The Dante Club: A Novel by Matthew Pearl


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I'm not going to lie, I'm not huge on historical fiction.  Usually it has little to do with actual history and more to do with "hey here's some people you might have heard of, now let me put them in an absurd situation and have them act like they probably never would have".  This was different though.  I am a huge fan of Dante to begin with and find the concept of a killer modeling his murders after Dante fascinating.  Add to that the fact the author did his research (extensive at that) on the people, time and place where it's set (Boston, right before the turn of the 19th century) and it makes for a great read.  It did take a bit to get into and those who don't like gore and graphic scenes might have a problem with some parts of the Dante Club, but overall I'd highly, highly recommend it.

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