Books › A beautiful poison
A beautiful poison
333 pages
A shadowy, disease-ravaged historical mystery where scientific curiosity meets deadly paranoia among the elite.
What it feels like
Set against the mist-covered, disease-ravaged backdrop of early twentieth-century New York, this historical mystery feels both suffocating and urgent. The narrative wraps the reader in a dread-soaked atmosphere where the very air seems dangerous, blending the creeping terror of a deadly epidemic with the sharp, calculated chill of intentional poisoning. It moves at a brisk, paranoid pace as shifting alliances and rekindled romances tangle together, making every character a suspect. The prose balances the stifling constraints of high society with a gritty fascination for medical science and forensic discovery. It is a perfect match for readers who crave atmospheric, suspenseful historical fiction where fragile friendships and scientific inquiry collide in a desperate race for survival.
- Mood
- mist-shrouded
- dread-soaked
- paranoid
- melancholic
- Tone
- suspenseful
- atmospheric
- urgent
- romantic
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- scientific curiosity · shifting loyalties · mortality and illness · rekindled romance · gilded cages
- The writing
- Atmospheric and historically grounded, weaving scientific intrigue with the shadowy tension of a city gripped by disease.
- The arc
- Moves from a suffocating sense of dread and societal constraint into a paranoid, urgent race for survival and truth.
- Who it's for
- Readers who love historical mysteries steeped in medical science, gothic undertones, and tangled romantic loyalties.
Content notes
- epidemic illness
- poisoning
- death of friends and family
About the book
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.
Description from Open Library.
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