The Night Crossing

Author Robert Masello’s latest travels back for another go of historical fiction set in Victorian London. Two years back, Masello had Robert Louis Stevenson stalk Jack the Ripper in The Jekyll Revelation. Upping his game, Masello bites into the most-enduring of all horror stories, Dracula. The Night Crossing exhumes Bram Stoker’s background as he investigates, of all things, an ancient Egyptian curse that is the potion needed for his famous novel’s origin. Along the way he is enamored, and ably assisted, by a regal Gypsy lovely who possesses knowledge of that most desolate of lands, Transylvania. Yes, that plot summary is as heavy-handed as the novel itself and unfortunately comes nowhere near a hopeful Dracula vs the Mummy crossover.

Instead of MST3K-worthy schlock, Masello writes an intriguing and well-documented piece of work, truly making his fiction as historical as possible. He doesn’t craft Stoker as a retread of a hero, rather as a fiery Irishman who is solely attempting to do something good, albeit for the sake of gathering story material. Tales of Victorian virtue don’t always make for the most gripping of literary devices, so in Stoker’s quest for doing the right thing, the plot jumps around as ungrounded lightning. The current is there, both bright and hot, but the straight flash of the story becomes lost. Carpathian adventures, a cemetery ghost story, unification of labor workers, a cursed gold box, and a certain trans-Atlantic voyage wraps The Night Crossing within several layers of heavy gauze, entombing the sure-shot tale into a deeply buried sarcophagus. Gothic horror and Victorian crime is a genre ripe for blood-letting. Masello needed to abandon the historical plight of man and let it flow. Less of the theater backstage, and more of the spectacle, please.

Masello is asking his readers to take a ransom cab with him and explore Stoker’s inspiration for Dracula. The story is sound, and the ride a fun one - dark and creepy with fog and large insects - but impaling the Egyptian Book of Dead with the legend of Vlad Dracul was an unexpected mashup that required an unnecessary amount of explanation. The beginning for Dracula should be as easy and smooth as an Irish carbomb. Whisky. Guinness. Done. Anyway, didn’t the Lore podcast already cover Drac’s origin tale?

Garlands of garlic and fangs of thanks to both NetGalley and 47North for the ARC. And hey, Masello… I’m truly a fan. Looking forward to your next book.


As Always,
theJOE

The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle is a highly original mashup of genres. A “what if” concept mixing elements of Quantum Leap and Groundhog Day written as an Agatha Christie mystery. The conception is compelling, the story more-than-intriguing, and the fast-paced read irresistible. Congrats, Stuart Turton, on one incredible debut.

Set in the early 20^th century, Aiden Bishop is a man with a mission: prevent the murder of socialite daughter Evelyn Hardcastle. He has eight chances to solve the mystery and stop the crime. These chances come as he leaps into different host bodies at the start of everyday, which happens to be the same day, looping over and over again. He deals with the confusion of awakening in different places and in separate situations while also attempting to retrace his steps as he is seeming setback to the go square any time he makes headway. Bishop learns to be resourceful and quickly comes up with plans of communicating between his various hosts as each day, and each host, provides a new clue, and a different viewpoint, on the events ahead.

Turton’s writing style is fresh and illustrative. He retains the cadence of a Hercule Poirot plot, of an old time dinner murder mystery, but brings in new world twists and ideas. Setting the story as a first-person narrative, the reader comes to understand Aiden Bishop, feels the anguish and uncertainty the character faces, and most importantly, learn to like the bloke. More than a man out his element, Bishop is man out of his time in a way. He questions his moves and his decisions. The same old day becomes unique with feelings of hope and promise trickled out amongst the dread and anger. His thought process allows the reader to absorb the mystery but not stray too far ahead. Turton could have easily gone all-out gonzo, striking forth as a disrupter of past genre reads. Instead, he crafts his tale as a careful homage, feeding off the literary past, and blossoming into a unique creation, one that is bright and inviting.

One might look for a scorecard to keep up with the characters, their references, a time stamp for activities. A word of advice? Simply pay attention to the story. Turton cleverly provides clues and details along the way allowing you, dear reader, to play the role of the ninth host.

Many thanks to NetGalley for the advance, and completely enjoyable, read.


As Always,
theJOE