This is only the second novel I can remember reading that is set in 17th century Manhattan, and the first was by Lois Lenski when I was in fourth grade! That fact alone would make this an interesting story. But add to that the sudden disappearance of orphan children in this relatively small Dutch colony at the southern end of the island, and you have one of my favorite genre -- historical mystery. Blandine van Couvering, an intrepid young Dutchwoman and Edward Drummond, a stalwart Englishman, grow closer to each other as they try to find the children. First time author Zimmerman has really done her research, resulting in lots of interesting information about early colonial New York, not to mention gritty description of the sights, smells and textures of the little colony along Broadway. 3.5, rounded up. It took a while to get going, about 100 pages or so. The author paints pictures really well, but on the whole, the book wasn't completely and wholly enjoyable. It got really intense in the last 100ish pages, but up until that, it was hard to get through. I had to stop every few sections to take breaks. There were a few convenient plot twists, a few predictable ones, but also some really prime, gruesome nastiness, which is what I was hoping for in colonial serial killer mystery. The inevitable romance was telegraphed fairly early on. Though I did really like that the book was third person omniscient so it gave you little snippets of other characters that you knew would come up later. In a way that sort of ruined some of the mystery, but it liked it. The whole history of New Amsterdam thing was really pretty fascinating, too.I know this review is kind of rambling. The book was good, the language was nice, there were some good effed up parts, and there were even some pretty funny parts. I stick by the 3.5 stars.
Do You like book Il Rituale Dei Bambini Perduti (2012)?
Awesome. Learned a lot of new things about New York City. Great plot and great descriptions.
—sangi
Amazing! Once I started I simply could not put it down.
—Ramir
Lots of historical detail, but poorly executed.
—Anniemnv
