Esprit de Corpse by Ef Deal – Review by Roxsanne Lesieur.

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

Jacqueline Duval and Angélique De La Forge are twin sisters who are very much opposites, one loves the arts and the other engineering, but they have a bond stronger than any and would do anything for the other, no matter what the predicament is, or whomever may be involved. One day they are travelling back from Paris to Orléans, after an adventure and some of the usual repercussions when their train comes to a sudden stop in a meadow and the reason for this is baffling to those all around them. It seems that an automaton has crashed into the front of the train and nobody is able to shut it off, that is until Jaqueline gets in on the action and albeit in an unconventional way, does just that. When she requests that the machine is loaded onto the train, the others are impatient to leave, however, she insists on it and then remains with the machine for the rest of the journey, while her sister stays in a carriage.

Nothing further hinders their journey and the sisters arrive home to a warm welcome, a hot bath and a meal, only after she is forced to endure these things does Jacqueline go to her workshop, where the automaton is stored and begin working out how it is powered and to whom it belongs, however, before she can get very far, she is stumped by the fact that it isn’t powered by any natural means. The next day, Jacqueline decides to head back to Paris for some help with the mystery, but while she is there, her sister becomes embroiled in yet another caper, but this time it is through little fault of her own, but when Jacqueline receives word of this, she is determined to find her and work together to stop the mysterious person behind the machine.

This is not an easy feat and while the sisters are separated, they discover allies in unconventional manners and soon realise that there is a much larger plan afoot and that there is a link to the Paris underground, literally and secrets are revealed to show that the sisters past is deeply entwined within it, but how do the supernatural and mechanical mix and why is someone creating these automatons? Will the two sisters be able to reunite and uncover the mystery tying them all together before time runs out and disaster strikes? With enemies around very corner, magic, mayhem and engineering combine to create an intriguing and original mystery which will keep you engaged from start to finish.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

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