Razorhurst
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4.5 • 2 Ratings
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
"Vivid and bloody and bold and fast—I feel like Razorhurst is in my bones now."
—#1 New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Gilbert
The notoriously bloody history of a mob-run Sydney, Australia neighborhood is fertile ground for this historical thriller with a paranormal twist: two girls' ability to see the many ghosts haunting Razorhurst.
Sydney’s deadly Razorhurst neighborhood, 1932. Gloriana Nelson and Mr. Davidson, two ruthless mob bosses, have reached a fragile peace—one maintained by “razor men.” Kelpie, orphaned and homeless, is blessed (and cursed) with the ability to see Razorhurst’s many ghosts. They tell secrets that the living can’t know about the cracks already forming in the mobs’ truce.
Kelpie meets Dymphna Campbell, Gloriana’s prize moll, over the body of the latest of Dymphna’s beaus to meet an untimely end—a string that’s earned her the nickname the “Angel of Death.” Dymphna can see ghosts, too, and she knows that Gloriana’s hold is crumbling one henchman at a time. As loyalties shift and betrayal threatens the two girls at every turn, Dymphna is determined to rise to the top with Kelpie at her side.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In a place like Razorhurst a slum of 1932 Sydney, where guns are outlawed and men kill with blades it's little surprise that Kelpie and Dymphna meet over the slit throat of a dead body. Though circumstance unites them, the girls couldn't be more different: street urchin Kelpie stumbles upon Jimmy Palmer's corpse while looking for food. Dymphna, though a teenager, looks and acts like an adult woman: she's the top-earning prostitute in Glory Nelson's criminal empire, and Jimmy is only the most recent of the dead lovers who have earned her the nickname "Angel of Death." But both girls can see ghosts, and thanks to the cascading effects of Jimmy's murder, both may die before the day ends. Larbalestier (Liar) packs plenty of danger into the single day this novel covers, but frequent interludes of backstory keep things from feeling rushed. The narrative also benefits from a colorful, well-rendered cast, human and ghost alike. While the writing style calls to mind fiction of an earlier era, this story's interwoven intrigue and empathy make it feel timeless. Ages 14 up.
