“Four miles long and a half a mile wide – and anything your heart could desire here on Coney Island, America’s Playground!”

Having read other books by Nancy Bilyeau that focus on Tudor period historical thrillers, I was interested to see what a move in time and place would bring. What she has produced is another stunning historical mystery but this time set in America’s playground, Coney Island. Some inspiration is drawn from the life of Peggy Guggenheim and Dreamland was one of the amusement parks that operated from 1904-1911.

“You keep saying I am needed. They don’t need me. I need to have a purpose. You can’t take that away from me.”

This is a fabulous mystery/thriller with a serial murderer on the loose. There is some romance but the focus was more on the growth of the fabulous leading lady, Peggy - her longing for freedom away from her controlling rich family. Once again I have nothing but praise for Nancy’s writing as she sweeps you away to the heatwave of Coney Island in the summer of 1911. Her writing is rich in detail and cleverly scripted to immerse you in a classic ‘whodunnit’. Nancy maintains a good level of intrigue throughout and builds the suspense to a satisfying conclusion. There are many characters, each having important roles to play and all are complex and engaging.

I felt a twinge of fear, that this wasn’t a web of happy coincidences linking us all, but from the start it was an iron chain, dragging us to something dangerous.

Yet there is so much more to this novel: social status - life of the rich and famous versus the working class; gender status and the role of women as Peggy seeks to break those bonds; and, the attitude towards immigrants with the unfolding events in Europe at the time. Interwoven are rich characters from both sides of the social spectrum and some interesting situations concerning the criminal justice system and corruption. This really makes for a holistic and sophisticated story.

If you love historical fiction this is a must read on many levels. Personally, I think this is Nancy's best novel yet. The writing is rich and although with the mystery you may have strong suspicions, it is the overall variety in themes that make this a real winner and definite page turner.


“Everything is real on Coney Island–and nothing is real.”





This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher and provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

Nancy Bilyeau's Dreamland captures the exciting and tumultuous time and place of 1911 Coney Island by throwing readers right into the heart of Dreamland, one of three amusement parks that were part of the original location.



I absolutely adored this book and I'm not even sure where to start my review, so let's just start off with one of my favorite things about this book: the setting. The physical setting of Coney Island in 1911 was so beautifully and authentically brought to life by Bilyeau. It's so apparent that she took great care to present a setting that captures the atmosphere and perception of the world in 1911. (As an aside, I personally always manage to remember the year 1911 because it's the year that my great grandma and Lucille Ball were born, so the fact that this book took place in that year was just a weird, fun coincidence for me.) This was an interesting period of America since occurred right after the turn of the century when a lot of new modern concepts were beginning to grow and win popularity, yet there was still such a sharp desire and effort to keep with the traditions and norms of the past. There's a huge confliction of morals, ideas of modesty, etc. that were constantly developing and I think Bilyeau captured this atmosphere really well through her characters and the varying conflicts between Peggy, her sister, cousin, uncles, mother, and society as a whole.



Another thing that I really loved about this book was Peggy herself. Peggy is a modern, forward-thinking woman who has no problem standing firm in her own beliefs and preferences. She is headstrong in the best way possible, though being headstrong can of course lead to some rather dangerous and unpleasant situations, which Peggy certainly encounters. Despite being so determined and adamant about her own views and desires, one thing that I really liked about Peggy was how she was aware of and willing to sort of bite her tongue at moments when she knew saying something or acting out could harm her sister or another family member. She was always willing to do what she wanted, but I appreciated that she had boundaries that always popped up to hold her back from letting her actions harm others. She sticks up for these she cares about, no matter, it seems, the consequences to her and her situation in life.



Dreamland tackles some really big themes and concepts that still hold relevance today. There is a big plot point that has to do with foreigners in America and how they were treated in 1911 America (and, frankly, a lot of it still points to issues that we have today), an issue that Peggy wasn't aware of at the beginning of the novel, making it particularly interesting to see how she discovered this prejudice and mistreatment and what she did to try to combat it. There was also a great handling of power dynamics and relationships and how there are so many different types that can in just as many different forms. In Dreamland, there's the power struggle between the police and the foreigners, the rich and the not-rich, those in romantic relationships, those within family, and so many more. I really appreciated how well Bilyeau handled these topics and how much care she put into crafting all of them.



