Book Review: The Secrets of Life and Death by Rebecca Alexander
The Secrets of Life and Death by Rebecca Alexander
Genre: Historical Fiction, Paranormal
Series: Stand Alone/Book 1
Publisher: Broadway (October 7, 2014)
Author Information: Website
Mogsy’s Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
The Secrets of Life and Death was an interesting novel, a mix of dark noir fantasy mystery and historical fiction, using the true story behind the notorious figure of Countess Elisabeth Bathory as a basis. I actually learned quite a bit from this book, as I was previously unfamiliar with Bathory before reading this. Between the years of 1585 and 1610, she and four other collaborators were accused of torturing and murdering hundreds of girls, earning her the label of most prolific female serial killer in history.
The book is told through various narratives in two different timelines, the first one set in modern day England where Professor Guichard is called in to consult on a series of occult symbols drawn on the dead body of a teenage girl. His own investigations into the case lead him to Jackdaw Hammond, a mysterious woman harboring a big secret of her own. For you see, Jack is actually dead, living on borrowed time made possible by powerful magic.
Insight into such magic could be gleaned in the second timeline through the writings of Edward Kelley, the assistant of John Dee. The narrative begins in 1585, as Kelley and Dee are summoned by the King of Poland to save the life of his gravely ill niece, Elisabeth Bathory. As events unfold, the two men learn there may be something more sinister behind the nature of the countess’s sickness, but the type of sorcery required to cure her may be even worse.
I enjoyed the premise behind this book, and felt the author utilized a very creative way to tell a story, with the two storylines playing out at the same time being the best and most notable aspect. However, as intriguing as I find this format, it’s not without its drawbacks. Any author who engages in this back-and-forth style of storytelling commits themselves to a fine balancing act, with the goal of making both threads entertaining and engaging to the reader. This novel falters a bit here, starting out with both the modern and historical narratives going strong, but gradually the account of Kelley and Dee’s exploits in Poland began to drag for me. There just wasn’t enough going on there to carry the momentum past the middle.
In contrast, I found Guichard and Jack’s story much more interesting, no doubt due to my fondness for mysteries and investigative cases. The modern day story also appealed to me more because of Sadie, a young girl who was “rescued” by Jack, but why or how that was achieved was not revealed for a long time, and the circumstances behind the enigma was what held my attention.
At the same time, I think more time could have been spent on beefing up the present day storyline, and I would have been perfectly okay with the decision. There was a lot more information I would have liked to know about “borrowed timers”, not to mention Guichard and Jack’s relationship felt rushed and could have used more development. More details into Jack’s past wouldn’t have hurt either, as well as her history with Maggie, the old woman who had saved Jack the same way Jack had saved Sadie. Jack’s motivation to try to save other borrowed timers like herself remained unclear to me. I find it hard to understand why she would step in and alter the fate of others, as it were, when she had been through the same process herself and knows fully well how painful and lonely it can be. Unlike Maggie, Jack didn’t have a personal stake it in, and being aware of the weighty consequences of saving a “borrowed timer”, you’d think knowing all the facts, the wiser decision would be to leave things well alone.
All told, The Secrets of Life and Death was a good book, with only some minor issues. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to history buffs with an interest in the crimes of Elisabeth Bathory, or if you have a penchant for dark historical fiction in general with a splash of the modern.
A review copy of this book was provided to me by the publisher via LibraryThing’s Early Reviewers in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to LT and Broadway Books!
The BiblioSanctum 
I always love stories in this period, I think they’re fascinating but I didn’t know about this one. I like the idea so maybe even if I’ll wait and see more about it. thanks for the review!
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Haven’t read a lot of this period either, but I love reading historical fiction, because I always learn something new.
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I read a novel about Bathory once, and it was F_ed up, I mean beyond f-ed up, it was ICKY
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Now I’m curious. What was it?
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I think it might have been this one..not sure https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7058297-the-blood-countess
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Beautiful cover but the premise isn’t calling to me. Though if I have to read about a serial killer it would be nice to leave Jack the Ripper behind for a change.
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Very true. But I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of Ripper stories 🙂
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Elizabeth Bathory has fascinated me. I must pick this up. Thank for the great review.
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I was intrigued by this enough that I looked up the Bathory’s history…disturbing!
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Very! Between her and Vlad the Impaler it’s not hard to see why people believed in vampires
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Oooh Elizabeth “the Blood Countess” Bathory. A creepy historical figure always makes a good premise for a paranormal novel! That said I think I’m going to pass on this one: serial killer stories freak me out or as my gramps would say, they give me the wiggins!
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I love a good horror novel every now and then 🙂 I wouldn’t call this one really horror though, you won’t have to worry about the wiggins too much 🙂
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I don’t even know who Bathory is so the historical aspect probably wouldn’t bother me as much since I usually hate feeling like I’m getting a history lesson but then you say that history buffs would enjoy it lol. Probably not one for me unfortunately.
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I tend to look stuff up myself when I read historical fiction, so I guess I give myself the history lessons 😛
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Not sure about this – I do like to read books with a bit of history so in some ways I quite like the idea. I’ll keep my eyes open for this and if I see it for a steal I’ll whip it up.
Lynn 😀
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I could have sworn I saw somewhere that you’ve read this!
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Well, when I first saw your review I thought so too! I recognised the title but then I didn’t know the cover at all and didn’t recognise the author’s name and I thought it unusual that another book was so similar with the Bathory person! – goes away to look!
OMG – its the same book – this is one of my problems with kindle – I was just discussing it the other day – I forget the author’s name.
Yes. I read this last year. It was quite good and I think I would probably continue. I had a few criticisms with the modern day elements which are a sticking point because I think the next book will probably be all modern day! I liked reading about Bathory.
Like you I thought the relationship was a bit rushed.
At the time I felt like I would definitely pick up the next but having read your review and realised I’ve not only forgotten the author’s name but the characters (except for Bathory) I wonder whether I really liked it at all! Can’t have made that much of an impression can it!
Lynn 😀
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Ah, I think it was independently published before, or only out in the UK? This version with this new cover is the new US version then!
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I have this one lined up to read. Sometimes its fun to read two different story lines and wait and see how they intersect, but I also think it can be hard to pull off well. I think this sounds like it may be one of those books that I’ll either get sucked into or struggle to get through. (either it will work well for me, or it really won’t).
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