Library Journal - Audio
06/10/2024
YA author Myers's (Rogue Princess) adult debut follows Genevieve Timmons, a fake spiritualist who conducts séances as cover for robbing her wealthy clients. When Genevieve ends up in jail, she is bailed out on the condition that she hold a séance for Lord Chadwick, who is heartbroken after his bride's death and hopes to find her killer. This book demands a narrator who can channel Genevieve's charm, cleverness, and strength and skillfully narrate different social classes, genders, and accents. Narrator Olivia Vinall delivers on all points, creating a Genevieve who is believable and easy to root for. Vinall performs the remaining characters exactly as they should be, subtly changing their personalities as new information is revealed and as they're manipulated into confessing their secrets. The narration reinforces the mystery, rather than becoming a clue itself. As with many great gothic reads, supernatural tensions vie with emotional ones—past trauma, blossoming romance, and real and imagined ghosts will keep listeners guessing until the end. VERDICT The amount of supernatural involvement remains unclear to the very final moments of the book, making this an excellent listen both for mystery fans and gothic suspense lovers.—Matthew Galloway
Publishers Weekly
06/20/2022
YA author Myers (the Nefertari Hughes mystery series) makes her adult debut with an intriguing whodunit set in 1852. Genevieve Timmons, a fake spiritualist who robs the wealthy of their jewels, is making a hasty exit from a séance she had just conducted in a London house when the police arrest her. Soon after Genevieve is imprisoned on charges of theft and murder, she’s bailed out by a lawyer named Lockhart, who represents Lord Chadwick. Genevieve’s release is conditioned on her agreeing to travel to the nobleman’s coastal home. Six months earlier, the body of Chadwick’s bride, Audra, was found washed ashore, but the heartbroken widower refuses to accept the official verdict of suicide. Lockhart promises to defend Genevieve if she’ll use her “talents and trickery” to perform a séance in which she claims to communicate with Audra’s ghost and gives Chadwick “the closure he craves and end his suffering.” Chadwick, in turn, hopes the séance will elicit a murder confession from one of the attendees. Genevieve agrees, only to find herself feeling like “a cog” in her clients’ schemes, even as she tries to maintain her facade as a medium while searching for the truth about Audra’s death. Myers nicely couples an unlikely and unethical sleuth with an atmospheric puzzle. Fans of roguish investigators will be delighted. Agent: Jill Marr, Sandra Dijkstra Literary. (Aug.)
From the Publisher
A spooky gothic romance with impeccable vibes. I loved this!” — Erin Sterling, New York Times bestselling author of The Ex Hex and The Kiss Curse
"A Dreadful Splendor is a delightful mix of gothic, mystery, and romance. Con artist heroine Genevieve is a memorable addition to literature's gallery of charming rogues. I had such fun reading this book." — Gwenda Bond, New York Times bestselling author of Not Your Average Hot Guy
“This gem of a book sparkles with wit and originality. . . . There is no shortage of tricks and feints in this excellent novel and Genevieve is a delightful character.” — The Globe and Mail
"An intriguing whodunit . . . Myers nicely couples an unlikely and unethical sleuth with an atmospheric puzzle. Fans of roguish investigators will be delighted." — Publishers Weekly
"Remember Penny Dreadful with Eva Green? Me too, and this book promises to fill the Victorian-era-séance-shaped void the show left in my heart. It’s also bound to satisfy fans of other amateur Victorian sleuths, like in A Curious Beginning, with the added bonus of Genevieve’s roguish ways — which obviously only make the journey more fun." — Book Riot, The Best Books Out this Week
"A perfectly splendid novel . . . It can be easily read and relished by anyone ages twelve and up, as it is devoid of both crude language and explicit sex scenes. It is an attention grabbing, vividly imagined, suspenseful Victorian gothic mystery romance which this reader found impossible to put down! . . . The writing is fresh, original, full of surprises and features a captivating heroine in Genevieve Timmons. It’s a gem!" — Booktrib
"A page-turner . . . combining mystery, romance and spiritualism in a Victorian London setting full of secrets and seances." — Saltwire (Halifax, Canada)
“Breathtaking, puzzling and spine-chilling all at once. A spectacular, haunting mystery with a touch of romance and twists galore. Absolutely brilliant!” — T.A. Willberg, author of the Marion Lane Mysteries
"Thrilling, atmospheric and propulsive, with healthy doses of heart and humor thrown in for good measure, A Dreadful Splendor is a cleverly crafted mystery with an irrepressible heroine you won’t soon forget. I can’t remember the last time I had this much fun reading a book!" — Tom Ryan, International Thriller Award-winning author of Keep This to Yourself
"Delicious double crosses, a haunted estate, and a heroine who might just lose her heart — if she can keep her neck out of the hangman's noose. A Dreadful Splendor will keep readers guessing." — Kathleen Peacock, author of You Were Never Here
"An enjoyable interpretation of an old favorite." — Publishers Weekly on Rogue Princess
"Fun and imaginative." — School Library Journal on Rogue Princess
"Delightful . . . a unique and fun retelling that I won't forget." — The Nerd Daily on Rogue Princess
"What's not to love? . . . A swoonworthy read." — Booklist on Rogue Princess
Gwenda Bond
"A Dreadful Splendor is a delightful mix of gothic, mystery, and romance. Con artist heroine Genevieve is a memorable addition to literature's gallery of charming rogues. I had such fun reading this book."
T.A. Willberg
Breathtaking, puzzling and spine-chilling all at once. A spectacular, haunting mystery with a touch of romance and twists galore. Absolutely brilliant!
The Nerd Daily on Rogue Princess
"Delightful . . . a unique and fun retelling that I won't forget."
Booklist on Rogue Princess
"What's not to love? . . . A swoonworthy read."
Kathleen Peacock
"Delicious double crosses, a haunted estate, and a heroine who might just lose her heart — if she can keep her neck out of the hangman's noose. A Dreadful Splendor will keep readers guessing."
Tom Ryan
"Thrilling, atmospheric and propulsive, with healthy doses of heart and humor thrown in for good measure, A Dreadful Splendor is a cleverly crafted mystery with an irrepressible heroine you won’t soon forget. I can’t remember the last time I had this much fun reading a book!"