The pacing of Dreamland is on the slower side, so if you're looking for something fast-paced and full of action, this probably isn't it. Personally, I found the pacing to be the perfect form of slower--it allowed me to really fall into this setting and get to know the characters and the situation/purpose of the plot while still maintain my interest and making me not want to put down this book.



Overall, I've given Dreamland five stars. I also put this in my 'favorites' category on Goodreads because I really think back on this book with fondness and it's one that still seems to be popping up into my head a lot even weeks after I've read it. I can't wait to dive into more of Bilyeau's book and to see what's next!

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review

This was a pleasant read, although I think the book was confusing in terms of which genre it belongs in. Part historical fiction, part romance, part YA and a murder mystery rolled into one. This wasn’t a bad thing from my perspective but could be confusing for the book to find its audience.

I loved the setting of Coney Island in 1911, this is the first book I’ve read set in that place / period and I loved it! I also really liked the characters of Peggy and Lydia as the Battenburg sisters, both strong girls in a time when they were expected to be seen and not heard.

The ending seemed to be setting up for a second novel, which I would definitely read.

The first part of this book held my interest as a story of wealth and the beginning days of Coney Island. I enjoyed the intertwining of romance, history and an interesting mystery. The last third of the book picked up the pace, maybe too much, as if the author wanted to finish the book. So enjoyed the story but not the writing

Nancy Bilyeau has created a fantastic, atmospheric historical fiction novel that left me wanting more. Peggy Battenburg is "invited" (read: forced) to the beautiful Oriental Hotel in Manhattan Beach for part of the summer of 1911. The Battenburg's are New York society - alongside the Astors and Rockafellers.

Peggy has tried to separate herself a bit from her family - to try and make something on her own. She is pulled back in, in an effort to have a good face to her sister's future husband. The Battenburgs need this marriage to happen. Peggy joins her male cousins in Coney Island and meet an immigrant artist who she quickly develops feelings for. All the while, bodies of murdered women keep showing up in the area.

Dreamland captures the fun and terror of Coney Island and of the societal pressures of family. Communism, racism, and women's suffrage are all touched upon. This is an excellent story of family and being one's self.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Tiny Synopsis: It is 1911 - Peggy Batternberg hails from one of the richest American families and with that comes power, prestige, and privilege. However she would rather be working at the Moonrise bookstore and earn her own living and away from her snobby and rigid family. During the summer, she is forced to put her bookstore job on hold to head to Coney Island with her family at the luxurious Oriental hotel. On her adventures, she meets and falls for a mysterious immigrant from humble beginnings- that her family would surely frown upon. When there are multiple murdered women taking place in the area, Peggy takes on the challenge of trying to solve who the killer is to save someone she cares about.


Thank you to @netgalley and Endeavor for the advanced copy for my honest review! The book is out Jan 16, 2020!

My Review:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/ 5 stars

This era in time was very interesting - women’s suffrage and women wanting more for themselves: the New Woman. This novel is very well written and descriptive - you definitely feel like you are in 1911 and going through all of Peggy’s restrictions and rebellious nature. She’s young and she makes frustrating decisions - you want to scream at the book. Her family is extremely interesting - their secrets alone seem like it could be another book. I wasn’t loving the ending - certain relationships felt a bit forced. Some parts dragged but it does help provide context. It is overall a mix of mystery thriller and historical fiction with a touch of the love story.

Nancy Bilyeau’s Dreamland opens with a pair of young lovers on the beach of America’s playground—1911 Coney Island. The two lie down in the sand. A few minutes later, there is a splash from the pier, and only the young man walks away.

Bilyeau’s main story revolves around this brutal murder and others as two of the nation’s wealthiest families pass the summer at the glamorous Oriental Hotel, the furthest of three from the three famed Coney Island amusement parks, condemned verbally by the wealthy Batternburgs and Tauls as the pleasure spots of New York City’s lowly working class. The purpose of the summer gathering is for the families to get to know one another better before they are joined by Lydia Batternberg’s marriage to Henry Taul.

Yet Dreamland, one of the parks, draws in younger members of the two families against family orders. It is there that Lydia’s older sister Peggy meets and falls for Stefan, a poor immigrant artist and hotdog vender destined to become a murder suspect.

Bilyeau keeps readers in suspense as she portrays tensions between the two families, between individual family members, and between social classes spending their summers playing or working on Coney Island.

Thanks to NetGalley and Endeavor Quill for providing an Advance Reader Copy. I look forward to Bilyeau's future work.

