Erika Swyler’s The Book of Speculation has a very strange name, and an ineffective book cover, but it definitely left me speculating about everything that went on in throughout this insane novel.

First and foremost, this book is about Simon Watson, who is a researcher to the core. When he receives a book with his grandmother’s name inscribed in it from an unknown bookseller, he dives deep into the mysteries that are inside it as he tries to figure out what might be wrong with his family that leads to the women in his family drowning.

You see, the Watson family is full of what the circus folk call “swimmers,” which means that they can hold their breath for long periods of time and are unable to drown. Simon can go 10 minutes underwater without breathing, and says that his sister Enola is better at it than he is.

It doesn’t help for Simon that days after receiving this novel, he loses his job due to budget cuts at the library where he and his friend Alice work. This mystery in the book envelopes nearly everyone that Simon and Enola know.

Honestly, I found this book interesting, but Simon drove me a little bit crazy. My favorite characters were Alice and Doyle, who I felt were more authentic as people than Simon or Enola were. Maybe it was just that Simon asked for more information about Doyle and Alice than we were given about him. Enola had potential to be an incredibly interesting character, but instead she felt like a runaway brat who Simon didn’t trust with actual information. It was not my favorite book because of the lack of character growth, but the plot was really interesting.

I personally loved the “flashbacks” that we got into the lives of Amos and his fellow circus people, and I think that those were the strongest part of the novel. The characters were vibrant and sensible, and there was magic that wasn’t automatically something you were supposed to be terrified of.

I’m giving this book a three star review because of this. If you’re more interested in plot than characters, this may be a great read for you. The book review on the cover by Sara Gruen, who is the author of Water for Elephants, which I’d recommend if you liked this book but wanted more character development.

However, if this book sounds interesting to you, it releases today (June 23, 2015) at major retailers near you! You can find other people’s reviews and discussions on Goodreads here!