Title: Opium and Absinthe
Author: Lydia Kang
ISBN: 9781542017794
Pages: 379
Genre & Tags: Historical, Mystery, Addiction
Release Date: July 1st, 2020
Synopsis: New York City, 1899. Tillie Pembroke’s sister lies dead, her body drained of blood and with two puncture wounds on her neck. Bram Stoker’s new novel, Dracula, has just been published, and Tillie’s imagination leaps to the impossible: the murderer is a vampire. But it can’t be—can it?
A ravenous reader and researcher, Tillie has something of an addiction to truth, and she won’t rest until she unravels the mystery of her sister’s death. Unfortunately, Tillie’s addicted to more than just truth; to ease the pain from a recent injury, she’s taking more and more laudanum…and some in her immediate circle are happy to keep her well supplied.
Tillie can’t bring herself to believe vampires exist. But with the hysteria surrounding her sister’s death, the continued vampiric slayings, and the opium swirling through her body, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for a girl who relies on facts and figures to know what’s real—or whether she can trust those closest to her.
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Opening Sentence
It is better to be a coward than a corpse.
Lydia Kang, Opium and Absinthe
My Rating: ★★★★☆
My Review: I must say I absolutely loved this and the only reason it’s not 5 stars is because I found the drug addiction a bit tiresome after a while. I wanted more of the mystery and hints of vampirism. It is a wonderfully twisty and gothic historical mystery loosely inspired by Bram Stoker’s Dracula. It kept me guessing until the end and I never suspected who the killer was!
Tillie’s character is a touch annoying in the beginning but it’s short lived and she becomes someone to inspire and root for. All of the characters are so richly portrayed even the hateful ones. It’s impossible not to find them all engaging and get caught up in their webs.
Beautifully written and utterly unputdownable.
*Currently available on Kindle Unlimited on amazon.co.uk Read a preview of the book below
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Synopsis and book cover from Goodreads. Photos from my Instagram @elainehowlin_
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Elaine Howlin 
Oooh this sounds fantastic!
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