1911. Meet Peggy. A 20 year old heiress who is spending her summer at Coney Island trying her damndest to escape as much as she can from the tight grip of her family and finds herself entangled in both smooches and corpses. Sounds like the ideal summer to me.

This is a conundrum for me.

There were many aspects about Dreamland that I enjoyed. I loved the atmosphere, the old New York feel and Peggy as a character was spit fire and take charge which I absolutely adored. In that time period and in her social status it GASP shocking and beyond frowned down upon. Mix that in with her falling in love with a "foreigner" of poor status and you have a very interesting story, yes?

Eh, somewhat.

I don't know why but I found my mind drifting while reading this. Maybe it was the repeated reiterations of how important Peggy's family is or some of the lackluster writing. This is a murder mystery but it just didn't have that certain read or pull. Oftentimes I just felt really bored I'm sorry to say and I wanted to DNF. I'm also not a huge fan of 'I saw him across the street and knew it was true love'

The big reveal at the end isn't so much as a big reveal as you can pretty much figure out who the bad guy is from the start lol and the ending fizzles like a sparkler my sister tries to set fire to me with.

Can I make a pun? Just one small pun?

Sounds like this was no Dreamland. A-HA.

Thanks very much to the publisher and Netgalley for this copy of my ARC. All opinions are my own.

Dreamland by Nancy Bileau is a blend of historical fiction, romance and mystery, and as can sometimes be the case when an author tries to blend genres, it is not always entirely successful.
Dreamland tells the story of one Summer , through the eyes of Peggy Battenberg, heiress to one of America's richest family and covert bookstore clerk. Desperate for a degree of independence and chafing against the strictures imposed on a woman of her class and wealth, Peggy finds herself whisked back into society life against her will when she is summoned, along with the rest of her family , to spend a vacation in Coney Island as the guests of her younger sisters fiance and his family. A chance encounter with a European artist at a carnival one night shows Peggy a side of life she loves and longs for, but the budding romance is soon under pressure from numerous sources, Peggy's scandalised family, her sister's jealous fiance and even the local police, who seem keen to pin a murder on her new man. As Peggy fights to clear the name of the man she loves, she comes face to face with an intriguing array of characters and unravels a mystery that will have repercussions that will shake the community to its core.
I absolutely loved how well the author was able to set the scene, her descriptive writing is vivid and visceral, so much so that I could almost smell the carnival from her descriptions. She has also populated her book with an array of interesting and unique characters, and even the minor characters felt rounded out and believable. I struggled a little more with the romance story line, it seemed a little rushed and I was not surprised by the resolution to the mystery / thriller plot line , as it seemed obvious from quite an early point in the book. Overall I did enjoy the book though, mostly down to how much I was engaged by Peggy as a narrator and as a character.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

A woman in a bookshop, a grand hotel, a carnival on the beach. Peggy’s complicated family life in New York exploded into her intentionally separate personal and work life during 1911. After one whirlwind of a summer spent in “Dreamland” Peggy Batternburg would never be the same. Love was found and lives were lost and two sisters found their paths despite living in a “mans world”. Mystery, murder, love and loss accompanied by excessive spending and a dress for every hour of the day. “Dreamland” takes off fast and dosen’t slow down.

New York, 1911 and the Gilded Age is in full swing. Business is booming and the super-rich are reaping the benefits.

Twenty-one year old heiress, Peggy Battenberg finds herself called on to spend the summer with her dysfunctional family at The Oriental Hotel in New York's playground, Coney Island, so they can present a united front to the wealthy fiance of her sister, Lydia.

Peggy would rather be anywhere than here - relations with her snobbish family have been strained since the death of her father, and she much prefers to keep out of the limelight working incognito at the Moonrise Bookstore, Manhattan. It also doesn't help that she has history with her sister's betrothed.

However, Peggy soon discovers that she can experience a sort of freedom she has not known before, among the delights Coney Island has to offer. Before long, she finds herself falling in love with a penniless, Serbian artist, called Stefan - a man her family would be horrified to learn she has been spending time with.

But more is going on in New York's playground that love. Underneath the surface of her seemingly respectable family lurks a web of deceit, betrayal and dangerous secrets. Can the Battenbergs and their friends get away with anything...even murder?

