Esprit de Corpse by Ef Deal – Review by Jennifer Gordon

Esprit de Corpse by Ef Deal
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This historical steampunk novel had a fast paced and action packed storyline, which had me hooked from start to finish. There are secrets beneath the Parisian Streets and someone is willing to murder to keep them secret. Jacqueline Duval and her bohemian twin sister Angélique Laforge become involved in a mystery, when a malfunctioning automaton crashes into their locomotive whilst travelling on the new Paris-Orléans railway. Jacqueline who is a polytech and famed engineering prodigy is fascinated by the metal man, who she believes is powered by steam. However, she is shocked to discover that the automaton is actually powered by the supernatural. The sisters investigation leads them on a mysterious and dangerous adventure, where they learn of a plot to employ the dead to power a mechanical army, aimed at international conquest. The sisters receive help from unexpected sources as they try to avert the upcoming engineered war, but they may be too late. The descriptive narrative, along with the authors wonderful world building and the added historical details all ensured that the characters and setting came vividly to life, making me feel immersed in the story.

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