In the Shadow of Blackbirds
In the year 1918, World War I and an influenza epidemic are raging. Mary Shelley arrives in San Diego, California to live with her Aunt Eva because her father has been arrested for his anti-war opinions. Influenza is a horror, a cross between pneumonia and the Black Plague. Add to that Mary Shelley's loss of Stephen, the boy she loved, in the war, and you've got a damaged heroine, my favorite kind. Then Mary Shelly encounters Julius, Stephen's drug-addicted older brother, who fakes spirit photography. She realizes not all of spirituality is false, however, when Stephen contacts her from beyond the grave. Mary Shelley's courage in the face of the plague and learning how Stephen actually died is fantastic. The mystery of his death is what kept me speeding through the pages. A great historical/supernatural story.