**************************************************************************

We often hear a lot about the Golden Age of Hollywood on America's West Coast, but Nancy Bilyeau's fabulous Dreamland picks you up and carries you along on a glorious tide, right back to the heady days of America's Gilded Age, on the East Coast. An age spanning the period between just before and after the turn of the twentieth century, when America was booming and the select few at the helm of industry were raking in a fortune. Of course, once they became rich, it was of primary importance to distance themselves from the less seemly side of life and indulge themselves with the proceeds of their (often dubiously) obtained gains, and so Manhattan Beach, Coney Island was born.

The huge and splendid hotels at Manhattan Beach allowed New York's select to enjoy private sea bathing, luxurious dining and genteel pursuits relatively near to their grand Manhattan homes, without rubbing shoulders with the hoi polloi - although they were within tantalising distance of the far less sedate pleasures Coney Island also had to offer.

Dreamland is named for one of the three amusement parks that could be be found on Coney Island, and although this was by far the most respectable of the parks, Peggy Battenberg's family would have been dismayed to learn that she secretly frequented its environs during her stay. This is not the place for a respectable woman from a family of means, who should be concerned with her reputation, although the men of the family are clearly allowed much more freedom to indulge their whims and desires. But this is a new century and women are starting to make their voices heard. Times are changing and Peggy is a woman of this new age - bold and willing to take risks - a woman who does not want her life ruled by hypocritical men. She makes a great leading character.

The Dreamland amusement park itself has a most fascinating history of rapid rise and tragic fall, and Nancy Bilyeau skillfully drops in little tit-bits of its factual past, entwining them with Peggy's story of corruption, class and dangerous obsession. Peggy drags us headlong into an unexpected murder mystery, which leads her into peril as she tries to save the man she loves. Everyone around her seems to have dark secrets and figuring out who she can trust is not an easy task. She cannot rely upon New York's elite to have her back, if they ever truly did, as the masks they hide behind start to crack and fall away. Peggy must find her friends from the lower orders of Coney Island's pleasure grounds if she is to have any sort of success, and through her eyes we get a glimpse of what life is life for the poor of New York too.

The suspense builds up nicely, as the pages fly by, to a blazing finale that will leave you breathless! An exciting story, against a fabulous backdrop, that offers a fascinating glimpse into the history of the era - what's not to love? It's brilliant!

Dreamland is a great book with an intriguing plot, complex characters, and a lot of literary references littered throughout the pages. It’s told from the first-person perspective of Peggy Batternberg, an heiress who would rather be working at a bookshop than playing croquet with America’s elite. Peggy’s quest for freedom leads her to love but it also leads her to a mystery that must be solved.

I really enjoyed Bilyeau’s writing style. It was swift, energetic, and full of personality. Bilyeau created tension within the mundane, keeping me on the edge of my seat even in the simplest of moments. I also really liked the narrative voice she created. Personally, I’m not a big fan of first-person narratives but I did get used to it and I grew to love Peggy within the first couple of chapters. I was lured into a false sense of security by the third-person prologue but I eventually got over that particular betrayal. Peggy’s narrative voice was strong but also vulnerable. She’s like a bird, ensnared in a cage but longing to be free and, although she’s an upper-class heiress, her thirst for freedom and a life of her own choosing makes her relatable. I liked the split between her public reactions to events, often muted and demure, and the stronger, more opinionated private reaction that’s reserved for her inner thoughts. Bilyeau is playing with how the early twentieth-century expected upper-class women to behave and contrasting these expectations with Peggy’s true thoughts and actions. Peggy is daring, eager to love, and unafraid of her own sexuality. Yet, she’s still vulnerable and a little naïve about how the world around her actually works. I just loved her.

I found the first half of the book a little bit slow but it was still interesting. It wasn’t boring, per se, just calmer than I expected. The mystery aspect of the plot starts to pick up around the halfway point but before that Bilyeau builds the tension through a complicated relationship between Peggy and her sister’s fiancé, Henry Taul. Although I was anticipating the mystery aspect of the plot, which really begins when Peggy visits Coney Island, the relationships between the characters and Peggy’s narrative voice kept me entertained and curious. The second half of the book was much more intense and action-packed as bodies begin to appear in the places that Peggy has visited.

I’d highly recommend this book. It was a wonderful historical mystery novel which intrigued me from beginning to end. I loved the characters and their complicated relationships, I adored Bilyeau’s intense but fluid writing style, and I enjoyed the plot immensely.

