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Undertakers (A Murder & Magic Novel) Paperback – November 9, 2021

by Nicole Glover (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 90 ratings
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Nicole Glover delivers the second book in her exciting Murder & Magic series of historical fantasy novels featuring Hetty Rhodes and her husband, Benjy, magic practitioners and detectives living in post–Civil War Philadelphia

Nothing bothers Hetty and Benjy Rhodes more than a case where the answers, motives, and the murder itself feel a bit too neat. Raimond Duval, a victim of one of the many fires that have erupted recently in Philadelphia, is officially declared dead after the accident, but Hetty and Benjy’s investigation points to a powerful Fire Company known to let homes in the Black community burn to the ground. Before long, another death breathes new life into the Duval investigation: Raimond’s son, Valentine, is also found dead.

Finding themselves with the dubious honor of taking on Valentine Duval as their first major funeral, it becomes clear that his passing was intentional. Valentine and his father’s deaths are connected, and the recent fires plaguing the city might be more linked to recent community events than Hetty and Benji originally thought.

The Undertakers continues the adventures of murder and magic, where even the most powerful enchantments can’t always protect you from the ghosts of the past . . .  

Previous page
  1. Book 2 of 2
    Murder & Magic
  2. Print length
    448 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publication date
    November 9, 2021
  5. Dimensions
    5.31 x 1.12 x 8 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0358197104
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0358197102
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"The Conductors is a wildly inventive alternate history that combines compelling characters, a propulsive plot, and lots of intrigue. It is also radical as hell. Thought-provoking and powerful, Glover’s novel is a must-read." — Cadwell Turnbull, author of The Lesson

 “Inventively mixing mystery, magic, and alternate history, Glover’s nail-biting debut takes readers to Reconstruction era Philadelphia . . . Glover is a writer to watch.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review) on The Conductors

"A history buff's dream fantasy novel. It is also a fantasy geek's dream history novel." — Lulu Garcia-Navarro, NPR, on The Conductors

About the Author

Nicole Glover is the author of The Conductors and The Undertakers in the Murder and Magic series. She works as a UX researcher in Virginia. She believes that libraries are magical places and that problems seem smaller with a cup of tea in hand. Her life outside of books includes bicycles, video games, and baking the perfect banana bread.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ John Joseph Adams Books Paper (November 9, 2021)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 448 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0358197104
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0358197102
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.31 x 1.12 x 8 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 90 ratings

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Nicole Glover

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Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
90 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Lynn Emery
5.0 out of 5 stars Magical
Reviewed in the United States on June 30, 2022
Verified Purchase
I enjoyed the magic, alternate history, and the characters in this second book of the Murder and Magic series. Hetty and Benjamin (Bengy) Rhodes specialize in investigating strange magical crimes in post-Civil War Philadelphia. They are veterans conductors of the Underground Railroad, as are their interesting collection of friends. Steamfunk fans, this is for you. The author has obviously done her homework on the history of the era because the setting (19th century post-war America) feels authentic. But of course, the magic gives this one a unique bit of flavor and the diversity of the characters is wonderful.
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Erika
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent sequel
Reviewed in the United States on April 16, 2022
Verified Purchase
A great sequel that builds on the first book. I cannot wait for the next one, whitxh there better be cause that was one interesting one to end a novel
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Lauren S.
4.0 out of 5 stars More Hetty and Benjy!
Reviewed in the United States on November 14, 2021
I want that cover as a poster, please! I was a humongous fan of the first book in this series, so of course I was ecstatic for more Hetty and Benjy. While it’s a different animal than the first in many ways, it was still an enthralling read. This is the second in the series, so while the mystery itself is self-contained, I think a new reader would be confused by the large cast of characters.

With the whereabouts of her sister settled, Hetty’s free to focus on their fledgling funeral home business… if only there was any business. Instead, mysterious fires have been plaguing the city, resulting in the death of another former Underground Railroad conductor. An investigation doesn’t reveal anything out of the ordinary, until another of his relatives dies in even more suspicious circumstances. Ghosts from their past have reappeared in Philadelphia, and they have their sights set on Benjy and Hetty.

