"Her Dark Curiosity"

Megan Shepherd grew up in her family's independent bookstore in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The travel bug took her from London to Timbuktu and many places in between, though she ended up back in western North Carolina. The Madman's Daughter and Her Dark Curiosity are her first novels.

Shepherd applied the Page 69 Test to Her Dark Curiosity and reported the following:

Page 69 is actually one of the most exciting pages in the book, though it’s only a paragraph long. It’s the end of a chapter where a big twist is revealed. I hope it’s indicative of the book as a whole, because I try to have as many twists and surprises as possible, while still maintaining a logical flow of events.

Like the first book in the series, Her Dark Curiosity is inspired by a classic, in this case, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. On page 69 our main character, Juliet Moreau (daughter of the famed Doctor Moreau from HG Wells’ classic novel) discovers that her best friend’s suitor isn’t the man she thought he was. In fact, he might even have a darker, more dangerous other half. This is, I think, the first place where we really see the Jekyll & Hyde influences coming together. Though Her Dark Curiosity isn’t a strict retelling, there are various themes & references peppered throughout, and this is one of the biggest ones.

Unfortunately I can’t say much more for risk of giving away the big twist, but I think in this case, it definitely passes the Page 69 test!

Visit Megan Shepherd's website and blog.

--Marshal Zeringue