Dreamland is a bit of a genre-crossing conundrum. Though it excels in atmosphere with its rich historical descriptions and whimsical Coney Island ambiance, and while it also features well-rounded characters as well as shows some shifting paradigms between the sexes, between the social classes in a melting pot America of the early 20th century where the privileged ablate their problems with money and family names as the immigrant-poor face harsh living conditions and unfair prejudices, all of which I appreciated, this book couldn't quite topple into what it wanted most to be.

It veers from historical fiction into insta-love romance only to then tumble into a mystery thriller, with murder and policemen popping up from the boardwalk like daisies. All these elements ended up feeling a little unbalanced as a result. It didn't detract from my overall interest in the characters (Peggy and Lydia particularly), or in their obstacles overall; instead, it made the story feel disjointed or unfocused in areas. Almost as if the plot were stretched thin so as to cover all its competing genre bases.

That said, unwrapping all the sordid secrets that lay behind the Batternberg family's prestige and reputation is shocking fun. I also quite enjoyed the commentary on being a 'new woman' in a time, in a family, where women were supposed to fall in line and defer to menfolk for everything to do with their own lives.

Though someone in her family attempts to cow her at every turn, Peggy finds her own ways to indulge in little freedoms: whether that means working in a bookshop to earn her own living, falling in love with a pier-side artist from Serbia named Stefan, or aiming to solve a murder or two. The girl's got spunk, plain and simple. She's the kind of character you want to get behind and know better, especially as she works to solve a twisted Coney Island murder mystery.

This novel a nice dip into 1911 New York. It's full of societal qualms and bigotry and the changing American landscape, and for that--for that, it's worth a read.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Endeavor Media for the ARC!

It is said that every family has a black sheep, even the rich and well known Batternbergs, 20 year old Peggy has earned the unkind and unfair title of black sheep of the black sheep, her father having died in debt and in morally disreputable circumstances a few years earlier. .In order to save her branch of the family from total financial embarrassment Peggy's sister is to marry into another well-to-do family and to seal the deal both families will spend the summer of 1911 in Coney Island, New York. Peggy is very unhappy about this arrangement. She does not confirm to her family's idea of how a young society lady should behave and is virtually dragged kicking and screaming to the Oriental Hotel for the summer. But even though petulant Peggy is determined to hate every minute of the summer in the presence of her overpowering, snobbish family, she soon finds herself seduced by the sights and sounds of Coney Island, particularly the amusement park known as 'Dreamland'. After meeting a young man settling his artwork in the park Peggy thinks that despite the constant disapproval of her family this could turn out to be a wonderful summer after all. But when a couple of young women turn up dead on the beach Peggy unwillingly finds herself drawn in a twisted murder mystery.

A very readable historical fiction murder mystery with a touch of romance that also deals with issues of class, race and religion.

Have you been to America’s Playground? Coney Island?

I’ve always wanted to visit.

Dreamland has Coney Island as a backdrop, and it’s 1911.

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

Dreamland is a suspenseful historical fiction of obsession and desire.

This fascinating portrait of the end of the Gilded Age was a fabulous start to 2020. Set in New York 1911, the Battenberg family are one of the richest in America, with the Vanderbilts and Rockerfellas,

Peggy Battenberg is a young heiress who struggles against the bonds of societal restrictions placed on women of her class. Peggy, against her families wishes takes a job at the Moonrise Bookstore, and lives with her ex teacher. When her family intervenes, and she is told that she is required to take a summer vacation at the Oriental Hotel, a once-grand oceanfront resort on Coney Island. For the sake of her sister Lydia, who is engaged to the rich Henry Taul, Peggy succumbs to her family’s wishes.

Nancy Bilyeau’s writing catapults you into this vibrant outstanding thriller set in end of Gilded Age. Dreamland is a splendid, intoxicating book, with plenty of multi layered suspense.

Nancy Bilyeau delivers an extremely entertaining storyline, with captivating underlying tension. This gripping, perfectly paced and well-written read here that I absolutely loved how seamlessly and cleverly written this story was, and thought the author did a fabulous job with the delivery. I was totally invested all the way through to the satisfying end.

Dreamland and the rest of Coney Island is an intoxicating, hedonistic and full of life. Peggy gets to experience life from a completely different perspective than she has ever before. Mixing with artists, dancers, the inhabitants of Lilliput, along with food vendors. There is also a sinister side to this plot line, that adds an intriguing twist to the book that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Scandal and intrigue along with family drama makes for an extraordinary thought-provoking novel. A fabulous mystery/thriller that I was immediately drawn into and devoured quickly.

