The Conductors

by Nicole Glover

Overview

“A seamless blending of magic, mystery, and history . . . Glover’s worldbuilding, characters, and attention to historical detail create a delightfully genre-bending debut!” — Tananarive Due, American Book Award winner, author of Ghost Summer: Stories

From a bold new voice in speculative fiction comes a vibrant historical fantasy of magic and murder set in the aftermath of the Civil War

Hetty Rhodes and her husband, Benjy, were Conductors on the Underground Railroad, ferrying dozens of slaves to freedom with daring, cunning, and magic that draws its power from the constellations. With the war over, those skills find new purpose as they solve mysteries and murders that white authorities would otherwise ignore.

In the heart of Philadelphia’s Seventh Ward, everyone knows that when there’s a strange death or magical curses causing trouble, Hetty and Benjy are the only ones that can solve the case. But when an old friend is murdered, their investigation stirs up a wasp nest of intrigue, lies, and long-buried secrets—and a mystery unlike anything they handled before. With a clever, cold-blooded killer on the prowl testing their magic and placing their lives at risk, Hetty and Benjy will discover how little they really know about their neighbors . . . and themselves.

“An unforgettable debut . . . Wholly original and thoroughly riveting.” — Deanna Raybourn, New York Times best-selling author of A Murderous Relation

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780358181798
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	03/02/2021
Series:	A Murder & Magic Novel
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	432
Sales rank:	502,873
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

NICOLE GLOVER works as a UX researcher in Virginia. She believes that libraries are magical places and that problems seem smaller with a cup of tea in hand. Her life outside of books includes bicycles, video games, and baking the perfect banana bread. The Conductors is her debut novel. She can be found at nicole-glover.com.

Editorial Reviews

★ 11/23/2020

Inventively mixing mystery, magic, and alternate history, Glover’s nail-biting debut takes readers to Reconstruction era Philadelphia. Henrietta “Hetty” and Benjamin “Benjy” Rhodes—both adept at sigil magic that draws on the constellations—are famed conductors for the Vigilance Society, which shepherded enslaved Black people to freedom along the Underground Railroad. Stories of their trips into the South are legendary in their Philadelphia community even a decade after the Civil War. Now, Hetty and Benjy use their magical and analytical skills as detectives, dealing with missing person cases, murders, and other crimes the white police force chooses to overlook. But when one of their friends turns up dead and their suspicions fall close to home, they’ll need to work out who in their community is not who they say they are. The pace is relaxed but the tension steadily builds as Glover weaves each detail into a satisfying mystery. Frequent flashbacks to Hetty and Benjy’s thrilling exploits as conductors on the Underground Railroad reveal how Hetty’s tough choices during the Civil War led to her life today. Readers will be surprised but gratified by an ending that shows just how past actions inform the present in unexpected ways. Glover is a writer to watch. Agent: Jennie Goloboy, Donald Maass Agency. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

"The Conductors is a wildly inventive alternate history that combines compelling characters, a propulsive plot, and lots of intrigue. It is also radical as hell. Thought-provoking and powerful, Glover’s novel is a must-read." — Cadwell Turnbull, author of The Lesson

“Inventively mixing mystery, magic, and alternate history, Glover’s nail-biting debut takes readers to Reconstruction era Philadelphia . . . Glover is a writer to watch.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

From the Publisher

03/01/2021

DEBUT Set at the end of the Civil War, this magical first novel follows Hetty and Benjy, runaways who ferry people to safety from slavecatchers, as well as solve crimes, often with the aid of celestial magic. Chapters alternate between Hetty and Benjy's life in Philadelphia aiding people in finding lost loved ones, and Hetty's journeys on the Underground Railroad, with Benjy in tow, to find her sister Esther. When an acquaintance whom they previously rescued from slavery is found dead in an alley, the novel turns into a murder mystery. Glover's intricate writing succeeds in bringing Hetty and Benjy to life, and shines as members of their social circle become suspects. While later chapters are at times meandering, the story gains momentum as Hetty aims to uncover if this murder, and others that follow, is a coincidence or part of a pattern. Along the way, she discovers that Benjy has secrets of his own, as do several of her friends. Along with celestial magic, sorcery comes into play, often coming back to haunt Hetty and Benjy, especially at the suspenseful ending. VERDICT Blending historical fantasy and mystery, this fast-paced debut with predominantly Black characters will engage fans eager for a combination of each.—Stephanie Sendaula, Library Journal

Library Journal