural rhythm. However, once the action takes off, it rushes through the climax to a somewhat unsatisfying ending. The pace was a little more measured in the plotline taking place in the 1700s. I wonder if Swyler intends to pick up these characters again at a later time.
I enjoyed all the little twists and turns Swyler added into the story to keep it too hard to guess what would happen next. In particular, I liked seeing how everyone involved was connected in some way through the circus. It was actually almost believable that people from so many different walks of life would still be drawn together by their past associations. Other little coincidences, such as how Enola just so happens to be back in town so close to the Fated Date, are a little more strained, but still work within the confines of fiction.
My only complaint about this book is that the romance between Simon and Alice felt a little weak. I almost felt like they were obliged to become lovers because they were "childhood friends" and it would add extra tension to their relationship on top of everything else that was going on. I didn't feel like it enhanced the story at all.
Overall, I think that this book would make an excellent book club read. There are interesting themes to explore here that would make for some great conversation and debate material. I'm looking forward to future writings by this author.
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