Dreamland: An Evening Standard 'Best New Book' of 2021

Product Information

That may be a bit dramatic, but so was this romance. Saying I love you after meeting for like the second time? No thanks. This is at its core, a mystery book and the unsettling nature of it added suspense and a tinge of darkness to the story. Beverly’s story was so intense and I was on the edge of my seat when I was reading her parts. I was rooting for her and her son, so much. And that’s all I’m going to say about her story. As she attempts to learn the identity of the murderer, I was on the case with her, coming up with theories and motives. Who is the killer? What is the connection to Peggy? Could she be the next victim?

For Peggy, Dreamland seems to represent an escape from the constraints of family and social expectations but she soon becomes aware of a darker side, and one much closer to home, as she is drawn into the investigation of suspicious deaths. The greatest minds in the country use Dreamland to bring some truly amazing projects to life. The fact that someone like Dale Brown wrote Dreamland isn’t amazing. The author flew planes in the army. Dale Brown is an American author born in 1956 in Buffalo, New York. One of six children, Dale began flying in his teens, eventually acquiring a pilot’s license. A graduate of Penn State University where he studied West European History, Dale joined the Air Force in 1978.E-ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are my own and are not affected in any way. Then there’s Lillian, a former concert pianist who followed her husband from the United States to Singapore in an attempt to escape her demons. But the emotional scars left by the death of her parents at an early age can’t be outrun. When she sees Lani, he’s the spitting image of her father. The grief, stress and aimlessness that have ruled her life for so long begin to bubble over. I loved the initial storyline - with Peggy at the Moonrise Bookstore - a rich girl spending the summer surrounded by books. While his daughter pilots a Megafortress bomber into the war zone, Bastian turns his attention to an unmanned flight system that has the potential to change everything for Dreamland.

Colby Mills once felt destined for a musical career, until tragedy grounded his aspirations. Now the head of a small family farm in North Carolina, he spontaneously takes a gig playing at a bar in St. Pete Beach, Florida, seeking a rare break from his duties at home. Closely followed by Ben. I’m not sure what drew me to him, because he is immoral and mean and manipulative, but that just made his character more intriguing to me. Peggy Battenberg is a young heiress who has been invited to the Oriental Hotel not far from Coney Island. You’d think she’d want to go, right?Lani is joining Dara’s firm, and the timing is impeccable for undermining the years of cutthroat efforts and ludicrous hours she’s sunk into her job trying to secure a partnership. She tells her best friend, Amaka, in hopes they can dig up some dirt on the guy and figure out what to do.

The focus on the mystery was much lesser than I'd expected which was disappointing. Most of the story focuses on Peggy's family and just a bit at the start and a bit at the end truly focuses on the murders (the reveal wasn't surprising at all). Having said that, I did enjoy the family drama and I feel the character development was commendable. The characters were for the most part very well developed. At the beginning, I struggled to grasp how their large family was connected, however I soon got the gist of it. While Colby and Morgan are falling in love, Beverly is on the run with her six-year-old son, from an abusive marriage. Fearing for her life, and her son’s life, she makes sure she is able to escape without a trace. She wonders if she can ever completely escape the clutches of such a controlling man.For a historical young adult murder mystery, it was okay. I will admit that I found the story boring but it also wasn't the story that I expected to read. If others are going into this novel expecting the setting to be a huge factor in the story, they may be disappointed as well. Because, I could definitely see myself enjoying it if I had read it at a different time. There are definitely times where I absolutely love those slow-paced, intricate stories, but it just wasn't working for me today. If you tell Nancy Bilyeau that reading one of her historical novels of suspense is like strapping yourself into a time machine, you'll make her a happy woman. She loves crafting immersive historical stories, whether it's Jazz Age New York City in "The Orchid Hour," the 18th-century European porcelain workshops and art galleries in "The Blue" or "The Fugitive Colours," or Henry VIII's tumultuous England in "The Crown," "The Chalice," and "The Tapestry."

Dreamland takes place in 1911 at Coney Island, a hot scorching summer. It was during a time when the world was struggling with women's rights, workers' rights, and bigotry towards immigrants. It was also a time of great disparity between the rich and the poor, and Coney Island itself was a place where the rich could live sheltered in the grand hotels, but not far from the amusements, the thrills, and the depravity offered by Coney Island's Dreamland. I was completely immersed in the time and the place, come to life in the gifted author's words, characters, and story.

System Requirements

This book was received from the Author, and Publisher, in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own