Scan barcode
A review by karaklos
A Brush with Death by Elizabeth Blake
4.0
3.5 stars rounded up.
A Brush with Death is an absorbing and unusual mystery that surprised me with its dark themes and characters. It’s not every day that I read a book that features Death and Jack the Ripper.
Well-written with imagery to set the tone, I felt like I was following the main character Isabel and “Death” around in 1888 England. Isabel is dying of an unknown affliction and Death formally introduces himself and the story ensues.
I didn’t quite understand what Death was…he had a mortal form that could get injured, a heart, and could eat and drink beverages…yet he has lived for thousands of years and can heal. I also didn’t understand how he could handle all of the deaths all over the world and spend so much time with Isabel. Surely he needs an apprentice or two?
I was a little creeped out how Death watched Isabel since she was a child and was so pushy about Isabel being “his”. I didn’t understand why she would be attracted to him.
The mystery was enjoyable but a bit too quickly resolved. I wish that Isabel played a bigger role in solving it. My ideal would be her pairing up with Denise to figure out what the police could not.
Thank you to Goodreads for this Kindle ARC. I was a Goodreads giveaway winner.
A Brush with Death is an absorbing and unusual mystery that surprised me with its dark themes and characters. It’s not every day that I read a book that features Death and Jack the Ripper.
Well-written with imagery to set the tone, I felt like I was following the main character Isabel and “Death” around in 1888 England. Isabel is dying of an unknown affliction and Death formally introduces himself and the story ensues.
I didn’t quite understand what Death was…he had a mortal form that could get injured, a heart, and could eat and drink beverages…yet he has lived for thousands of years and can heal. I also didn’t understand how he could handle all of the deaths all over the world and spend so much time with Isabel. Surely he needs an apprentice or two?
I was a little creeped out how Death watched Isabel since she was a child and was so pushy about Isabel being “his”. I didn’t understand why she would be attracted to him.
The mystery was enjoyable but a bit too quickly resolved. I wish that Isabel played a bigger role in solving it. My ideal would be her pairing up with Denise to figure out what the police could not.
Thank you to Goodreads for this Kindle ARC. I was a Goodreads giveaway winner.