Welcome to my tour stop! You can find the other stops on the tour here. Read a fun
author guest post from the view of the protagonist and enter the tour giveaway below...
author guest post from the view of the protagonist and enter the tour giveaway below...
By Jodie Lynn Zdrok
YA Historical Suspense, Paranormal
Paperback & ebook, 368 Pages
February 12th 2019 by Tor Teen
Summary
A YA murder mystery in which a young reporter must use her supernatural visions to help track down a killer targeting the young women of Paris.
Paris, 1887.
Sixteen-year-old Nathalie Baudin writes the daily morgue column for Le Petit Journal. Her job is to summarize each day's new arrivals, a task she finds both fascinating and routine. That is, until the day she has a vision of the newest body, a young woman, being murdered--from the perspective of the murderer himself.
When the body of another woman is retrieved from the Seine days later, Paris begins to buzz with rumors that this victim may not be the last. Nathalie's search for answers sends her down a long, twisty road involving her mentally ill aunt, a brilliant but deluded scientist, and eventually into the Parisian Catacombs. As the killer continues to haunt the streets of Paris, it becomes clear that Nathalie's strange new ability may make her the only one who can discover the killer's identity--and she'll have to do it before she becomes a target herself.
Praise for SPECTACLE
"Clever and full of murder, Jodie Lynn Zdrok's Spectacle had my eyes glued to the pages as the body count rose, and mystery stacked upon mystery as our heroine closed in on a killer who seemed miles ahead of the Parisian authorities. Fans of serial killers and criminal investigations will find much to love, and fascinating passages about morgue tours will appeal to the morbid rubbernecker in us all." ―Kendare Blake, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Three Dark Crowns series
“With a fierce heroine, grisly 19th-century murders, and a mystery that left me on the edge of my seat, Spectacle is an immersive, Parisian, YA From Hell that I absolutely devoured!" ―Gretchen McNeil, author of Ten and #MurderTrending
"Zdrok explores the universal fascination with death, set among the darker corners of 1887 Paris, and the very idea of the morgue viewings (to which parents brought their children) is chilling...Grisly, plot driven―and very creepy. Fans of historical thrillers that invoke the enduring spirit of Jack the Ripper will have fun." ―Kirkus Reviews
“Hints of the murderer’s identity are subtly and intriguingly folded into the story, and unresolved plot threads pave the way for future cases, during which Nathalie can discover more about her powers. The blend of history, mystery, and fantasy makes this debut novel a good pick for fans of Libba Bray’s Diviners series or William Ritter’s Jackaby books." ―Booklist
“The book seamlessly brings several threads together: the mystery of the murder and the horrors of the killings themselves; the beauty, bustle, and darkness of nineteenth-century Paris (the killer’s pursuit of Nathalie through the catacombs is thrillingly described); the bizarre but historically based practices of morgue viewing and blood transfusions for magic; and the destructive nature of family secrets and their generational effects. ...the tension amps up to a gasp-worthy climax.” ―Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
“Zdrok has concocted an ambitious Victorian-era story. ...Intricately plotted, the story's pace burns slow before racing ahead to set up and topple assumptions about the true identity of the Dark Artist.” ―School Library Journal
Guest Post: Nathalie's Visions
Bonjour from 1887 Paris!
I’m Nathalie Baudin, and I’ve been asked to write this article (or “blog post,” in your parlance, though I admit to not quite understanding what that means) about my visions. Tressa assures me that you’ll keep my secret safe, as I haven’t shared this with many people. I’m not sure what people would say if they found out, and I don’t know myself what they mean yet or why I’m having them.
As of this writing I’ve just had my second vision, not a quarter of an hour ago. Will there be more? I suppose I have to wait to see if there are more murders of this sort to find out. (Although the killer seems to be hinting at more with his letters, but he seems to be playing games, so who can say?) This is what I have experienced, thus far:
- It happens at the morgue when I touch the glass.
- I can see the murder scene unfold.
- It varies in length, though I’m unaware how much time has passed when I come to.
- It’s in reverse and begins with the end, so to speak.
- I’m not able to see the killer, nor am I able to intervene.
- It’s silent—mostly. Except for one voice…
- I come to aware of what happened. I think I must have a strange expression or, as Monsieur Gagnon suggested, display some unusual behavior, based on how people respond to me. I’m not sure.
- After the first vision, I noticed a gap in my memory, but I don’t know if that’s coincidence, a consequence of the shock, or something else. So far I haven’t had any effect from the second vision, and the memory gap after the first one happened right away. That may be favorable, no?
I don’t know if these are hallucinations, a series of fever dreams (it’s been very hot), a blessing, or a curse. There isn’t much else I can do but…wait. And pray for the souls of those poor victims, while hoping there aren’t any more.
Thank you for letting me share—and again, please don’t tell anyone about my visions…yet.
About the Author
Jodie Lynn Zdrok holds two MAs in European History (Providence College, Brown University) and an MBA (Clark University). In addition to being an author, she’s a marketing professional, a freelancer, and an unapologetic Boston sports fan. She enjoys traveling, being a foodie, doing sprint triathlons, and enabling cats. She is represented by Ginger Clark of Curtis Brown, Ltd.
PHOTO CONTENT FROM JODIE LYNN ZDROK
Tour-Wide Giveaway
- 5 Winners will receive a Copy of SPECTACLE by Jodie Lynn Zdrok.
- Giveaway is open to International. | Must be 13+ to Enter | Ends April 15, 2019
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