Miraculum by Steph Post Polis Books Historical Fiction , Literary Fiction

Pub Date 01 Feb 2019

Description

The year is 1922. The carnival is Pontilliar’s Spectactular Star Light Miraculum, set up on the Texas-Louisiana border. One blazing summer night, a mysterious stranger steps out onto the midway, lights a cigarette and forever changes the world around him. Tattooed snake charmer Ruby has traveled with her father’s carnival for most of her life and, jaded though she is, can’t help but be drawn to the tall man in the immaculate black suit who has joined the carnival as a geek, aman who bites the heads off live chickens. Mercurial and charismatic, Daniel charms everyone he encounters but his manipulation of Ruby becomes complicated when it no longer becomes clear who is holding all the cards. For all of Daniel’s secrets, Ruby has a few of her own. When one tragedy after another strikes the carnival, and it becomes clear that Daniel is somehow at the center of calamity, Ruby takes it upon herself to discover the mystery of the shadowy man pulling all the strings. Joined by Hayden, a roughneck-turned-mural-painter who has recently reentered her life, Ruby enters into a dangerous, eye-opening game with Daniel in which nothing and no one is as it seems and yet everything is at stake.

If WATER FOR ELEPHANTS, “Carnivale”, and Stephen King’s REVIVAL had a book that was then struck by lightning, it would be MIRACULUM. This unforgettable novel is part southern gothic, part noir, part magical realism, and all Steph Post.

My Review

Miraculous is set in the year 1922. However, before I continue with my review I want to warn you it contains several topics that may be troublesome to grasp such as, abusive parents, abandonment, suite, animal cruelty, and rape.

That being said this is a magical book centered around a carnival on the borders between Texas and Louisiana.

A mysterious man, Daniel shows up one day and changes the dynamics of the carnival. Ruby the snake charmer becomes instantly attracted to Daniel. He is charming and mysterious. Things are not totally right so she takes it upon herself the find out who is this man and what are his real motives for showing up unexpectedly at the carnival.

It is one of those books that you are either going to like it or not. I for one enjoyed it as it reminded me of the t.v. Series “Carnivale”  and this book does not disappoint. It grabs you from the beginning and does not let go until the end.

For me there were parts that were a little difficult to digest, but overall it is a well-written mystery book.

I was provided this book for free in exchange for my honest opinion.

I RECOMMEND this book for anyone who loves a good mystery. 📕👍🏼

I GIVE IT A 4 STAR: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️