Skip to main content

Contagion


Contagion is a YA historical mystery recently released and written by Joanne Dahme.

Eighteen-year-old Rose Dugan is finishing up her first year of marriage to her long-betrothed, powerful husband, Patrick. On the surface everything is going very well for her - wealth enough for everything she'd need or want and a wonderful best friend, Nellie, to bring light to her days. Yet things take a disturbing turn when intimidating letters begin turning up, threatening Patrick and Rose, demanding he stop his petitioning of big changes to the city's Water Works systems - changes that could mean even more money and power for Patrick - and the destruction of the beautiful site.

But as harmless as Patrick finds the letters, Rose finds them worrisome - and when someone quite dear to Rose is murdered while wearing her cloak, her worries are proven. Or are they? Could it have just been a robbery gone bad?

Rose finds herself enlisting the help of the good-looking and kind young man that maintains Philadelphia's Water Works, Sean, as panic breaks out - typhoid is returning to the area and seems to be in the water. Is there any chance that all of these events are somehow connected? Rose can't get rid of the nagging feeling that they are. But how come everyone's finger seems to be pointing either to her husband Patrick or her newfound friend Sean?

Okay, so anytime I hear about a YA book that mixes historical fiction with murder and danger (usually can't have the former without the latter, I suppose) - I'm there! Usually a quite awesome combination...

The prologue to Contagion brings to us a picture of a thirteen-year-old Rose meeting her future husband, Patrick, who is already twenty. There was something so disturbing about seeing (in the reader's mind's eye) this young girl have no say about her future - and is no less disturbing when the novel picks back up in 1895, in which Rose and Patrick are married. It is so odd, yet fascinating, to have Rose and her best friend Nellie so young, yet mistresses of households.

However, despite this rather interesting beginning it doesn't take long for Contagion to switch narrative viewpoint to Sean (as it will do throughout the entire novel), where the talk of the Water Works system and grounds is full of passion, for sure, but not of much interest to me. Especially as it veers more into politics than I prefer, or care for...

And sadly, the suspense being created by the author felt, to me, superficial and never authentic... You could completely disagree with me and be on pins and needles the entire time - so don't take my word for it! Just gotta be honest here... I was disappointed with the lack of creepiness, with the lack of a true sense of danger or mystery.

Plot-wise, Contagion certainly takes its time, which is not necessarily a bad thing - as slowly I began to care a bit more for the characters, and the murder at least affects me a little. However, though the period feel is good and seems well-researched, the slowness of anything actually happening can't help but make me feel a little, well, bored.

The focus and detail of the city's Water Works is probably fascinating to some people - clearly a passion of the author and all of the characters in Contagion - and is certainly a worthy cause and work to magnify. Yet in a novel, in my opinion, it seemed to drag the plot down and the controversy surrounding it never reached a compelling point for me, and instead was tedious.

I felt like Contagion needed more to happen - as if there were far too many pages for far too little going on. It lacked the atmosphere and whodunit quality I expected after seeing the blurbs. I have to admit, regrettably, that I had to resort to skimming many of the later pages as the 399 pages continued to refrain from riveting me. I hope that many of you find more entertainment in the novel... as I am sure there are many reader's out there that will love Contagion.

One thing for sure that Joanne Dahme shows us is how terrifying typhoid was back in 1895 - the fear and panic related to such a ravaging, deadly disease. And the way in which she portrays someone able to, perhaps, purposely poison people's water and cause an outbreak for their own gain is quite rattling. However, I did feel that even this part of Contagion was told to us, not shown... like most of the novel, from my view.

As the final quarter picked up a bit of speed, I did see the admirable quality of the narrative voice of Sean and Rose, yet they still never connected with me. And though by the end I recognized the nobility in Contagion and the possibility of someone loving it - that person was just sadly not me, not this time.

But please read Contagion for yourself and let me know what you think!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Author Q & A - Jan Eldredge Stops By!

Next Wednesday y'all will be getting my oh-so-humble opinion of Evangeline of the Bayou , the Summer 2018 Kids' Indie Next List selection! (That means it was picked via booksellers at independent bookstores countrywide.) Until then, I have a Q&A with the Louisiana born and raised author herself: Jan Eldredge! (Don't forget to come back next week for my review!!) A Conversation with JAN ELDRIDGE Author of Evangeline of the Bayou 1) The glossary in the back of the book is so helpful! Where did you learn about all these creatures? Which creature from the book is your favorite? I have a small, but growing, collection of books about mythical creatures around the world. If I couldn’t find what I was looking for there, I researched library books, online websites, and the occasional documentary. Something that really surprised me as I started learning more about mythical monsters was the number of different cultures that share very similar

First Step: Admit You Have a Problem

Hi fellow Bibliophiles! I have been rather neglectful to this blog... instead continuing to stay buried in a book as I have during the holidays. I'm hopeful that most of you have been doing this too and can easily accept my apology. Have I been reading? Um, yeah! (Translation: duh.) Just haven't been able to pull myself away long enough to actually WRITE about what I'm reading. Lol. But that's me, a bibliophile, an addict, an addict who's fallen off the wagon and fully embraced her love of reading - especially with all this free time to do so!!! I've also been watching awesome holiday movies, eating yummy, but bad-for-me, food and hanging out with the people I love best! You too? I hope! ;) Anyway, I will return with a new book review next week, most likely on Monday or Tuesday. Thanks for your patience and keep reading!!!

Promotion Celebration for Maximum Ride!!!

Do you love the series Maximum Ride ? How about James Patterson? Are you a huge fan of action-packed books? Well, I’m thrilled to bring to you an opportunity to stock up on some awesome reading!!! ENTER TO WIN A SET OF JAMES PATTERSON PAGETURNERS! MAXIMUM RIDE – IF SHE LIVES, THE WORLD LIVES, IT’S THAT SIMPLE. Read “MAX” - the newest book in the bestselling Maximum Ride series. On sale in paperback 09/01/09! Still reeling from their most recent adventure, Maximum Ride and the rest of the flock must head out to sea to uncover the secret behind a brand new series of disasters—fish are dying off the coast of Hawaii, hundreds of ships are being destroyed. As if that weren’t enough, they’re also being tracked by a criminal mastermind with, oh yeah, an army of mercenaries. Can the flock save themselves and the ocean, and the world, from utter destruction? Now for the rules : The Maximum Ride: Max Promotion is open to legal US residents who are at least 13 years of age as of August 24, 200