Gareth Rubin’s The Turnglass is at least four books in one volume. English majors are going to love digging into all the layers and echoes in these conjoined stories. Rubin writes that he was inspired by tête-bêche books and, even though I read this book in ebook format and so missed the experience of flipping my kindle around for the second story, I did want to go back to the start of the first story so that I could take a another ride.

The first story takes place on a remote Essex coastal island in 1881. Our protagonist for this tale is Dr. Simeon Lee, who has just agreed to become his uncle’s doctor. (He needs the money. He’d much rather be studying cholera.) Things get weird the very first night when the uncle reveals that he is his sister-in-law’s jailor. Florence lives out her days in a glass cell built into the house. (The other option is an insane asylum.) Lee loves a mystery, apparently. He can’t help poking around and asking questions to figure out what Florence actually did and why there’s a two-years-dead body buried in the mud on his uncle’s island. It’s amazing how much plot Rubin crams into this novella.

The second story is set on the other side of the world from Essex and fifty-ish years later. Aspiring actor Ken Kourian becomes swept up in a mystery after befriending a rising author. Oliver Tooke takes Ken under his wing because, unlike so many other people in his life, Ken is a good listener. Compared to Lee, Ken is a fairly passive protagonist. Of course, he doesn’t really need to investigate since everyone around him just blabs out what they know within five minutes. Where the first story is highly Gothic, the second is very much a noir.

A strange book features in each story, one of many connections between the two parts of The Turnglass. These books-inside-of-other-books increased my sense of unreality. Vonnegut would have to use a Klein bottle shape to plot these books. That sense of unreality didn’t stop me from getting absorbed in the stories, thankfully. Instead, their strangeness and out-of-placeness spurred me to think about the importance of how stories are told as I watched Lee and Ken try to figure out what the hell was going on. No one’s word can be trusted. Those who aren’t lying may not have all the facts or may have been told a different version of events. That said, it’s not impossible to solve the mysteries because the distortions and lies are also clues. Like I said, English majors are going to have a blast with The Turnglass.

My thanks to NetGalley and Union Square & Co. for an advance copy of this new novel, with two covers, two unique stories with a twist that is both in the writing, and to read the book.

As a long time science fiction writer I was familiar with books that told two different stories, reading one than flipping the book over to read the other one. Ace Paperbacks had the Ace doubles that featured stories too short for novels, but perfect to be read back to back. Many of these had similar themes. Martians invading. Some of them had a story and a sequel. These book are called tête-bêche novels, and can be a lot of fun. I read quite a bit, and I remember in the 80's they came back with the same idea, and I think I have a few of those also. None of them though was like this novel, a tête-bêche where the stories not only are back-to-back, but intertwined, feeding off each other, contradicting each other, and doing their best to make sure the secrets the books contain, stay secret. The Turnglass by Gareth Rubin is a unique story set near the end of the 19th century, and before World War II, in a family story full of mysteries, duos, and of course, murder.

Sometime in the 1880's Dr. Simeon Lee is working in London trying to find a cure for cholera. Lee needs funding and is finding that many doors are being closed in his face. Lee receives a letter asking him to stay with an uncle he has never meet, outside of Essex. The area has always been known for its smuggling ways, but Lee is interested enough to help, and maybe secure funds this way. The Uncle lives in a house that is only approachable by land a few times a day, as it is on an island and trapped by the tides. Lee finds his patient, a local parson is not alone in the house, known as Turnglass. The Uncle's sister-in-law also lives there, but is more a prisoner than a guest. Florence is locked in a unique prison, for the murder of her husband, and it is either Turnglass or the asylum. In 1930's Los Angeles, Ken Kourian a want-to-be-actor looking for his place in life meets Oliver Tooke, a famous writer and son of the governor of California, and possibly the next President of the United States. Tooke has just finished his latest novel a tête-bêche novel called The Turnglass, when he dies apparently of suicide. Ken has his doubts and as he begins to investigate finds that many of the clues he needs to understand what is happening, might be in the book itself.

A story that is big and goes places, while drawing on many familiar themes. A gothic romance mixed with film noir, ladies in distress and big dumb men getting involved in things that might get them killed. Which I really enjoyed. One could read either story first, but I started with the story set in the 1880's. I liked the writing a lot, very atmospheric, with a lot of care paid not only to the words, but how these words could advance the story in the next part. Rubin takes real care to keep everything together, and I don't think it would be strange to finish this book and restart it again a Möbius strip of thriller reading. Mainly to see how it all comes together. I liked the characters, and the way things moved, and the darkness of the tale. A rare story that was both familiar, and yet unique all at the same time.

A clever idea that the author executes well. I really enjoyed this work, my first time reading this author, and plain to read more. A very fun reading experience.

