Skip to main content

Dreamland by Nancy Bilyeau

Dreamland
Author: Nancy Bilyeau

Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery & Suspense

Publisher: Lume Books

Release Date: 2020

Pages: 291

Source: Publisher/Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis: The year is 1911 when twenty-year-old heiress Peggy Batternberg is invited to spend the summer in America’s Playground.


      The invitation to Coney Island is unwelcome. Despite hailing from one of America’s richest families, Peggy would much rather spend the summer working at the Moonrise Bookstore than keeping up appearances with New York City socialites and her snobbish, controlling family.


     But soon it transpires that the hedonism of Coney Island affords Peggy the freedom she has been yearning for, and it’s not long before she finds herself in love with a troubled pier-side artist of humble means, whom the Batternberg patriarchs would surely disapprove of. Disapprove they may, but hidden behind their pomposity lurks a web of deceit, betrayal, and deadly secrets. And as bodies begin to mount up amidst the sweltering clamor of Coney Island, it seems the powerful Batternbergs can get away with anything… even murder.


     Extravagant, intoxicating, and thumping with suspense, bestselling Nancy Bilyeau’s magnificent Dreamland is a story of corruption, class, and dangerous obsession.


      My Review: Peggy is a member of one of America’s richest families. Her family is on a summer holiday at the Oriental Hotel, which is a mile from Coney Island. Peggy is forced to leave her job at a bookstore and join her family. Shortly after her arrival, a woman is murdered at Coney Island. Can Peggy find the killer while also falling in love with an artist?


     Peggy is a fun character. She is feisty and bold. She is a young woman that yearns to break out of her wealthy social circle and become an independent woman. Throughout the novel, she struggles to find her own happiness. She wants to make her own choices rather than let her family define her. I also love the relationship between her and her sister. She cares for her and helps her a lot. I also found her to be a smart, capable heroine who could solve the crimes around Coney Island. Thus, Peggy was the best character in the novel and a person to root for!


      Overall, this novel is about finding one’s place in the world. Aside from Peggy, I found the characters to be very stereotypical. The romance between Peggy and the artist was undeveloped and mostly felt like an instant romance. The novel was also focused more on political issues in the early 1900s, which tended to distract me from the main plot. The mystery was predictable, and I guessed the killer pretty early in the story. Still, the novel is very well-written, and the author did an excellent job of making Coney Island come alive! I recommend this book for fans of The Museum of Extraordinary Things, Murder on Astor Place, and Cartier’s Hope! Dreamland is an enjoyable cozy mystery for a hot summer afternoon!


Rating: 3 out of 4 stars


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post by Allison Pataki: A Book Review

The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post Author: Allison Pataki Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: Ballantine Release Date: February 15, 2022 Pages: 381 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: Mrs. Post, the President and First Lady are here to see you. . . . So begins another average evening for Marjorie Merriweather Post. Presidents have come and gone, but she has hosted them all. Growing up in the modest farmlands of Battle Creek, Michigan, Marjorie was inspired by a few simple rules: always think for yourself, never take success for granted, and work hard—even when deemed American royalty, even while covered in imperial diamonds. Marjorie had an insatiable drive to live and love and to give more than she got. From crawling through Moscow warehouses to rescue the Tsar’s treasures to outrunning the Nazis in London, from serving the homeless of the Great Depression to entertaining Roosevelts, Kennedys, and Hollywood’s biggest stars, Marjorie Merriweath...

Tausret: Forgotten Queen and Pharaoh of Egypt Edited by Richard H. Wilkinson: A Book Review

Tausret: Forgotten Queen and Pharaoh of Egypt Author: edited by Richard H. Wilkinson Genre: Nonfiction, Biography, History Publisher: Oxford University Press Release Date: 2012 Pages: 168 Source: My State Public Library Synopsis: ONE OF ONLY A FEW WOMEN who ruled ancient Egypt as a king during its thousands of years of history, Tausret was the last pharaoh of the 19th dynasty (c. 1200 BCE), the last ruling descendent of Ramesses the Great, and one of only two female monarchs buried in Egypt's renowned Valley of the Kings. Though mentioned in Homer as the pharaoh of Egypt who interacted with Helen at the time of the Trojan War, she has long remained a figure shrouded in mystery, hardly even known to many Egyptologists. Nevertheless, recent archaeological discoveries have illuminated Tausret's importance, her accomplishments, and the extent of her influence. Tausret: Forgotten Queen and Pharaoh of Egypt  brings together new work by distinguished scholars whose research an...

Dragon Lady: The Evil History of China's Last Empress by Sterling and Peggy Seagrave: A Book Review

Dragon Lady: The Evil History of China's Last Empress Author: Sterling Seagrave and Peggy Seagrave Genre: Nonfiction. History, Biography Publisher: Bowstring Books Release Date: 2010 Pages: 624 Source: Kindle Unlimited Synopsis: The author of The Soong Dynasty gives us our most vivid and reliable biography yet of the Dowager Empress Tzu Hsi, remembered through the exaggeration and falsehood of legend as the ruthless Manchu concubine who seduced and murdered her way to the Chinese throne in 1861.       My Review: Empress Dowager Cixi was one of the last empresses of the imperial dynasty. She is attributed to the fall of the dynasty. She is often portrayed as a cunning, manipulative, and power-hungry figure. However, in this biography of the Empress Dowager, the authors claim that the rumors surrounding Cixi are false. The people who started the rumors were foreigners who blackened her name for personal reasons. Thus, the authors conclude that Empress Dowager ...