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The Moon, the Stars, and Madame Burova
By Ruth Hogan
William Morrow, September 29th, 2021
288 pages
Magical Fiction
The best compliment I can give an author is that I would pick up their book without even reading the description. Ruth Hogan has become on of these authors for me.
I was first introduced to Hogan after reading her 2017 book, “Keeper of Lost Things” for book club last year.
<——- We loved it!! Here we are, giving “Keeper” two enthusiastic thumbs up, during our socially-distanced Zoom Book Club meeting in December 2020. (Boo to COVID!)
Her new novel, “The Moon, the Stars and Madame Burova” was absolutely magical. From the dual storyline (of which I am a HUGE fan), to the quirky, loveable characters (I’m looking at you, Clive), Hogan’s story grabbed me from the very first sentence:
“Madame Burova was a woman who knew where the bodies were buried”.
In 1973 England, Madame Imelda Burova is a tarot card reader who runs a booth on the Brighton seafront. Surrounding her is a cast of characters that include a hypnotist, contortionist and a trio of blond mermaids. When the wall of death rider Cillian Byrne joins the crew, Imelda is drawn to his dark, smoldering, dangerous look.
In present day, university lecturer Billie is going through some intense life changes. She receives shocking information regarding her birth story that lands her in Imelda’s path, where she is introduced to the older versions of the seaside entertainment cast from the 70’s.
As Billie works to uncover her story, supporting characters’ pasts come to light as well. Treasure, the little boy who was bullied for being different, carries guilt from an event nearly a half century ago…..mean girl Vivienne makes a decision that affects the whole group. Clairvoyant Imelda, on the fence about retiring, is such a complex, interesting character. What happened in 1973 to bring her to this point? What is the story behind her necklace? Will Billie find the answers to her questions?
(And why is Vivienne so darn mean?)
Read it! It is SO good.
A magical 5 star read!
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