Book Description

In this daring tale of female agency and revenge from a New York Times bestselling author, a girl becomes a teenage vigilante who roams Victorian England using her privilege and power to punish her friends’ abusive suitors and keep other young women safe.

Adele grew up in the shadows—first watching from backstage at her mother’s Parisian dance halls, then wandering around the gloomy, haunted rooms of her father’s manor. When she’s finally sent away to boarding school in London, she’s happy to enter the brightly lit world of society girls and their wealthy suitors. 

Yet there are shadows there, too. Many of the men that try to charm Adele’s new friends do so with dark intentions. After a violent assault, she turns to a roguish young con woman for help. Together, they become vigilantes meting out justice. But can Adele save herself from the same fate as those she protects?

With a queer romance at its heart, this lush historical thriller offers readers an irresistible mix of vengeance and empowerment.

My Review

First of all, this review is extremely overdue, but I’m so glad I finally got to read this book. Cornwell’s Mechanica was one of my first ARCs on NetGalley back in 2015, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to read this book.

Second, the description doesn’t mention this at all, but this book is a Jane Eyre variant. If you’re familiar with the source material, you’ll recall Rochester’s ward Adele. This book covers Adele’s life both before moving to England to live with Rochester, events during Jane Eyre, and then Adele’s life after the events of the source material.

Adele is a formidable young woman. Spending her early years in her mother’s dance hall provided her with quite the education regarding the manner in which men treat women. This leaves her jaded, even as a child, a trait she carries with her to England where she lands under the tutelage of Jane Eyre.

The majority of the narrative takes place after the events of the source material, wherein Adele enrolls in a London boarding school and becomes an avenging angel, protecting her classmates from the nefarious intentions of their suitors. Adele also finds love in an unexpected place.

I would absolutely recommend Reader, I Murdered Him. I found this book to be delightfully gothic: moody, atmospheric, and there’s one heck of a plot twist that I did NOT see coming at all. I’m the queen of guessing plot twists, but this one caught me completely off guard.  I can’t wait to read more from Cornwell in the future.

I received a digital ARC of this book from Harper Collins/NetGalley.