The Conductors perfectly blends magic and history for this amazing debut from Nicole Glover. With a compelling story full of mystery and intrigue, and a group of great characters, it was hard to put The Conductors down. You always wanted to know what was going to happen next and that was a major factor in why I enjoyed this book so much.

This premise immediately had me hooked; magic, a Black mystery solving, slave freeing couple in Philly. Sign me up.

However, it never really met those initial expectations for me.

Hettie and Benjy are a married couple residing in Philly who make a living freeing people from slavery using magic based on the constellations and stars. The magic system sounds so cool but we never find out the meaning behind it. There is a mention of constellations and signs used throughout the story but never any explanation about the magic.

While we are following our main characters through their daily affairs, we are also solving a few mysteries, as well. Hettie is searching for her sister, a passing (Black woman who passes for white) hires her to find her missing sister and their friend along with other folks pop up dead in connection with some strange magic symbols. Whew. I think this was A LOT of moving parts for one story but yet it still fell short. It was difficult to connect with any of the characters because there were so many in their friend group and never enough explanation about how they all connect.

I saw that the second book to this series is releasing later this year and I’m looking forward to picking it up and hopefully getting more clarification. Thank you to Houghton Mifflin and Nicole Glover via NetGalley for my advance review copy in exchange for an honest review.

DNF at 20%

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really hoped that I would love this book as I've heard such great things about it, but it simply wasn't for me. And I'm really sad about that. Even though I loved the characters, especially Hetty, and the magic system was quite interesting, there wasn't anything else that made me excited to read this book. And it's really such a shame since I love a good murder-mystery.

I won't be rating this book on Goodreads as I plan on coming back to it at some point.

When strangers are murdered, we discover their secrets. But when it's someone we know that's dead, we end up learning secrets about ourselves." -Hetty Rhodes

The conductors is a mixture of mystery and fantasy interwoven in a historical setting and is a start to a great series. Being a fan of both genres i enjoyed this story. Set in post civil war Philadelphia, we follow our two main MCs Hetyy and Benji. Hetty being a former slave and Benji her husband.
The plot is essentially Hetty and Benji investigating and discovering the person behind the brutal murder of one of their close friends with occasional flashbacks to their time as conductors.
Magic comes in two forms in this system. We’ve got sorcery which requires the use of a wand and then we got sigils that is associated with constellations. Though the new and imaginative magic system was very creative, it took me a while to understand it and even then not fully. Sorcery is forbidden to the blacks and anyone in possession of a wand would be imprisoned immediately. We get to deal with a lot of racism in this book and i liked the fact that the author touched upon these topics.
I liked Hetty, she’s an independent woman with a hard exterior but an equally soft interior.
Her relationship with Benji though not bound with love quickly developed into one and i loved seeing them come together.
The reason for my rating is because i felt the first 30% of the book was really slow for my liking and then there were parts where we would jump over a clue so obvious to make it longer, though i have come to care for the characters they haven’t solidified their place yet. I think the magical element of this story could be explained better to get a clearer understanding of how it works and the differences between the two. The writing which wasn’t bad (maybe because its an advanced copy there could be changes now)but for me it was difficult to continue reading because i would lose interest.

This was my first novel by the author but I’m open to reading more by her in the future.
Thank you to publishers and NetGalley for providing me with the e-arc of this book.

This book has dark, family, and magical themes. The characters as well done, the plot is engaging, this is a must read.

The Civil War has ended, and with it a proclamation allowing all people, including those of color, can now freely use magic. Hetty Rhodes and her husband, Benjy, were active conductors in the Underground Railroad system and both have magical talents. In fact, Hetty’s talents are so strong that her prior Civil War slave master had kept her in a collar to try to control her ability to use magic. Nowadays, Hetty and Benjy work their daily jobs to pay the rent, but they continue to seek justice for crimes that are ignored by the white authorities. A body has turned up dead and Hetty and Benjy are determined to find the murderer- even if he or she is among the very same folks they call friends.

