The Corpse Queen

July 19, 2021
Smartly written with a decidedly dark demeanor, Herrman’s (Consumption, for adults) young adult debut interweaves death and self-determination. In 1850s Philadelphia, nearly 17-year-old orphan Molly Green, who is of Irish descent, is stunned by the death—seemingly by suicide—and mutilation of her apparently pregnant best friend, Kitty. Molly is sent from the orphanage to stay with her newly discovered aunt, who just so happens to be the infamous Corpse Queen, who oversees the buying and selling of bodies and is “one of the few places in town to deal in anomalies.” Once situated in the wealthy woman’s home, Molly learns that the new luxuries come with a price—in addition to entering high society, she must gather and prepare bodies, supplying the renowned Dr. LaValle with the cadavers on which his medical students practice surgery. As her own passion for the medical profession grows, a figure known as the Knifeman kills and dismembers young women across the city, and Molly makes it her mission to put an end to his reign. Balancing gritty details about anatomy and dissection with warm, class-spanning friendships among the cued-white characters, this immersive, Frankenstein-tinged novel considers misogyny, socioeconomic divides, and social norms at a specific moment in modern surgery’s beginnings. Ages 12–up. Agent: Barbara Poelle, Irene Goodman Literary.

August 15, 2021
A teenage grave robber needs to find a killer before he finds her in Herrman's first novel for young adults. Molly Green, 17, has barely begun to cope with the death of her only friend, Kitty, when a wealthy woman claiming to be her aunt liberates her from the Philadelphia-area orphanage where she's spent the last several years. Before Molly can even set foot inside her aunt Ava's gothic mansion, she's tasked with picking up what turns out to be a severed human head. Ava procures human bodies--the fresher the better--for Dr. LaValle, who uses them to teach medical students anatomy. Molly's adept at dealing with the naturally dead but has a harder time with the murder victims who bear evidence of precise knifework reminiscent of a wound she found on Kitty's corpse. This macabre novel, told primarily from Molly's point of view, is more horror than history. Several characters, including Ava's assistant, one-eyed Tom, and Molly's heavily tattooed sex worker friend, Ginny, border on the grotesque, but none drop into stereotype. All characters default to White. Despite a scattering of historical inaccuracies, the narrative flows smoothly, and the plot rockets along, greased by the rot of the dead, to a satisfying, and somewhat surprising, conclusion. If Poe's daughter told a story, this might be it. (author's note) (Horror. 12-18)

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November 5, 2021
Grades 9-12 *Starred Review* In 1850s Philadelphia, Molly Green, 17, grapples with the supposed suicide of her best friend at the orphanage. Abruptly, Molly is sent to live with a wealthy aunt she never knew existed. Her aunt, it turns out, is the "Corpse Queen," the woman who traffics in cadavers for a medical school run by Dr. LaValle. In exchange for her luxurious new living situation, Molly is to accompany her aunt's assistant each night to retrieve bodies, helping to deliver and prepare them for the doctor. Molly's new activities foster an interest in medicine and friendships with sex workers in a cabaret, all while area murders of young women at the hands of "The Knifeman" increase. Despite a few close calls, Molly is determined to end his killing spree before she becomes his next victim. Stylishly smart and macabre, the story tempers grisly occurrences with Molly's feminist attitudes and unflagging concern for the poor and the young women populating the city. While some scenes concern dissection and gruesome murders, others sparkle with class-defying friendships and warmth. Part mystery, part thriller, and part family discovery, this is a delicious horror story from which the reader can't look away.

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January 1, 2022

Gr 9 Up-Seventeen-year-old orphan Molly Green's bleak life is altered when her best friend dies and she is suddenly claimed by an unknown aunt. In order to live with her wealthy Aunt Ava in her gothic mansion, Molly must work for her aunt's business: illegally collecting cadavers for Dr. LaValle's anatomy lessons. Dr. LaValle, emphasizing human oddities, uses the bodies to teach his medical students. Molly agrees to collect bodies but soon finds out that there is a killer on the loose, the Knifeman. She seeks to discover the Knifeman's identity while spending her nights robbing graves. Will she find the killer before the killer finds her? Set in 1850s Philadelphia, this macabre novel is full of death, corpses, and anomalies. It highlights the dark practice of body snatching that was historically used to study anatomy. The writing is fast paced and highlights Molly and her aunt as independent feminists. The dark plot flows well with a surprise ending, keeping readers intrigued. VERDICT A great YA addition to libraries serving high school students, this gothic fiction title will appeal to young adult fans of the horror genre.-Nancy Hawkins

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