“She could spin stories around the drops of starlight and whispers from the moon, but words eluded her when speaking of her true feelings, even to those closest to her.”

I adore Hetty. She readily admits to being “vexing and nosy”, two qualities that I absolutely adore in a character and which I think work particularly well for solving mysteries. She’s a master storyteller and she knows exactly how to use that skill to get information out of an uncooperative source or to distract them. Despite that, she has a hard time telling her friends and family how much they mean to her, preferring instead to let them take over her back garden or plan an elaborate present. Or in smaller ways, like choosing to sew in the library where Benjy is working rather than in her designated sewing room.

“It made a good story. After years of searching, she finally found out the truth, and with the love of the family she built around her she had the support to let the past go. It was a story Hetty wanted to be true, because she knew how much she had failed everyone in her life due to her focus on finding Esther. She ruined friendships, she lost time, and maybe more than she would ever know, prepared to leave as if going to retrieve a fallen star.”

In the last book, Hetty was still looking for her sister and trying to figure out her relationship with Benjy. With those both resolved, Hetty is finally free to deal with the ramifications of her search for her sister and its unsatisfying end. She’s unfailingly risked everything time and again for the least shred of information about her, and now she’s realizing exactly what she sacrificed for that. She worries her friends think her too fragile to share bad news with, that she’s ruptured their friendships. But what she hasn’t reckoned on is the family she’s found in Philadelphia. All of my favorite characters from the last book are back Oliver and Thomas, Darlene, Penelope and Sy. In addition, we get a few new characters, like Temperance, Bernice Tanner’s new assistant. She was amazing and completely stole every scene she was in!

The celestial magic that Hetty uses is still wonderful. Consisting of sixteen star sigils, it’s based on the constellations and is passed on orally through families or schools. It fills all the spaces of the world, from how baseball games are played to exactly why racists hate Darwin. Post-Civil War Philadelphia feels so amazingly well realized that I could imagine riding through it on a bike with Hetty. The mystery itself is nice and complicated, with plenty of red herrings and fast pacing. Part of that, I think, is that there are fewer insterstitials this time, as they’re just to provide background on the particular villain trailing them.

As for cons, there are references to other cases they’ve worked, which were very intriguing and made me wish they were explored more fully. While that’s in some ways a good thing, occasionally it also made me feel like I’d missed part of the story. I also would’ve liked more time with just Hetty and Benjy. Their relationship difficulties from the previous book have been resolved, so I know it’s not as dramatic, but the scenes where it’s just them are sweet and understatedly romantic. They’re so wonderful together, and it’s nice seeing them just having space to breathe.

Overall, I loved tagging along with Hetty and Benjy again, and can’t wait to see what their next adventure is.

I received an advance review copy of this book from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
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Cheryl
3.0 out of 5 stars Boring
Reviewed in the United States on October 22, 2022
Verified Purchase
I did not engage well with this book. I found it kinda boring. Hard to read and did not flow well.
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AnnieB
4.0 out of 5 stars Historical fantasy with magic
Reviewed in the United States on May 14, 2022
The Undertakers is the second book in the historical fantasy series by Nicole Glover. Released 9th Nov 2021 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt on their Mariner imprint, it's 448 pages and is available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

This is an engaging historical fantasy with a large cast of characters and an interesting and well built magical background system. I enjoyed the storytelling and the author is exceedingly adept at historical background and verisimilitude. She really brings 19th century Philadelphia and the social structure of the time and place to life. I was less immersed in the actual mystery which was easily solved and telegraphed fairly clearly, but the story itself is well told and worthwhile. I found my attention wandering during the read because of the very choppy nature of the scene cuts however. I also found myself distressed and angry throughout a significant portion of the read due to the historically accurate and pervasive casual racism and sexism.

The unabridged audiobook has a run time of 14 hours and 36 minutes and is capably narrated by Bahni Turpin. She does a good job defining the characters and keeping them distinct from one another. There were a few places in the dialogue where I had to listen a couple of times to figure out which character was talking, but overall it's a really well narrated audiobook. The sound and production quality are high throughout.

Four stars. Recommended for fans of historical fantasy mysteries.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
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