The novel is a book lover's dream. A bookseller sends Simon a vintage book in the mail. The book, Peabody's Menagerie, has information about Simon's relatives who used to work as circus performers.
Simon comes from a long line of "mermaids," women who are able to hold their breath for a preternaturally long length of time. Simon's grandmother and mother were both "mermaids" who tragically ended their lives.
While Simon's sister, Enola, insists that the women were simply sad, Simon believes something sinister is involved.
After being let go from his library position, Simon becomes obsessed with repairing his childhood home. The home, on the edge of cliff, is in danger of being condemned.
While the contemporary story has its interesting moments, the backstory is much more enthralling. Amos, a feral and mute boy, finds comfort and success in Peabody's traveling circus in eighteenth-century America.
Just as soon as Madame Rhzhkoza claims him as her assistant and son, he falls for Evangeline, a "mermaid," employed by Peabody. Like Simon she is a "breath holder," who can hold her breath for an inordinate amount of time.
Simon begins to wonder if the circus's past has effected his family's future. Did Madame Rhzhkoza's curse doom the female members of him family and possibly himself?
If you like this book you may also enjoy Menagerie by Rachel Vincent.
Years after a horrific crime, Tessie, the only survivor in the "Black-eyed Susan" murders steps forward. She is beginning to doubt that the right person has been convicted for the heinous crime.
Tessie was nearly killed and blinded by a "monster." After the horrific attack, Tessie suffers memory loss and psychological blindess--a conversion disorder.
Heaberlin unveils the chilling story in back and forth chapters that contrasts events near the time of the crime with its aftershock seventeen years later.
If Tessie does not change her testimony, an innocent man could face the death penalty. Tessie, however, is reluctant to delve into her past. After all, she has her own daughter to protect from the media's harsh glare.
Adding to the tension is the fact that Tessie thinks she is going insane.
Immediately after the crime she begins to hear the voices of the other Susans in her head. The grown-up Tessie thinks her monster has been planting batches of blacked-eyed susans to traumatize her.
The twist at the end packs a wallop. Heaberlin's latest is for fans of Gillian Flynn, Paula Hawkins and Brunonia Barry.