THE CONDUCTORS has characters aplenty for Hetty and Benjy to suspect. Nicole Glover does an excellent job at introducing us to their friends as well as acquaintances, letting suspicion fall upon them all as secrets are slowly uncovered. Even Hetty and Benjy have secrets from one another as their marriage has been one of convenience rather than for love. One of the many fascinating albeit horrifying insights of THE CONDUCTORS is what slavery and its aftermath did to families. Hetty’s quest to find her sister highlights this aspect also, adding yet another sense of the tragedy and horror that slavery created.

I love historical fiction that puts a different spin on a person or time period and wow, Nicole Glover knocks it out of the park with THE CONDUCTORS! Nicole Glover builds the story line carefully, giving us glimpses of the past, even as she develops the characters. The story line is both compelling and thought provoking, as Nicole Glover delves into cultural and societal issues facing her characters. THE CONDUCTORS would make for a fabulous book group discussion due to the many nuances Nicole Glover provides us about the time period.

Nicole Glover infuses magic and murder into the post-Civil War period, creating an imaginative and engaging historical fantasy tale. The characters, the world building, the magic vs Sorcery, the post-Civil War time period… each aspect of THE CONDUCTORS is crafted so well that it’s the kind of story you don’t want to end. THE CONDUCTORS is the first book in the Murder and Magic series, and I can’t wait to see what is next in store for Hetty, Benjy, and their friends.

*review is in the editing queue at Fresh Fiction*

The inspiration for this book, according to the author, was “what if the conductors of the Underground Railroad had magic?” She runs with that, and it works very well.

(Aside, because I’m not sure how widely known this aspect of American history is outside of the U.S.: the Underground Railroad was a secret network of abolitionists, free Blacks, escaped slaves, and other sympathizers who would help runaway slaves escape to the north. They used terms like “Conductors” for people who acted as guides and escorts, “Stations” for safe houses, etc.)

This book is set in post-Civil War Philadelphia. The protagonist is a former slave named Hetty, who served as a very successful Conductor on the Underground Railroad after her own escape. Her husband Benji (they married for mutual convenience rather than love) is the same. She works as a seamstress, he as a blacksmith, and with the dissolution of the Underground Railroad now that slavery has been abolished they have sort of fallen into a role as unofficial detectives/sherrifs of the Black community in Philadelphia.

(The distrust among the Black community for the city of Philadelphia’s official, White police force is a topic that certainly isn’t relevant to any present day matters. Certainly not!)

Magic in this book occurs in two forms. There is Sorcery, which uses wands, and the drawing of Star Sigils, which depends upon the constellations in some way. Sorcery is magic the Whites use, while the Sigils are something that only Blacks use (and is treated with disdain by Sorcerers). Even in Quaker Philadelphia, teaching Black people sorcery is outlawed. A Black person in possession of a wand in Philadelphia will never see the outside of their prison cell again. A Black person in the South caught with a want wouldn’t have a prayer of even making it to a prison.

The main thread of the plot comes from a murder investigation Hetty and Benjy are undertaking. A member of their close circle of friends has been murdered, brutally, and with a few flourishes that had once been reserved for slaves caught using forbidden magic. Naturally Hetty and Benjy are determined to find the killer, but things get … complicated when it becomes clear that the murderer almost certainly has to be another among their close circle of friends.

Interspersed with this are various flashback chapters, from the days when Hetty and Benjy were working as Conductors and helping slaves escape north.

This was a good read. I appreciated it both as a fan of fantasy books and as a fan of mystery novels. The mystery was engaging, the magic interesting, and the characters were great. It’s standalone, though I could easily envision a series of books with Hetty & Benjy solving mysteries in the tradition of Homes & Watson or Tommy & Tuppence.

This is a very fun, light read. This was my first experience with the author as well and I would like to read more of her work to get a better feel for the style.

I did appreciate the premise of this one, which is, quite simply, a husband/wife detective team. Folks come to Hetty and Benji when strange murders/disappearances occur that have a magical feel to them. Speaking of magic, the magic system is my number one most favorite thing about this book. You have Celestial magic, which involves drawing star signs - and the way it is described provides such a beautiful visual. The other is Sorcery, which requires a wand.

I love how the Underground Railroad is represented in this story and also that the book outlines that the work of the Railroad didn't just halt when slavery was supposedly abolished.

I like both but hard magic systems with defined rules and limitations are some of my favorites. Soft magic systems can be fun, especially when they're part of a speculative fiction story like The Conductor by Nicole Glover. I really enjoyed this debut mystery - 4 Stars!

