“A seamless blending of magic, mystery, and history…Glover’s worldbuilding, characters, and attention to historical detail create a delightfully genre-bending debut!” —Tananarive Due, American Book Award winner, author of Ghost Summer: Stories From a bold new voice in speculative fiction comes a vibrant historical fantasy of magic and murder set in the aftermath of the Civil War. Hetty Rhodes … aftermath of the Civil War.
Hetty Rhodes and her husband, Benjy, were Conductors on the Underground Railroad, ferrying dozens of slaves to freedom with daring, cunning, and magic that draws its power from the constellations. With the war over, those skills find new purpose as they solve mysteries and murders that white authorities would otherwise ignore.
In the heart of Philadelphia’s Seventh Ward, everyone knows that when there’s a strange death or magical curses causing trouble, Hetty and Benjy are the only ones that can solve the case. But when an old friend is murdered, their investigation stirs up a wasp nest of intrigue, lies, and long-buried secrets- and a mystery unlike anything they handled before. With a clever, cold-blooded killer on the prowl testing their magic and placing their lives at risk, Hetty and Benjy will discover how little they really know about their neighbors . . . and themselves.
“An unforgettable debut … Wholly original and thoroughly riveting.”
—Deanna Raybourn, New York Times best-selling author of A Murderous Relation
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Since Deanna Raybourn wrote a cover blurb for this book giving it praise, I got it.
I almost didn’t finish it. It started off really slowly for me. It didn’t “grab” me right away.
As time went on (I wanted to give it a fair chance), the momentum increased.
Towards the end it was like a snow ball flying down the hill.
Not a perfect book, but filled with rich history blended with magic.
Interesting characters.
I’m glad I finished reading.
The Conductors is a debut novel by Nicole Glover and it starts Murder and Magic series set in 1860s Philadelphia, after the American Civil War. The main character is Hetty Rhodes, a former slave who’s helped other slaves escape to safety as a so called conductor of the Underground Railroad. Now that the war is over, she’s settled in Philadelphia with her husband Benjy, a fellow conductor. She works as a seamstress and he as a blacksmith, but in their spare time they find missing persons and solve other mysteries. They are aided by their extraordinary magic that allows them to perform all sorts of near impossible feats.
A friend is found dead and it appears he was killed with magic. They set out to solve his murder, but new bodies turn up. Hetty is also trying to find a missing woman, and then there’s background noise of grave robberies that she and Benjy don’t pay attention to at first. Alongside the present day there are chapters about Hetty’s and Benjy’s past as conductors.
This book has a great premise, but unfortunately it suffers from a clumsy execution and poorly conducted plot. At the beginning of the book I had to check several times that I wasn’t reading a sequel, as there were references to people and events as if I should already know them. The narrative has some temporal jumps here and there, with no clear indication that the paragraph describes earlier action. And worst of all, it relies heavily on telling, not showing, so that I had hard time connecting emotionally with the characters.
This is especially the case with Hetty who is the sole point of view character. She appeared to be a strong-willed and formidable woman, but I never really figured out why she solved the mysteries. Mostly she seemed to regard it as her duty that didn’t really give her any pleasure. The side characters were even more difficult to get a hang of.
(As an aside, I found it really odd that Hetty and Benjy had chosen Rhodes as their last name. Maybe it has a different connotation among the freed slaves, but as a white European, I immediately thought of Cecil Rhodes, the notorious figure in African colonialism and great believer in white supremacy.)
What really prevented me from immersing myself in the story was a total lack of descriptions. A couple of characters were briefly described, mostly by the colour of their skin, but I had no idea about their ages, heights and looks otherwise. I had no idea what sort of clothing people wore, which is something I’ve come to rely on in historical fiction. Hetty was a seamstress, but fabrics and colours were never described, as if she didn’t care at all. There were no smells, even though there were magic potions, horses, poor slums and bogs. And the town could’ve been anywhere in any era. I imagined earth-covered streets and low wooden buildings, and then the town turned out to be so large it had streetcars, which I would assume means paved streets, gas street lamps, and brick townhouses.
The magic system was divided to sorcery of the white and celestial (?) magic of the Black. I liked how flexible the magic was and how the practitioners could do pretty much anything with it, though it was never properly described either. What annoyed me a little was how the celestial magic was based on zodiac signs of western astrology and Greek gods. Surely there would’ve been other mythologies to base it on, which would’ve explained better why this particular type of magic was natural to the Black and Native Americans.
But what really irked me was that the alt history angle of magic wasn’t properly utilised. Now that the former slaves were free to use their extremely powerful magic, they did nothing to overturn the system that regarded them as lower beings and instead submitted to be treated badly. The author could’ve—should’ve—imagined bigger than solving mysteries, and not limit herself to history.
