Book Review | The Perfect Place To Die by Bryce Moore

Living in a dysfunctional family in Utah, Zuretta is resigned to a life of solitude and subserviency. But when her sister, Ruby, disappears after travelling to Chicago for the World’s Fair, Zuretta embarks on a quest to find her.

She finds out that Ruby was last seen at her last place of employment – the hotel known as The Castle. But Ruby is the latest in a long line of disappearing women, hinting at something dangerous in that hotel. Can Zuretta find out the truth about what happened to Ruby without risking her own life?

Before I’d made it to Chicago, I’d had a hard time thinking how Ruby might have lost touch with me, but now that I saw all those people, all those dreams and hopes and fears, I didn’t wonder. The many people could swallow you up and not even leave a ripple to show you’d existed.

The Perfect Place To Die sells the premise of a Young Adult horror that merges a real-life serial killer mystery with historical fiction, to mixed results. It involves a young girl, Zuretta, who is looking for her missing sister. She has to deal with unsavoury characters and go undercover as a maid at the notorious Castle Hotel. I thought the setting, taking place in 1890s Chicago during the World’s Fair is interesting and immersive. I enjoyed the information about how people lived back then, and every character felt as if they jumped out from history. The Castle Hotel is described in detail and adds to the claustrophobic and creepy vibes. The writing is compelling and lacks the pretension that sometimes accompanies historical fiction.

I thought Zuretta is an appealing protagonist, where her courage and determination shines through. That said, her naivety was grating at times and I thought sometimes she makes decisions that made no sense. I wish we had seen more of her relationship with her sister, Ruby, so that there’s more emotional weight to her search. But I liked her relationship with another maid, Phebe, who became one of her true friends in the city. I also appreciated that the book doesn’t create romantic relationships between her and other male characters. So while the ending of her story feels implausible, I thought it fits her character growth and how she sees the world.

I knew going in that this would be about H.H. Holmes so unfortunately there isn’t a lot of tension in that aspect of the mystery. However, some liberties were taken to create the fictional storyline so there are a few surprises that I did enjoy. The book doesn’t refrain from showing the gruesome and disturbing side of his crimes. The inclusion of his chilling confessions at the start of each chapter is brilliant, and the author’s note is a nice touch.

The Perfect Place To Die would be suitable for fans of historical fiction and horror, but I suggest you don’t look into H.H. Holmes before reading the book.

I received a digital copy for review purposes from the publisher and Netgalley.

About the author: Bryce Moore

Photo by James Craig