A Beautiful Poison
Books | Fiction / Historical / General
4
(63)
Lydia Kang
Just beyond the Gilded Age, in the mist-covered streets of New York, the deadly Spanish influenza ripples through the city. But with so many victims in her close circle, young socialite Allene questions if the flu is really to blame. All appear to have been poisoned--and every death was accompanied by a mysterious note.Desperate for answers and dreading her own engagement to a wealthy gentleman, Allene returns to her passion for scientific discovery and recruits her long-lost friends, Jasper and Birdie, for help. The investigation brings her closer to Jasper, an apprentice medical examiner at Bellevue Hospital who still holds her heart, and offers the delicate Birdie a last-ditch chance to find a safe haven before her fragile health fails.As more of their friends and family die, alliances shift, lives become entangled, and the three begin to suspect everyone--even each other. As they race to find the culprit, Allene, Birdie, and Jasper must once again trust each other, before one of them becomes the next victim.
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More Details:
Author
Lydia Kang
Pages
350
Publisher
Amazon Publishing
Published Date
2017
ISBN
1477848878 9781477848876
Ratings
Google: 3
Community ReviewsSee all
"Beautifully written that takes the reader back in time. An unexpected twist at the end with dark undertones that make it worth reading."
Rebecca Medlin
"I felt the science in this mystery more than in Lydia Kang’s other books. And the hinting of magical realism that was present in the other books (supernatural beings, unexplained events) is not present in this one. It seems more straightforward mystery.
Death at a dinner party. Everyone seems ready to write it off as a straightforward champagne induced fall down the stairs but Allene is not so sure. With the help of her one time estranged friends Birdie and Jasper, this New York socialite intended to get to the bottom of everything. While the rest of the world is dealing with war and the outbreak of Spanish Influenza, for Allene this puzzle is what’s important.
I got real “Emma” vibes from Allene (Jane Austen novel). Like Emma, I found Allene to be a vain young lady who can’t see past her own needs and wants to those of her friends/family yet views all of her actions as selfless. I think that was the biggest problem I had with this book. Granted, I really did not like “Emma” so that might have colored my opinion since almost from the first chapter I associated the main character with that book.
I liked the science based nature of this book more than the other two I read. I still very much enjoy Lydia Kang’s style and science based mystery genre. And while this might have been an accurate portrayal of an early 1900s socialite, I hope I don’t get too many Jane Austen vibes from future books (or at least make it a better character 😂)"
JJ Lew