I received this book from Netgalley as an advanced reader's copy. The cover drew me in to this beautifully written book. Set in the 1920s, part murder mystery, part romance, part historical fiction the book addresses the gaps between rich and poor, racism and anti-semitism, issues that are very relevant today.

I requested this book on NetGalley as the cover looked amazing and the description seemed interesting enough. Unfortunately, "don't judge a book by its cover" really does apply here - the cover was the best (only good) thing I can say about this book.
I haven't read anything before by this author, so I was going in fresh. The writing seemed stilted from page one. It starts as if the main character is telling the story looking back on a past event, with the exact date being given in the first few paragraphs (why?), as if reminiscing. But then the only nostalgic feel to the book comes on the pen-ultimate page, where said main character muses on how her life would turn / turned out after the events of the book -- it just felt so forced to me, as if the author wished to tell us the exact time the book took place, and also reassure us how the main character's life turned out in the end without too much "fluff". I honestly don't know what the intention or thought behind this was, but it just didn't work for me. And force-feeding us the exact date just served as jarring error later on, so, it kind of backfired.
I have to admit, I didn't know anything about Dreamland, in that it was an actual real place. I looked it up halfway through the book and found its interesting history - including, SPOILERS, that it burnt down in May 1911. Umm, didn't the author scream at me on the first page that the book's events start in June 1911? What's going on? Is this like an alternative history book? I continued on.... only to find that the author honoured the history of Dreamland, sort of, but pushed the fire to the end of summer to fit with the sizzling summer vibe she wished to have as the background for the book. Then why is it being published in January?...
Well, okay, some historical inaccuracies may suffice, whatever. It's not a history book, I'll accept that. But then there were other errors I noticed, that simply should have been picked up. I don't know if the fact that I received the book as an ARC means these errors will be corrected, but if the editor reads this, please, please, please do correct them! I mean the fact that Peggy and her sister agreed she would knock three times at her door, and a few pages later, Peggy would go an knock twice, even stating "as we agreed". That's not what they agreed! Am I to think that Peggy was so distraught by the events going on that night that she just forgot how many times to knock? Well, okay, let's say that's what happened. But surely, she (or the author...) should remember if her 'altercation' with Henry was five or three years ago, which also seems to change in the book.
I guess this book just wasn't for me. I'm not sure what it was supposed to be, to start with. It wasn't a historical book as such. The author describes it as suspense, but I fell asleep reading it at least a dozen times. If it's a romance novel, it fails miserably. The love interests declare their love for each other the third time they ever see each other (even though Peggy admits to herself several times that she first went out with him as "a lark", and knowing how it would distress her family...), they make out in the rain, the girl goes through a lot of questionable business to ensure his safety, only for him to then up and leave - but it's okay, because Peggy states that she "would always through the years cling to this memory, of losing my first love, in some ways my purest expression of love, but not losing my dignity. Somehow, I found it, a reserve of strength within, and I did not beg Stefan to change his mind and stay with me. It would be wounding without purpose." -- is this not the man she broke all society's rules for, enraged her family for, risked her life for? The man who, because of her, people died for?! But I guess her dignity prevailed, so, yay.
It didn't work as a murder mystery either, as there just wasn't any mystery to it. If you've read even one murder mystery before, you know what's coming. But, when Stefan, an innocent man accused of the murders, muses over them, and how he blames himself for one of the victims' death (as said person was killed to put blame on him), our Peggy goes to say "I know. It is terrible." WTF!!!! The women were killed as a projection of hatred towards Peggy - but she just brushes that off and lets Stefan stew in his guilt? I'm sorry, but Peggy is just not a worthy person to be interested in. And that's the problem. The book centres around her, but she is incredibly annoying, entitled, and naive, and I just couldn't find a single redeeming quality to her character. She is supposed to be a modern, rebellious woman, yet time and again, she lets her family and society push her around, only to grow an adventurous bone when the plot requires it.
And so it didn't work as a coming of age story either, because Peggy doesn't seem to learn much through the book. Maybe it's her sister's coming of age story, as by the end of the book she decides to do something with her life, and the silence money she receives for her ordeals. Peggy, well, she muses about how her name would go on some buildings. So I guess she continues to buy her way through life, or something. I didn't really care by then as I saw the last few sentences were near.
And most importantly, the book doesn't work as a pro-globalisation, migration-friendly tale either. The love interest Stefan is an innocent man who went to America lured by all its promises of modernity, culture, progress. But then he is wrongfully accused of murder and of being an anarchist, he endures some police brutality, and decides by the end of the book, to hell with it all, America is just not as advertised, and he returns to his family in Serbia, in spite of the brewing war (did people know that in 1911? really?). So the lesson the author is trying to sell is that you should stay put in your homeland hell, because you are not welcome elsewhere either? That people of different nationalities are unwelcome, because the natives will never accept them, regardless of them being innocent? That an outsider cannot assimilate? Because, even though Stefan says that America's future may be more welcoming than its present (that is, the 1910s), we all know that's just really not true. Given the high-profile issues around migration nowadays, the messages conveyed by the book just seem insulting.