Things I liked:
- Hetty is a strong woman with gumption and an independent spirit but she isn't hard and unfeeling. She genuinely cares for her friends and family. You can feel her heart come through especially while she sews protections into Benjy's clothes.
- Constellation/celestial magic which seems to be less powerful than the white sorcery but when wielded by a skilled practitioner like Hetty it can defeat nearly anything.
- Interesting mysteries in dual timelines: Hetty is trying to find her lost sister while solving the murder of a friend.
- Stunning cover

Things I didn't like:
- Not really a dislike but I wanted to know more about the magic system
- I would have liked more development of the past storyline. I think it would have helped explain Hetty's sister a little better.

I really enjoyed this and I hope to see Hetty and Benjy again.

"When strangers are murdered, we discover their secrets. But when it's someone we know that's dead, we end up learning secrets about ourselves." -Hetty Rhodes


The blending of the different genres (historical fiction, fantasy, whodunit mystery) was seamless. The magical aspect of this novel breathed new life into a topic that has been explored in many nonfiction and historical fiction books. The protagonist's use of celestial magic was my favorite part of the book (ex: sigils and spells sewn into clothing).

There were two types of magic in this book celestial magic and sorcery. We get a brief explanation that sorcery is magic practiced by white people with wands. I was hoping for more details (compare and contrast) between the two magic systems.

The only criticism I have is the writing was choppy at times. A good debut novel. I will be looking for future books by this author.

With The Conductors, we dive into the atmosphere of post-Civil War Philadelphia. We will follow a couple of former slaves, Hetty and Benjy, who were conductors in the famous Underground Railroad and who now solve crimes using their magical powers. I thought the basic idea was absolutely brilliant and the end result is up to the mark.

The characters are very endearing and complement each other so well. Their dynamic relationship is top notch. Being a fan of solving murder, this whole part of the plot kept me going until the end. But the best part is the magic system based on the beliefs of the freedmen. I loved every part of it!

Nicole Glover gives us a great debut and I can't wait to immerse myself in this universe again.

An intriguing mystery with memorable characters that, for me, didn't quite live up to its super cool premise.

The magical twist on an underground railroad story was a fascinating idea. Sadly though, this book only talks about the underground railroad (and how magic was used by the conductors) in flashback scenes widely spaces throughout the book. Additionally, the whole idea of magic--that there is two forms, sorcery for whites, a celestial for Black, and all of the particulars of how it works, the politics of it, etc gets very much glossed over in this story. For me personally, that was a bummer.

In the end, this is more of story about a couple who are essentially magical PIs during the post civil war reconstruction, who spend the majority of the book trying to solve a series of murders that seem to be rooted uncomfortably close to their friend group.

At first, I wasn't feeling this murder mystery vibe. There is a large cast of characters and I had to shift my expectations when I realized this wasn't going to be the book I thought it was. However, once I settled in, I did enjoy the story. Again, mostly due to that intriguing cast of characters, not so much the mystery-solving itself, (which sometimes felt a little slow, pacing-wise.)

Interestingly, the part I enjoyed most about the story was the central romance (even though this book is in no way being promoted as a romance)-- seeing two characters who have known each other forever realize their relationship was about more than convenience.

I guess overall, I liked all of the puzzle pieces of this book--the characters, the premise, the setting, the supernatural elements--I just did not totally dig the way the writer chose to knit all of those elements together. And I don't think I'd necessarily sign up for another whodunnit kind of adventure in this same vein. However it was still a nice read nonetheless.

Thanks to the author and NetGalley for granting me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review

The Conductors is a historical fantasy fiction narrative set just after the Civil War has ended. It follows a married couple who were a part of the Underground Railroad who helped slaves escape. Now we follow them as they use the skills they gained prior to emancipation to basically solve crimes. The story focuses on their attempt to hunt down a murderer. While we follow this narrative, we use flashback to follow their backstory and learn how they met and how their relationship developed. In large part, the story is about their relationship, and the main narrative is merely a device to get to know them.

