Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.5

“Sometimes forgiving is harder than forgetting.”

This book piqued my interest instantly so I was super excited to pick it up! How would you cope if you were told the date you would die? How would you live out your final days? As thought provoking as it is intriguing, this is a decent read, although there were some parts of the plot I struggled with along the way. Still a recommended read though and I’m keen to read the second book which is out soon! Happy to be sharing my review of Mystery of a Dromedary, the first in a series by Jason Mahoney.

About the book

On the night before his wedding, Vernon Rivers is told the date of his death: his first anniversary. Faced with a situation that parallels that of Victor Frankenstein, Vernon must navigate his final year balancing his needs with the needs of those who depend on him, all while none of them know the reality of his dilemma.

In this homage to Mary Shelley’s classic story, Vernon shares the spotlight with Autumn, his optimistic and practical wife who is fighting an uphill battle with her community; Miles, the hesitant teacher who is searching for any sign of success; Eudora, the cunning principal who finds herself at a crossroads in her career; Ernie, a soul trapped in the American South who has nothing left to lose; and Janecia and Ambrose, two students whose stories are just beginning to be told.

The beginning

From the start of the prologue and beyond, I got on so well with this author’s writing! In fact, I loved it. I can’t quite say what it was that sucked me in, but there was a certain beauty about it that had me wanting to read his words. I loved the hook for this book – Vernon was told the date of his death the night before he married Autumn. And as it turns out, he will die before their first anniversary. On the plane home from their honeymoon, he writes her a letter explaining things, which he planned to give her in a year’s time. It gives you so much to think about instantly; how did he find out? How is he going to die, and how accurate is this information? How is he going to live out his final year to the fullest? This was more than enough for me to race through the pages at the start! We’re introduced to many other characters, some I loved, some that annoyed me a bit, I’ll be honest, but I loved the variety and such differing personalities. They really came to life! I hoped the amount of characters wouldn’t be overwhelming after a while and I could keep up!

“I… was silent when I would have given the world to have confided the fatal secret.”

At times, the narrative switched from third to first person, which was initially quite disorientating, but I actually grew to enjoy it when I understood this was, in fact, showing Vernon’s journal for Autumn and a kind of inner monologue! The more we learn about Ernie, a character I found to be a kind of alter ego for Vernon, someone in his head or imaginary (I couldn’t quite work out exactly what form he took at this stage), the more it becomes clear just how deep this whole situation is, just how much more there is to learn about Vernon as a person. I’ll admit, the pacing was slow here and I struggled to keep motivated at times, and I did take a little break from the book. I did feel much better afterwards! I sometimes feel that switching genre for a couple of days helps my brain a bit. I have to say, I really enjoyed learning about this couple’s life as teachers/in education. I could relate to some of it as I was a teaching assistant for around seven years. I do miss it at times! Kids do come out with the strangest things, and hearing the funny stories took me back.

The middle

I enjoyed hearing more about Autumn’s life and upbringing, and this made her feel more of a character than just a name on paper. At the same time though, I felt some of her life was overly described and again, some parts were slow. BUT… (and this is what did it for me) Autumn has a gift, an ability. And this was what finally grabbed me. The thing I’d been waiting for. She has the ability to relive certain moments, if she follows certain rules. My interest was piqued. This fascinated me. Who knew Autumn’s life and experiences would be just as interesting as Vernon’s? There was some heartbreak/tragedy which was really written well, the depth of this author’s storytelling becoming clearer by the minute. Could Autumn use her ability to save a life? I was thinking of all sorts of theories! A thing that irked me, even though it shouldn’t have, was that there was one really racist character in the book. I know we are meant to hate this character for who he is, but that didn’t stop me feeling disgusted and appalled by the language used. I could barely read some lines! 😣

“She knew she wasn’t a magician, but she felt as if she were seeing a vision of Vernon’s enemy.”

I was much more connected to the second half of the book for some reason, and I read through it much faster than the first half! There were so many different scenes that really stood out to me, scenes that I could see play out in my mind so vividly. We see Vernon’s gambling and adultery, and the book became pretty deep here. He lies to his wife about where he is, but he needs to do this to try and reverse the fate that Ernie had set out for him. The idea of Ernie and his role in Vernon’s life really stood out to me here. I loved the times he appeared and how Vernon would make him appear. How the version of Vernon is gone, replaced by a more rebellious, potentially dangerous version. The way Ernie brings fear to others, the scenes in the club and in the brothel really ramp up the tension and make this book feel entirely different. I felt quite sorry for Vernon a lot of the time and for what he has to put up with. The intense guilt he felt after what Ernie had gone through with. And I really hoped he’d be able to fix everything going on in his life before it was too late.

The end

There were so many brilliant elements to this book, but at times, it felt like they were forgotten about, or were maybe a little disjointed. What about Autumn’s fascinating ability that isn’t mentioned again?! Where is Ernie after that one messy night?! I wanted all these things to either be explored more or to fit together somehow and I just didn’t get all that, unfortunately. I could see how a lot of what was written at this point was leading into the sequel, and I’m glad I knew prior to reading that there was a second book in the works – I am much more eager to pick it up and see how all this fits together and to continue the story further! I thought by this point, the wider cast of characters took away the spotlight from Vernon and Autumn, but maybe this is just a personal preference because I could have happily spent the entirety of the book solely focusing on these two! But Vernon and Ernie’s connection was described so well here, and I especially loved the likening to Frankenstein’s monster. It felt quite chilling!

“Vernon wondered these things because he himself felt like Victor Frankenstein. Ernie was his monster.”

The final scenes did really stick with me which I was happy about, where Vernon and two students discuss what was on a test. Vernon sees this as a little too relevant and made me think about his future, what was in store for him. And about how much worse Ernie could be, if he ever showed up again… The book also ends with big news for Vernon and Autumn, something that would change their lives. Their plans for the future and Vernon’s niggling thoughts end the book on an intriguing note and made me curious to see how things would continue for him, how life would change in the next book. Would Ernie still kill him on their anniversary? Had he been spared after what he’d agreed to? There was no knowing for sure just yet. Again, I loved Vernon’s inner monologue, his worries and fears for what would happen if Ernie showed up at the times where he would certainly not want him to appear. But those final few pages?! Utter brilliance. Completely chilling and had me so intrigued for the next book!

Overall thoughts

Mystery of a Dromedary pays homage to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (which I haven’t read since I was in school!) and it has such a fascinating premise. On the night of his wedding, Vernon is told he will die on his first anniversary. Faced with a situation that parallels that of Victor Frankenstein, Vernon must navigate his final year of life, balancing his needs with the needs of those who depend on him. Yet no one knows the reality of his dilemma.

The author’s writing is excellent and I got on so well with it right from the start, but there were parts of the plot that felt a little disjointed, and some parts that felt underdeveloped. There is a second book in this series coming soon which I am keen to get my hands on, and I’m hoping things become a little clearer in my mind as things progress. The main characters were excellent and I loved Vernon in particular, as well as Ernie, his alter ego, a dangerous and more rebellious version of himself. I really wanted more air time for Ernie, so I hoped I’d get that in book two! But there were many other characters that I didn’t particularly care for… maybe I was just too engrossed in Vernon’s life! The author is certainly a brilliant storyteller though, with descriptions so vivid, whatever the scene. And he always managed to keep me reading! Intriguing, original and witty.

You can grab your own copy of Mystery of a Dromedary right now on Amazon!

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