Two hearts. Twice as vulnerable.
Manhattan, 1850. Born out of wedlock to a wealthy socialite and a nameless immigrant, Cora Lee can mingle with the rich just as easily as she can slip unnoticed into the slums and graveyards of the city. As the only female resurrectionist in New York, she’s carved out a niche procuring bodies afflicted with the strangest of anomalies. Anatomists will pay exorbitant sums for such specimens—dissecting and displaying them for the eager public.
Cora’s specialty is not only profitable, it’s a means to keep a finger on the pulse of those searching for her. She’s the girl born with two hearts—a legend among grave robbers and anatomists—sought after as an endangered prize.
Now, as a series of murders unfolds closer and closer to Cora, she can no longer trust those she holds dear, including the young medical student she’s fallen for. Because someone has no intention of waiting for Cora to die a natural death.
About the Book
The Impossible Girl
by Lydia Kang
Series
n/a; standalone
Genre
Adult
Historical Fiction
Mystery, Thriller, & Suspense
Publisher
Lake Union Publishing
Publication Date
September 18, 2018
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Carole’s Review
This was quite good. I became aware of this book from a few positive reviews and once I read the book’s summary, I knew that I would have to give it a try as well. This was one of those books that I liked more and more as I read. It really didn’t take too long before I reached a point where I didn’t want to put the book down. I really had a great time reading this book.
Imagine living each day with the knowledge that you are worth more as a corpse than you are alive. That is exactly the situation that Cora deals with every day. Cora was born with two hearts which makes her very valuable. A fact that she has worked extremely hard to hide. She leads a double life posing as her twin brother, Jacob, when fitting. Cora/Jacob helps support her family by acquiring bodies for research and dissection along with her team.
Individuals with unusual physical features start dying at an alarming rate and bodies are disappearing before Cora’s group gets the chance to try to get their hands on them. Something is obviously going on and I had a great time trying to figure it all out. Just when I thought that I knew how things might go, something would happen and I would realize that I was completely wrong. I loved that this book kept me guessing. There were several mysteries happening at the same time and I found them all equally interesting and quite complex.
I thought that the characters were very well done in this book. Cora was smart, tough and resourceful and I found her to be really easy to like. I liked the fact that she was able to really put on a different persona when she was acting as Jacob. Theodore Flint really shook things up a bit in this story and I loved what his character brought to the story. I was never quite sure who should be trusted or which characters would prove to have their own agenda.
This was my first experience listening to Saskia Maarleveld’s narration and I think she did a fabulous job with this story. She really brought the story to life and did a great job with all of the character voices. I think that she was able to express a lot of emotion into her reading which made it possible to really feel what the character is going through at the time. I found that she had a very pleasant reading voice that I found easy to listen to for hours at a time.
I would highly recommend this book to others. This book had a girl with two hearts, a double life, some grave robbing, a rather complex mystery, a fantastic 1850’s New York setting, and even just a bit of romance. I found this to be a highly enjoyable read and cannot wait to read more from this talented author.
Disclaimer
The review copy of this book was listened to via the Kindle Unlimited program. All titles reviewed on this blog are a fair and honest assessment of the book. No monetary compensation was received in exchange for this review. For more information regarding our review process, please visit our Review Policy & Review Request Submission page.
