Book Review - Picture the Dead by Adele Griffin and Lisa Brown

Picture the Dead by Adele Griffin and Lisa Brown

Synopsis
Jennie’s connection with her twin brother, Toby, grew stronger after he died in 1864. Now Jennie must rely on her ability to communicate with the dead to find out what has happened to her beloved fiance, Will, while he was off at war.


This intriguing combination of historical romance, paranormal thriller, and clever mystery is illustrated by bestselling artist Lisa Brown. The unique visuals originated from real Civil War daguerreotypes that were transformed into eerie mementos for Jennie’s scrapbook.

With the help of a spiritualist photographer, the spirit of her dead fiance, and the clues she discovers and keeps in her scrapbook, Jennie must put together the pieces of this mystery before she loses her home, her fortune, and possibly her life.
 
My Review
 
I once commented on a facebook status that asked 'What keeps you reading a story the plot or the characters?' and I replied both but what I fail to realise is that sometimes you have the plot and you have the characters but you just cant connect, that's how I felt with the main character Jennie but i felt as if i connected with the surrounding characters as she was describing her feelings her journey I felt sympathy, anger, sorrow for them but not her even though at times i knew she deserved my emotions.

Adele takes you on a journey of love and sorrow in Picture the Dead one with the feeling of a diary, that is shown through illustrations of a scrapbook (which I occasionally wished where bigger so I could focus on the letters and read whats written without a struggle) it also allows more insight into the descriptions of each page she adds to her scrapbook. I managed to read with delighted eagerness to uncover the mystery behind the lie and only had suspicion's towards the end which surprised me as in the beginning I fell for Adele's trick of a sneaky plot to hide the real one...very clever indeed as I was thrown way off track.

Other then my lack of connection to the main character Jennie and my eagerness to read about her surrounding characters, Picture the Dead is a good read. Adele writes with a clear passion that throws you into the story from the beginning and has non stop action as each page is turned. I think because of all the action and the continuous twists and turns is why I managed to devour the book within hours and I think if it wasn't for the children it would have been considerably less(*sigh the joys of being a busy mom :o}).

I couldn't stick this into one category as  feel it genre-binding, but if you are a lover of historical and mystery fiction then have a whizz you will find it a very enjoyable read.