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I have enthusiastically recommended Elizabeth Kostova’s The Historian for nearly two decades; I’ve never been a horror fan, but this book was gothic, suspenseful, a grand sightseeing tour, a history lesson. Sure, it focused on Dracula/Vlad the Impaler, but he’s not the central character, just the focus of a hunt. Kostova eschewed violence and gore, choosing instead to employ a sparing, roundabout approach to the violence that Dracula/Vlad inflicted. It made for an incredibly absorbing read that’s held my fascination all this time.
Her intervening books were good judged on their own but nothing compelling compared with The Historian. Now, it’s been nine years since The Shadow Land, a slow read but one I appreciated for the opportunity it gave me to learn about the country of Bulgaria and its history in the 20th century.
When I saw earlier this year that Mystery Play was coming out, I was thrilled. (“Squeeeee!!”) A follow-up to The Historian? Absolutely! Sign me up!
And here we are, on the other side, my having just finished this story.
In Mystery Play, our primary narrator is Jay Turner, the son of the main narrator of The Historian. His mother died a few months before of an illness that came on suddenly. He was born to her late in life, and he didn’t know who his father was. Jay and his mother were a close team of two. He knew a little about her background, and her hunt, and about her father’s role in that search. But she kept him away from most of that, protected him.
Now that he’s clearing out their apartment, he finds some intriguing items, and they lead him on his own search: an investigation into an actor who lived a century earlier.
Jay takes time off from his teaching work and sets off to find out more about Gael Brogan, an actor in the late 19th century who had a commanding presence on and off the stage. And his last play: his own adaptation of Bram Stoker’s book Dracula.
The hunt takes Jay from Boston to Maine, Philadelphia, South Carolina, and even Ireland and Scotland. It doesn’t take long for him to run into danger and realize that something very sinister is stalking him.
This novel isn’t quite as long as its predecessor, and it lacked a bit of its depth. Perhaps it’s because The Historian covered so many centuries and a villain that has been the subject of countless artistic interpretations and incarnations. This book had to introduce its own creation, and craft a backstory that no one already was familiar with. So it lacked some of the fear factor that was baked in to the other. I also felt that some of the fantastical element wasn’t quite clear throughout. The “how” didn’t feel fully explained by the conclusion, and I still was a bit perplexed.
Those quibbles aside, Mystery Play is very good. It returns to the tone and style of The Historian, the hints and history parceled out methodically, the veiled menace pulsing quietly throughout. We get ties to the previous book, so while the plot of the other was completely wrapped up, this introduces elements that fit with a larger picture. I felt like Kostova may have some more stories up her sleeve that could follow from what she introduced here, which is a hopeful thought!
If you enjoy quiet suspense, gothic stories, the history of theater and of ancient rituals, you should pick up this novel.
Rated: Moderate. Profanity includes 1 use of strong language, a few instances of moderate profanity, about 10 uses of mild language, and about 15 instances of the name of Deity in vain. Sexual content is limited to kissing and references to characters being in bed together afterward, but everything else is closed-door, cut to later. Violence is fairly frequent, though much of the story is more menacing than anything. There are a number of killings in which people are savagely attacked, their throats ripped. There is some mention of blood.
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*I received an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
