Maude Horton's Glorious Revenge by Lizzie Pook is a murder mystery/thriller that takes place in 1851, alternating between the numbing chill of an Arctic expedition and the "Murder Mania" that's taken hold of England. Pook does a phenomenal job of describing the landscape and tenor of the times, making readers feel as if they're there: the frozen tundra that makes men go insane; the gruesome gallows with massive crowds of people from all walks of life, lured by the spectacle of a murderer being hanged, replete with the sounds and smells of unwashed masses; the docks with the rats, the criminals, and the smell of rot; and the eerie Chamber of Horrors at Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum. Pook has chosen both a narrative style that reads as if it was written at the time and a diary written by the protagonist's late sister who pretended to be a male cabin boy on a recovery voyage through the Northwest Passage. The identity of her sister's murderer is never in doubt, but the way Maude goes about avenging her death and exacting her revenge is chillingly ingenious. This isn't my normal go-to genre, but I'm so glad I stepped out of my comfort zone. Highly recommended!
I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Simon & Schuster in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.
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