The Unknown Beloved - Amy Harmon

Author: Amy Harmon

Genre: Historical fiction, Literary fiction, True Crime

Rating: 4.25 stars.

In a Nutshell: I went in with no expectations, and came away enthralled. A wonderful blend of fact and fiction, written in the typical Amy Harmon style of blending multiple genres. Character-oriented story, so it is slow-paced. But the writing was enough to keep me satisfied.

Story Synopsis:

The prologue set in 1923 Chicago tells us of ten year old Dani, whose parents are found dead the day before her birthday. Michael Malone, a young police officer on the site, feels sorry for the little girl and ensures she is delivered safely to her spinster aunts’ house in Cleveland.

Fifteen years later, Dani and Michael’s paths cross once again as Michael is assigned to assist agent Eliot Ness in investigating a series of gory murders. Unknown to Michael, Dani has a special ability that might help him crack the case. How will things move from here? Read and find out.

Where the book worked for me:

💜 Harmon nails the historical aspect of the story. The 1930s era with the post-depression slump and gangsters and unemployment and slums feels so authentic!

💜 Harmon is excellent at sketching characters, and this is no exception. Dani and Michael’s personalities reveal themselves bit by bit and you understand them and their decisions very well as the story progresses. I loved how Dani holds her own rather than being a victim of the circumstances. Dani’s aunts, Eliot Ness and even minor characters such as Darby O’Shea and Steve are written such that you will never wonder about their behaviour.

💜 Cleveland is also almost like a character in the story. The city is brought alive with Harmon’s words. I love it when a story uses its location setting well.

💜 I am not a fan of the way age-gap romance is written in fiction. Plus, I didn’t expect the Dani and Malone track to go the romantic way because she was just a child when she first met him. BUT their relationship develops gradually and realistically and doesn’t feel shoehorned or awkward at any stage. I was quite surprised to see myself enjoying the romantic track in a non-romance genre book. This hardly ever happens.

💜 I hadn’t previously heard of the mysterious “Torso Killer” of Cleveland and was wondering whether to research info about him before beginning the book or go into it blind. I chose the former option and didn’t regret it. I was as worried as the residents of Cleveland about the unknown serial killer. (I guess this depends on the reader – no harm even if you go in blind. But better be prepared for the gruesomeness.)

💜 The author’s note at the end reveals clearly to what extent her story contained facts and where she needed to incorporate fictitious elements. She also states why she chose an ending that varied from the facts. Her line about “giving them the ending they deserved” won my heart. I LOVED the ending! How I wish the ending in real life had been the same!

Where the book still worked for me but might not work for others:

⚠ The book is a mishmash of various genres that don’t necessarily work well together. It has some or many elements of historical fiction, crime, police procedural, literary fiction, magical realism (the odd one out!), drama, and romance. If you expect it to adhere to a singular agenda, you will be mighty disappointed because it seeks to do justice to all of these. I love genre-blending books, so this wasn’t an issue for me.

⚠ When the serial killer is infamous as the “Torso Killer”, you can expect grisly crime in the book. While none of the crimes happen on the page, the way the bodies of the victims are found is not for the squeamish. If this weren’t based on a true crime, I would have been disgusted at the author’s attempt to sensationalise killings. But sadly, this is how the torso killer actually functioned and I can’t hold the horrendous depiction of the butchery against the author. From what I read online about the murders, the author has been faithful in her depiction.

Where the book did not work for me:

💔 It was really slow, especially in the first half. You don’t see where the plot is going until about a third into the story. I should have been better prepared for this as it was a character-oriented book.

💔 I wish it had a different cover. While the cover makes perfect sense once you know the story, it doesn’t scream “Pick me!” in a bookshop and doesn’t prepare the reader for what’s in the content.

Overall though, I am very pleased with this book. It focussed on “slow and steady” rather than “fast and breathless”. But this works wonderfully because of the layered characters, complex plot and imaginative resolution. If you go in mentally prepared for the triggers and are ready to “go with the flow”, this story will work its magic on you.

My thanks to Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for the DRC of “The Unknown Beloved”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.