Special thanks to Lake Union Publishing for providing a digital ARC via NetGalley in exchange for a (very late but) honest review!

TL;DR: This was an intriguing historical medical thriller that had a bit of a slow start but that I quickly found that I didn’t want to put down. Tillie was a well-developed character whom I pitied and sympathised with, who frustrated me to no end due to her poor decision-making but whom I ultimately admired by the end. I’m terrible at solving mysteries before the great review and although I’d guessed around the motive, I did not guess at all whodunit so that was a fun surprise! Overall, an enjoyable read.

I’m quite sure that I added this to my NetGalley shelf several years ago because of the cover and when I read the synopsis I probably knew that I had to read this. I’d never heard of Lydia Kang before but I enjoyed her writing. It’s nothing astounding and the pace was a bit slow initially but it kept my attention and had me eagerly reading on. I was intrigued by how the mystery sort of revolved around Dracula, as it was released around the same time Tillie’s sister was murdered. This intertwining of the story does taper off a bit towards the middle but I liked how the author kept the link going through the epigraphs. It made me want to finally pick up my copy of Dracula! This wasn’t your fast-paced, action-packed thriller but it was a slow-build up of a mystery. I don’t read much in this genre, and certainly not historical medical mysteries, so although I guessed correctly in the vicinity of motive, I didn’t guess correctly when it came to whodunit and honestly, it took me by surprise although it made absolute sense! 😂 I was properly distracted by the many red herrings and all the drama that unfolds in the societal group that surrounds Tillie but I didn’t mind at all. This will not be for everyone though but if you can have patience, I do think that the pay-off is worth it!

I think where the author excelled was with her characters, particularly that of Tillie. I greatly appreciated her character arc and she undergoes some heavy events and experiences major changes to her person throughout the story. When we meet her she’s this almost unbelievably naive, bumblingly awkward young woman who came across as much younger than she was. I liked her unquenchable thirst for knowledge and her burning curiosity though and loved the questions she would ask about everything which was considered socially unacceptable to high society in New York in the late 1890s. As the story progresses, you get to witness her fast addiction to opium and laudanum and it is incredibly frustrating to see her make one awful decision after another that keeps her addle-brained yet also somehow functioning through her pain. But she does take the steps to better herself, albeit by force at first, though she does find her strength and grows a backbone and I love how she stood up for herself by the end! I was happy for her and the way her situation ended.

There were plenty of other characters that were introduced along the way and most of them were truly awful people. I don’t want to waste too much time on these secondary characters, especially since talking about them will spoil the “surprise” of meeting them yourself if you want to read the book but it’s safe to say I wasn’t a fan of many of them. I did like Ian though and the newsies! I wish that we saw more of them, especially Ian, as the story progressed. I also liked Ada, who was fairly meek at first but who also bloomed a bit more towards the end.

Ultimately, I’m glad that this came across my radar! While it didn’t necessarily blow me away, once the story got going I didn’t want to put this down and I’m glad that it ended on a high note for me. I’m looking forward to reading more by this author in the future!

Have you read Opium and Absinthe or is it on your TBR?

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