47North Books, November 8, 2016.
Five Stars
The Jekyll
Revelation follows two parallel timelines, and two
very different men – who may be more alike than they realize. Rafe is an
environmental scientist working in the drought-stricken Topanga Canyon in
California, where he finds an antique steamer trunk in a dried-up lake bed. Inside
is a journal that tells a shocking story about the life of Robert Louis
Stevenson and the macabre inspiration for his famous novel, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
Rafe spends his days tracking animal poachers in the canyon,
and his nights reading Stevenson’s journal – as he reads, the novelist’s story
is slowly revealed to us as well. When Stevenson travelled to Switzerland with
his wife and stepson to be treated for his lung disease, he was given a
curative potion with some unexpected side effects. He experiences blackouts and
half-memories of unusual events. The potion inspires him to finish his novel
about Jekyll and Hyde, and it is performed as a play in London not long after.
The play receives rave reviews – until it seemingly inspires a copy-cat, later
identified as Jack the Ripper. Stevenson himself becomes a prime suspect,
although he becomes suspicious of someone else close to him.
As Rafe speeds through the journal, intent on finding
out the identity of the Ripper, he begins to witness some shocking occurrences
in his own time. Aside from the journal, Stevenson’s trunk contained other
items that could trigger the Jekyll and Hyde curse all over again – most suspicious
is a mysterious flask filled with an unidentified liquid. When Rafe tries to
dispose of the trunk’s dark contents, the potion ends up falling into the wrong
hands.
Stevenson’s journal entries feel impressively
authentic to the writing style of his original time. Although Rafe is living in
another century and across the world, he becomes entirely wrapped up in
Stevenson’s story. In most novels with parallel stories, I usually prefer one
and suffer through the other – but in this case, both settings were completely
compelling. Jekyll and Hyde is often rewritten in different disguises, but this
novel truly feels fresh and original. Although some scenes were somewhat weak
and contrived, the overall effect was very successful.
Although this novel is set (partly) in a historical
era, it doesn’t exactly fit that genre – it is a gothic mystery with a dash of
horror, interspersed with modern scenes that emphasize the many ways that men
can become monsters. Masello has played with the timeline here in places, but
it is still very authentic to Stevenson’s life and seems to be very well
researched. I will definitely be looking out for more of Masello’s novels,
which feature real historical characters with a twist.
I received this book from 47North Books and NetGalley
in exchange for an honest review.
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