Solving the mysteries was never a priority to Hetty and Benjy anyway, even though they made a show of it. In the end, they all got solved without their input. The killer got bored with the pair’s inefficiency and made their move against them, and the missing person just showed up. The grave robbery angle sort of went away. The only storyline that progressed at all was Hetty’s and Benjy’s relationship, but even that was fairly low key. So, a great premise, but a really frustrating end result.
I got a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I was initially drawn to this book with it being compared to both Octavia Butler and Victor LaValle; two authors that I have recently discovered and love.
That being said, I just felt like this story did not live up to my expectations, which is largely due to the fact that this is really a slow burn story with a magical system that really is not straightforward.
I think that Hetty was a fantastic character, and I definitely appreciated everything that she did in order to help enslaved Black folks as well as free Black folks trying to find answers when no one else cared. While there were times that some of the scenes were a bit difficult to read because of the pain and trauma, I definitely think that they really highlighted the necessity of Hetty’s work as well as her craft.
I was definitely intrigued by both the murder mystery plot that was taking place in Hetty’s current time line in Philadelphia as well as the flashbacks to Hetty’s time on the plantation with her sister Esther. It offered such a dichotomous setting while also showing the limitations that free Black folks still faced.
My biggest gripe with this book is the pacing. The first 30% of the book was fascinating as we learn Hetty’s history, the plantation life, and get glimpses of her magical abilities. The last 30% of the book was high octane as we finally get the answers that we’ve been desperately waiting for. The middle 40% of this book was just a slough for me. I found myself speeding up the audiobook just to get to the more exciting things.
I feel like if I had read a physical or digital copy of this book that it would’ve probably been a DNF for me merely due to pacing. However, I love Bahni Turpin as a narrator, and she was the main reason that I pushed through.
Thank you to Blackstone Publishing and Librofm for providing a review copy. This did not influence my review. All opinions are my own.
When I first saw this one I was all for it! It has such a great premise and who doesn’t love a good historical fiction with mystery and fantasy thrown in?? However, it was a tad slow and took a while for me to get into the flow. The magical aspects are a tad confusing as well since there isn’t much explanation on how the characters came into their powers or how their powers work.
Overall I really enjoyed this one and look forward to more from this author. I did take into consideration that this is a debut so it can only get better from here. I appreciate NetGalley providing me an ARC to read and enjoy. All opinions expressed herein are mine and mine alone.
I received a free electronic copy of this historical novel from Netgalley, Nicole Glover, and the publisher Houghton-Mifflin, John Joseph Adams, Mariner Books. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read this novel of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work. The root of the tale, the Underground Railroad and those ‘conductors’ who escorted runaway slaves and others needing the amnesty provided in northern states or Canada is well presented and an interesting slant on these folks not often showcased. I did not, however, feel comfortable with the ‘magic’ aspect of this work. I felt it detracted from the story, rather than enhancing it.
This was a fabulous idea and I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this alternative history of the American Civil War and its aftermath. Hetty and her husband Benjy have settled in a predominantly black community in Philadelphia. The stories of their exploits helping runaway slaves are still much talked about but the couple live ordinary lives now and yet when trouble comes calling it just calls to their sleuthing nature’s ! With magic and intellect on their side Hetty and Benjy try to understand why a friend was murdered but sadly that’s not going to be the only body that turns up.
I thought this was a fabulous way to shine new perspective on what must have been a truly difficult and harrowing time for so many. The couple have stayed together more for convenience than anything else but it’s clear they do share more than a mutual respect which cheared my hopelessly romantic heart no end. However this is not a romance and more a story of mystery and suspense. There are two distinct types of magic in play here with Celestial as embodied by the African Caribbean community which honestly was such fun to read about and Sorcery which is more the usual type in books so think wands and spells. Hetty is magnificent and up for anything. Benjy more the strong silent type but you know his brain is ticking away. They are surrounded by supporting characters who truly muddy the waters which clearly adds to the mystery. My only slight complaint was the pace because even though there are murders the first half of the book felt rather slow. However I was gripped by these characters and did really enjoy this unusual and unique story.
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair
This book was not quite what I was expecting. I felt a bit confused in the beginning chapters, I wasn’t sure what was going on. It got alittle better and became a mystery.
It had some interesting characters and a bit of a mystical feel to it.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the early copy
‘The Conductors’ is a truly compelling debut that did at first have a rough start but page by page, I become engrossed in Hetty and Benjy, infamous duo that now solves crimes in post-Civil War Philadelphia, journey in discovering who were committing the horrific murders while they dealt with the bubbling feelings and well guarded secrets neither one expected during the course of their marriage of convenience.
It was a perfect blend of an historical novel with fantasy and mystery elements all in one that made this a riveting read that was just too hard to put down. This is ideal for readers looking for a well paced cozy whodunit mystery filled with a fascinating premise, subplots, magic, fantasy, and characters that standout.