CW: gore, murder

[E-ARC provided by Netgalley. This doesn’t affect my opinion or the content of my review.]

I wasn’t sure what to think of Spectacle going in, but I ended up quite enjoying it. Although it was a bit grotesque at times, it wasn’t excessive enough to detract from my enjoyment or turn me away from the story. Additionally, there were many elements that, when combined, I found fascinating.

I liked all of the characters, something that doesn’t happen to me very often. Curious, perceptive Nathalie; sweet yet aloof Christophe; bold, mystical Simone; supportive, lighthearted Agnès — they were all so well-developed and empathetic, easy to root for. Their dynamics were interesting as well.

One aspect I especially favored was the lack of romance between Nathalie and Christophe. At the first signs of her crush, I rolled my eyes and hoped for nothing to come of it; as the story progressed, I actually began to hope for the opposite. I was even the slightest bit sad when Christophe told Nathalie he was engaged. Despite my changing feelings, I can say that I think the lack of romance makes this novel stand out.

Primarily, this is a murder mystery novel, and it was written exquisitely. I guessed multiple times who the murderer — nicknamed the Dark Artist — was, and never was I right. Each murder was more grotesque, each reveal brought more intrigue and confusion, and honestly it was all great. I liked the inclusion of magic and science and how that was connected to the mystery as well.

If you know me, you’ll know I’m a sucker for Parisian stories, and have been ever since I began learning French a few years ago. This is set in 1880’s Paris, and I loved the tidbits of culture and language interwoven. As minuscule a detail as it is in the grand scheme of things, every time a French phrase was included and I could translate, it put a smile on my face. More French YA 2k19.

However, as good as this novel was, there were a couple of things I wasn’t a fan of. First is the pacing. While I was intrigued from the beginning, I feel that the first half was slower and the second half picked up, but was a bit hectic. In general it felt somewhat uneven to me, though again, it didn’t affect my enjoyment of the story. It’s something I noticed upon finishing.

My other issue is the ending. It was somewhat of a cliffhanger, and thus not very satisfying. As I write this, I’m not sure if Exposition — Zdrok’s novel set to release next year — is a sequel or not. If it is, there’s nothing to worry about. If it isn’t, well, I wish that the story had been better resolved. These characters deserve better, even if it makes the story longer. I suppose we’ll have to see what happens.

Despite those complaints, I had a lot of fun reading Spectacle. I believe fans of Stalking Jack the Ripper and The Diviners will enjoy this, though I advise you take that with a grain of salt because I’ve not read either of those novels. I’m saying this based on what those I follow and trust have said. That aside, I can’t wait to see what Zdrok puts out in the future!