Where the book fails for me is in its main murder mystery plot. Generally speaking, I am not a fan of detective styled stories, so I struggled to get invested in the narrative. In turn, I found it difficult to connect to the characters. The author’s built a fascinating world, one of fantasy and magic. We see people able to do magic, and the type of magic that's done is split along racial lines. I thought the magic system was well constructed especially in how it reflected the time the story was set in. Nevertheless, my overall experience was tainted because when I don’t connect to the main story, I get disconnected from everything.

I would like to thank the pubisher for the review copy via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

The Conductors by Nicole Glover is a historical fantasy fiction blending with magic and mystery. It has very interesting premise and fantasy elements, and it was pitched that it featured the magic and mystery of Jim Butcher's Dresden Files which I am a fan of. I really wanted to like this novel, but the execution lacked in several areas.

It followed Hetty Rhodes, a magic user and a former conductor on the Underground Railroad. Together with her husband Benjy, they used to help other slaves escape to the North. After the Civil War, they were now living in Philadelphia. Occasionally though, they solved mysteries and murders that authorities seemed to overlook. When one of their friends was killed in an alley, Hetty and Benjy had no choice but to unveil the secrets around them to solve the murder.

Like I said, this book had its potential. The unique and original ideas were already there, but the execution could have been better. The major issues I had were with the pacing and the magic system. The pacing was really slow, and I struggled to keep my interest in the story. It was about on the 60% mark when things finally moved a bit. The scenes and explanations on the first half were mostly the historical element. I really wouldn't have minded it if there were something about it that would hook me on the whodunit aspect. Morever, the two timelines narrative didn't quite work out for me either. It felt like it didn't achieve what it was trying to do since the scenes just suddenly jumped from one event to another. On the brighter side, the author gave a clear depiction of the class and race separation during that time.

The second issue is the magic system. What I jusy knew was that Black people like Hetty could wield 'Celestial Magic' by drawing sigils of constellations, while white folks used 'Sorcery' which required incantations and wands to work. Other than that, there were no more explanation regarding how the magic worked and its cope and limitations.

Hetty was a decent and likeable character. I was able to grasp and understand some of her struggles and personality. Unfortunately, I couldn't say the same for the rest of the characters. They somehow felt flat and one dimensional. It was quite difficult to differentiate them from one another. A more depth to each of them would have made a great difference.

Overall, The Conductors by Nicole Glover had a promising premise. It may be a rocky start for a series. Nevertheless, I still like some of its elements. Since it's the author's debut novel, I am looking forward to a more detailed magic system and hopefully a faster pacing for the next book. I am sure that with strict editing and proper guidance, this author will write more intriguing stories.

3/5 stars!

I think this book just wasn't really for me. It's definetly not a bad book but I just didn't really connect to it. I think that's because I was more interested in the magical element than the mystery but this book focused more on the mystery than the magical element. So, I think that's the main reason this book didn't work for me. Besides that I also just didn't really like the mystery and how it was resolved. I don't know, it just didn't work for me. I did quite like our main character but the side characters fell a bit flat for me. On top of that there was a romance in here that felt a bit forced in and I wish was done differently as well. The 'interludes' also felt a bit unnececary. I just think they didn't really add anything to the story. However, I did like the setting of this book. It is an interesting time period and I would like to read more books set in this time period. I also won't be continueing on with this series because I was happy with how this ended and don't feel the need to read more.

The Conductors is the first book in her Murder & Magic series by Nicole Glover. She introduces us to a wide range of characters. And, like many fantasy novels, you're thrust right into the middle of it with tons of moving parts, magnificent storylines, and outrageous characters.

The plot begins with wanted posters for African-American runaways when we are introduced to Henrietta (Hetty) and Benjamin (Benjy) Rhodes who were wanted dead or alive for freeing enslaved people by way of the the Underground Railroad. We soon shift to the Reconstruction era where while living in this world Black and white people all posses the ability to perform magic, though during slavery Black people were not permitted to perform magic unless it benefited the slave holder.

We found Hetty and Benjy's partnership is remarkable in that it began as a way for them to be comfortably paired together without attracting scrutiny or questions of honor. And, despite being married for a few years, they're finally opening up and acknowledging their feelings for one another.

We couldn't keep up with the characters at times. There are parts in the narrative that strayed off the mystery in the subplots. Glover, on the other hand, has an inventive imagination that kept us reading her novel. We are hoping that as the series progresses, the supernatural, mystery, and community aspects can be better integrated within the story.

