THE QUICK
Lauren Owen
Random House
June 17, 2014
The Quick by Lauren Owen was named one of the top ten fiction books of the season by Publisher's Weekly and to me, it more than fulfilled that promise. I was enthralled by the story and the characters from the start despite an admittedly somewhat slow pace. I was going to try to write a review without revealing the secret but it's out now. There are vampires in this story but not your sexy, sparkly ones. The vampires of London in 1892 are terrifying in every way.
Charlotte and James Norbury grew up isolated in a moldering manor in York. Orphaned at an early age with only an aunt to raise them, the two formed a strong bond. Charlotte as the elder becomes both mother and sister to the shy James but James, as a man, has the opportunity to go off to school while Charlotte is left on the estate to care for the now ailing aunt. James goes to live in London where he hopes to fulfill his literary aspirations. When the aunt dies and James disappears there is nothing for it but that Charlotte find him. When she does his condition shocks and horrifies her but she is determined to rescue him.
The Quick is filled with indelible characters; shy James, stalwart Charlotte, brash but heroic American Arthur Howland, and the sinister "Dr. Knife", who despite being "quick" (still living) is one of the more chilling characters I have ever encountered. I found myself emotionally invested in the characters in a way I am usually not with stories in this genre. I grieved over some of their fates and rejoiced at others. There is some happiness to be found but at a horrific cost. Let me not forget the whopper of a twist at the end.
Thanks to netgalley.com and Random House for an advance digital copy of The Quick which is without doubt, one of the best novels I have read this year.
RATING- 4.5 Stars
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