Sentences like the ones below also annoyed me greatly:
"Just a few steps up the path I spotted another variety of servant standing just off the path."
"There must be something extraordinary that they'd found in the sand to warrant summoning the police, but it couldn't be another corpse. My mind swiftly rejected that possibility." --- then, two pages later, upon being told it is the body of a dead woman indeed that was found: "Clearly this was the truth. I'd known it on some level when [...] I saw the people gather in a circle in the sand."
"Part of me felt that our meeting, our first kiss, was special. Magical. The death of that poor young woman so close by had darkened it - we needed to seek out the police, not only because it was the correct and moral thing to do but because it would free us of that taint. Allow something more to follow, I hoped."
"There was a selfish part of me churning with resentment over the fact that the place we'd kissed had become the site of a horrible death and therefore spoiled."

And one I fully agreed with:
"I threw down the brush and announced to the reflection in the mirror, "You are a terrible human being.""

I received an ARC of Dreamland by Nancy Bilyeau via NetGalley. What follows is my fair and honest review.
Looking for a historical fiction mystery? Enjoy a star-crossed lovers romance? Interested in Coney Island, specifically, or amusement parks, more generally? Curious about what it was like to be Jewish in the United States during the early 1900s? Then you might love Dreamland by Nancy Bilyeau. Or you might be a little disappointed, because Dreamland has all of these elements, but none of them work particularly well. Here’s my quick summary:

In 1911, Peggy Batternberg is forced to leave her job at a bookstore in order to spend the summer with her wealthy, but dysfunctional, family at the Oriental Hotel. With the hotel’s location next to Coney Island, the summer could be more enjoyable than Peggy originally anticipated. But spending time with her family reveals the increasingly strained nature of their bonds, and murdered women keep appearing wherever Peggy seems to be…

While I can’t say there was anything I particularly disliked about Dreamland, I thought it fell short of the many goals it seems to set itself. There’s the mystery element, which has some interesting red herrings, but is ultimately predictable. There’s a romance, but with stilted pacing and a lackluster resolution, it’s an unsatisfying relationship to read about. Peggy does visit Coney Island, but her visits lack the detail and description that would make this location compelling to read about. And while Peggy and her family are Jewish, the novel only briefly mentions the significance of this in a few places. In other words, this isn’t really a novel that explores the Jewish experience in turn-of-the-century America. So, as I said before, this novel does a lot, but I’m not sure it does anything particularly well.

Still, I was interested enough in the overall story to finish the novel. And if any of these elements is really your jam, maybe this book is a new favorite for you! So, I’d recommend this novel for fans of historical fiction and mysteries.

3 stars

I read Nancy Bilyeau’s The Blue last year and was really interested by the unique concept. So when I saw her new novel I jumped right on it.

Dreamland follows a young entirely sheltered heiress trying to find her way in the world in early 1900’s. The story is a little bit coming of age, a little bit romance and a little bit murder mystery. She is expected by her family and society to live her life a certain way and she is determined to find her own happiness. The story explores the social, political and moral aspects of the time.

One summer Peggy finds herself staying outside of Coney Island with her family and is exposed to a level of society that she has never been aware of. This awakening has her looking at everyone in her life a little differently and uncovering the dark underbelly of polite society.

This book reminded me a little of Lauren Willig’s The English Wife, a little of The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle (without all the crazy POV changes!) and a little of Boardwalk Empire.

Set in the Golden Era of the American rich in the early part of the twentieth century.
It is basically a murder mystery but it also describes how the rich and privileged played and looked down on those less fortunate than themselves.
It also describes women’s place in society and how they were used as marriage pawns to strengthen their families wealth.
I also found it very evocative of the writing of Scott Fitzgerald.
Just loved it can’t recommend it enough.