The Uninvited by Cat Winters

William Morrow Paperbacks 2015

Here’s a well-researched and well-drawn historical novel. I received an ARC from the publisher. Set during the 1918 flu epidemic, a twenty-something woman leaves her family after her father and brother commit a horrific act of violence…and revel in the blood. They claim to be patriots, and have murdered a member of a German immigrant family during WWI.

When she leaves her family behind, she stays in town, striking out on her own for the first time in her life. She falls for the brother of the murdered man, and begins driving an ambulance for victims of the flu. She has survived her own bout with the illness and so is safe. The work takes her into every social and economic strata of her town, allowing readers a detailed look at life during this time.

Oh, and she sees ghosts, the “uninvited” of the title.

While the book provides readers of historical fiction with what they crave, the prose is a bit pedantic…not dense so much as precise to the point of stripping out the deeper elements of voice and tone. This affects the book’s atmosphere and makes for a surprisingly dry read. However, since this is an artistic choice (because it’s related to the author’s voice), it can be chalked up to something that strikes me personally rather than as a flaw that might put other readers off.

Overall, the work is well written and the story is interesting. If you like historical novels, check out this book and the author’s other works. She’s written extensively across many time periods, so it’s likely that one or more of her books will resonate with you.

4 stars

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