Book Review: CONTAGION

TITLE: CONTAGION
AUTHOR: Joanne Dahme
IMPRINT: Running Press Kids
PUBLICATION DATE: 28 September 2010
PREVIOUS TITLES IN SERIES: None

Rose Dugan is a young and beautiful woman living in Philadelphia in the late 19th century passionate about keeping Philadelphia’s water reservoir clean and healthy. But when Rose starts receiving threatening letters, warning her to convince her husband to shut down his plans for a water filtration system or else, things take a turn for the worse. A conspicuous murder and butting heads cause Rose to search for the culprit, the truth, and a way to keep the people of Philadelphia safe from contagion in more ways than one.

CONTAGION description and cover art courtesy of Goodreads.

I received an ARC of CONTAGION from Star Book Tours.

THE TWEET
CONTAGION is filled with suspense & mystery, amidst the background of an historical Philadelphia, caught in the grip of a typhoid epidemic.

WHAT WORKED
I liked how this book was straight up suspense/mystery. I've been reading a lot of paranormal YA recently and I love the genre, but it was nice to step away from that and read something different. Plus, I grew up reading mystery novels and it was great to "get back to my roots," so to speak.

I also really liked Patrick's character. He's the quintessential person readers will love to hate. In Patrick, author Dahme, created a complex and interesting character. To everyone but his wife Rose, he was condescending, full of himself and slightly bigoted. But he was a great character because he was able to put forth a loving facade to Rose, despite his true personality. Even when Rose first became suspicious of his actions, he was able to convince her, for a time, that he was a good person.

The descriptions of the city of Philadelphia, particularly the Water Works, were very well written. As a native Philadelphian, it was great to imagine the city during a different century and to see it through Rose's eyes. I admit, I knew very little about the Water Works, prior to reading Contagion, but the novel created an interest in me to learn more about what was a pivotal part of Philadelphia during the 19th century.

OVERALL
Dahme has written a great mystery set in 19th century Philadelphia. She is able to capture a reader's attention with wonderful characters and plot development, as well as suspenseful scenes.

MY RATING IS

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