Picture The Dead Review

TITLE: Picture The Dead
AUTHOR: Adele Griffin
ILLUSTRATOR: Lisa Brown
PUB DATE: May 2010
PUBLISHER: Sourcebooks Fire
PAGES: 272 (Hardcover)

ABOUT THE BOOK
A ghost will find his way home.

Jennie Lovell’s life is the very picture of love and loss. First she is orphaned and forced to live at the mercy of her stingy, indifferent relatives. Then her fiancé falls on the battlefield, leaving her heartbroken and alone. Jennie struggles to pick up the pieces of her shattered life, but is haunted by a mysterious figure that refuses to let her bury the past.

When Jennie forms an unlikely alliance with a spirit photographer, she begins to uncover secrets about the man she thought she loved. With her sanity on edge and her life in the balance, can Jennie expose the chilling truth before someone—or something—stops her?

Against the brutal, vivid backdrop of the American Civil War, Adele Griffin and Lisa Brown have created a spellbinding mystery where the living cannot always be trusted and death is not always the end.

MY THOUGHTS
I have to send a huge thank you to Paul from Sourcebooks Fire for sending me an advance copy of Picture The Dead to read. I really enjoyed reading this.

I was pleasantly surprised when I started to read it because I normally don’t read books that take place in this time period. The time period was the during the civil war. History wasn’t my favorite subject when I was in school and since then have shyed away from those kinds of subjects and genres, but that could change.

Before I started the book I decided that I would read the press release that came with the book and they say:
“Picture the Dead, a mystery novel (with extensive graphic elements)”. Which I have to say is very true. I liked how the mystery was built up and it happened gradually.

Jennie is an orphan who is living with her aunt and uncle. She had a brother, Toby but lost him in the civil war. You can see she is trying to fit into this extended family but it seems like her aunt and uncle are anything but nice to her. She fits in more with the hired help then she does with them.

Jennie is engaged to her cousin Will. He is now fighting in the civil war but Jennie fears he is dead because Quinn, Will’s brother returns home wounded physically, mentally and emotionally.

When the family goes to get a family portrait done, Jennie is over come and faints. Its only when she goes back to pick up the portrait that Geist has something to tell and show her? Will she believe what she sees?

Jennie knows only what she is told such as that the army says Will died honorable in battle but Quinn tells her differently and that he died a violent death in prison camp. She quickly begins to realize that perhaps she isn’t being told the truth and doubts everyone. Will she be able to solve the mystery of what really happened to Will?

It took me awhile to get into the book but once I did I really enjoyed reading it and I have to say that I loved all the illustrations that Lisa Brown did in the book. At the starting/finishing of the chapters she drew quite a few illustrations to go with the story. I think that element tied in perfectly with the story. I would have loved to have been able to read some of the letters that were on those pages.

This is the first time I have heard of Adele Griffin and read her book but I found out that she is the author of several books called Rainy Season, Witch Twins, Vampire Island, Sons of Liberty and Where I want to be. Which I am curious to look for and read.

Lisa Brown is also a best selling author and illustrator of books such as How to be, Sometimes and the board book series called Baby Be of Use.

I just wanted to share the cover of the Advance Readers Copy that I got and I have to say that that one is my favorite.

What do you think?