Picture of the Dead - Review

Author: Adele Griffin & Lisa Brown

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Genre: Historical Fiction

Format: Paperback

Pages: 262

Jennie feels the tingling presence of something unnatural in the house now that Will is dead. Her heart aches without him, and she still doesn't know how he really died. It seems that everywhere she turns, someone is hiding yet another clue. As Jennie seeks the truth, she finds herself drawn ever deeper into a series of tricks and lies, secrets and betrayals, and begins to wonder if she had every really known Will at all.

Picture the Dead is one of those books that I was actually really excited to read. It had a lot of things going for it: Historical Fictional, Civil War Era, non-traditional set-up, and a Gothic tale of Spiritualism. Normally one of those is enough for me to snag a book, but all of them together and I'm there. Sadly, something in Picture the Dead fell a bit short for me. It was just one thing that really bothered, but small things throughout the book.

At the start I was pulled into the book. No punches were held when I was thrown into the story as one of the boys returns home from the battlefield. The Civil War in its last few years, and things have gotten ugly. Jennie has been plagued by the ghost of her twin brother, but he's not the only ghost whose about to return to Pritchett House.

It was the first few pages that I devoured, but about halfway through is when I had hard time staying with the story. The writing style is wonderful and Adele Griffin and Lisa Brown did so much research into the era. Not just the war, but the fashion and attitudes of the time as well. Even the pieces of Jennie's scrapbook were amazing. However the plot went a bit wonky for me.

For me there were a few chapters where the plot sort of stopped and we were stuck with this internal debate with Jennie. Who I found the longer I was with the book I didn't really like. I know the era well enough to know women didn't have a lot of option outside of a decent marriage, but I found I didn't so much care what happened to Jennie.

However I wanted to see something horrid happen to Aunt Clara.

The last thing is really me being nit-picking I think. I wanted more of the ghost story aspect. The whole chills down my spine, sleeping with the lights on moments. Which wasn't really what we got. I know our ghost was suppose to be angry, but other than Jennie telling us he was angry, I didn't see it. The after effects of the haunting were described in Jennie's appearance, but there was only maybe two good moments where we saw their anger.

Also the ending left me wanting a bit a more. I don't mind a happy, or even a happy adjacent, ending, but I wanted a bit more with the big reveal I guess. Wanted Jennie to be angrier or something. Maybe for Toby to have not have left her at all. Just something

That all being said, Picture the Dead, was a quick read that had parts I really enjoyed. I liked that these two authors didn't really hold punches when talking about the ugliness of the Civil War. A lot of people were driven to things they would never have done before the war. Even its lead to the Spiritualism Movement as more and more boys were being announce Killed in Action.

I loved their dive into the Spiritualism Movement and the photography used then to capture the ghosts of loved ones. Through my weird fascination with the Civil War and 19th Century I love the idea of the Spiritualism Movement would have been like in its height.  So it was lovely to get a taste of that in Picture the Dead.

The artwork attached to the story as Jennie scrapbook was amazing however. I thought it added a nice visual as Jennie pieced things together. I was able to see the things she saw in the photos and clippings. They were also I nice way to help see the characters coming and going since a few had photos taken.

Buy, Borrow, or Skip: Borrow it. Maybe I'm too picky when it comes to ghost stories, and I missed out one something with Picture the Dead. The writing is solid and its an easy afternoon fire, curled up in blanket book.