Thank you to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and NetGalley, for a free copy of the novel in return for an honest review.

There’s a lot to like in The Conductors, from a fascinating world to a truly appealing pair of central characters, all blending history and magic in what promises to be a thoroughly enjoyable mystery story - but the positives are let down by poor execution in several respects.

The pros:
The magic! The Celestial magic wielded by Black characters, a magic that has been passed down through generations, is an original but clear magic system. There’s also herbal magic, as well as wand-based Sorcery that’s legally exclusive to white magicians, another touch that successfully blends the historical setting with the fantasy angle - it makes for an alternate history setting that's got a lot of interest and potential.

The characters! Our detecting duo, Hetty and Benjy Rhodes, may not be very good at detecting (despite constantly telling the reader that they are), but they’re a fun pair to read about, and while their “marriage of convenience into something more” romance is a bit of a slow burn (to say the least), I did mostly buy it.

The cons:
The side characters: Some of these were a good addition to the story (Oliver was an archetype I always enjoy in murder mysteries, for instance) but there are a LOT of side characters, a lot of similar relationship dynamics (is Hetty feuding with everyone??), and they’re often part of meandering, hard-to-follow side stories, some of which do end up circling back into the main plot.

The pacing: See above, re “meandering side stories.” It takes a verrrrry long time for the plot to pick up steam (why don’t these detectives spend any time detecting??). Related to that, the revelations in the mystery unfold shakily, with long stretches of...nothing? No clues, no investigation really - and then a burst of information. It doesn't result in a very satisfying solution.

Bonus con: the writing, like the sentence by sentence, putting together of words, writing .... is clumsy. Really clumsy. Characters act inconsistently from moment to moment within the same scene, responding in just....slightly weird ways?? It made the story even harder to follow, if I’m being honest. But I’m including this as only an extra note because I had quite an early copy and given how many editable typos and errors there also were, I genuinely don’t know how much of this was changed in the final edition. I’m hesitant to rate based on this if that’s the case, BUT, the writing as I read it...feels quite unpolished.

The end result of all of this is a book that was hard to get through, but one which I didn’t want to abandon - I wanted to enjoy time in this world, with these characters, and to find out the solution to the mysteries. And future books by this author and in this series might be a big improvement as she hones her craft, as well as having a more established setting & ensemble to rely on. But it’s a rough beginning.

Thank you to NetGalley and Mariner Books for the advance review copy!

I got this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. But I wouldn't call this an ARC so much as a very rough draft. The number of typos is stupefying; missing words are frequent and often make everything difficult to understand. But aside from the technical issues, the story was lacking. The magic system is not fleshed out although there was some very interesting things happening that I would have like to have explained. The synopsis says that Hetty and Benji are former conductors on the Underground Railroad but they aren't former anything. They still bring people out. There are also way too many characters to keep track of. I go lost a lot. I think this book would have been great if the magic system was more fleshed out or if it was left out entirely.

I liked this..I thought it was a going to be a book about conductors in the underground railway. It was but not in the way I thought. There were several stories about Hettie and Benjy helping people escape slavery and moving them to freedom but that was a minor part of the story. This is really a mystery. Hettie is an expert seamstress who can’t seem to hold onto a job and Benjy is a blacksmith but they work for their community unofficially investigating crimes and murders. Hottie is also on a quest to find her sister who has been missing since they were separated during an escape. Benjy and Hettie practice a form of magic based on the constellations. Their magic protects them and allows them to investigate more accurately. The story was good but the details are a bit vague. Relationships between friends and neighbors are loosely explained. There are many characters who have shared history but I felt a lot of that history was untold. I felt as if there was a prequel that I hadn’t read so I didn’t get the background of each character. There was no warmth in the relationships and they all seemed very superficial despite having a long history together. Benjy and Hettie’s relationship was strange, too. Not much warmth there until the latter part of the book. After reading this, I know who committed the crimes but I’m still fuzzy about the reasons and motives of the killer. This book has potential but it needs a good editor to polish the rough edges. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

The world building in this book was terrific. I was blown away by the uniqueness of the setting, the magic, and the characters. I can't wait to revisit this book and this world!