I was lucky to receive an advanced copy of this very different book. Two different stories told years and miles apart. Full of intertwining events and clues.

The original term “tête-bêche” was usually used in printing, where a mistake in the setting of a signature could mean that something would be printed upside down - but sometimes, this was done intentionally. In this case, Gareth Rubin took his chance of a two in one publishing deal with his book(s): the two crime novellas are in fact printed and bound upside down, so that they both begin at the ends of the phisical book and meet in the middle, and when you finish reading one you can simply turn the book over (the imagery of the hourglass that pervades the book is a neat reminder of this feature).

This was the first hurdle I found when reading the book on the Netgalley app, as the novelty of the phisicality of the book as an object can’t be transposed on an ebook (or, it can, but it’s more of an inconvenience), so this detail was sadly lost on me. If the only reason you’re picking up this book is this one, then I would suggest getting a physical copy.

The book has another interesting aspect, however, and that makes it worth reading in however format you prefer if you’re a fan of crime fiction: the two stories, despite being set many decades apart, play a mirrorlike reference of each other. Without going too much in detail as not to spoil anything, both novellas hinge around the Turnglass House and the mysteries it contains.

The blurb says that the book can be read in either “direction”, but I would advise to read the novella set in 1881 first, as the other one “spoils” some moments by giving further insight — whereas, where you to read them the other way around I feel like you would have some preconceptions about the story that leave you with more questions than answers.

The idea behind the book is the one that pulled me in, while both mysteries are nothing to write home about. I definitely enjoyed the one set in the UK more: I really didn’t care about the protagonists of the novella set in California, and guessed the key mystery pretty soon in the story, so I waited for a hundred pages for the confirmation of my hypothesis.

Despite everything I would still recommend it! The length of the novellas and the accessible language make it a perfect entry point for the people that are wary of getting into the genre, a quick dip just to see if you like the temperature.

(The racist portrayal of Romani people is one thing I couldn't look past though: the book is very aware of the racism towards Black people and makes sure to rectify the language when African American characters are addressed, and you can see the difference in the way the "bad guys" and the internal pov of the protagonist talk about them them - this amount of grace is not bestowed on Romani people, who are used as an overlooked scapegoat for violence and brutality.)

This book is such a unique and fascinating physical read. Of course the story is gorgeous and gothic and dark and gritty but the turning it over and interlacing tale is sooooooo much fun!

Unfortunately not for me. In a world with SO many books being published, I just don't see this as a must in our collection.

Two stories intertwine each other in an uncommon but very interesting way. It was really fun to read, and both stories kept me always on edge.
It's a book that's printed back-to-back and head-to-foot, so I really recommend buying it in physical form to have a much better reading experience!
And because of this, there's no "correct way" to start reading this book, when you're finished with the first story, just turn the book around and start reading the other one :)

Unremarkable "mystery" - difficult to get engaged and to finish, document formatting made the story difficult to read, and character development didn't help to keep reader engaged.

This is my first tête-bêche book and I enjoyed some parts it offers. For mystery readers, however, I think they will find the story safe and not groundbreaking like the format.

Technically, reading this book is like reading two separate books. One is the actual story and one is the spin-off. The length of the book is pretty much the same. I recommend to read 1880s London before following 1930s LA, but if you prefer to start with more fast-paced story, you can read LA bit first or a little bit of both at the same time.

I was struggling with unfamiliar British terms and Victorian-vibe writing style in 1880s London, especially the dialogue. The mystery is not directly affecting the main character either. However, I really like how immersive and eerily beautiful the description is, as if I was really there in Turnglass House and the island. The plot twist could be detected miles away but I didn't expect the how and the why. It was clever and satisfying.

1930s LA is more engaging, direct, easy to read and the mystery is linked to the main character. We also got a hint of romantic storyline. The difference with London bit makes sense after I learned the connection between the two. LA hundreds years ago is not much different with LA now, and the modernity helps me turn the page. Like in London bit, there is little character development, but Ken is more developed especially after the stakes get higher than Simeon.

Both stories have one similarity: it doesn't have a closure ending. We never know what happens after it reveals. It doesn't mean it ends with cliffhanger, it ends when we know who did it and that's it. I would like to find out how main character's life changes after being impacted by the incident. Also, the texts are haphazardly formatted, so I hope they'll fix this in printed version.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for eARC of this book.

Fun different historical mystery read! Just wish I enjoyed both sides of the story equally, the different settings in 1930s and the 1880s was thrilling and made the book enjoyable

A novel and engrossing mystery reminiscent of Shadow of the Wind. The dual nature of the book intrigued me in the start, but ultimately was not beneficial to the narrative.

The first half, whilst a solid enough concept, structure wise, left me faintly unsatisfied. It lacked tension and felt mostly like two characters discussing the events that led them together.

The second half, thankfully, ramped up the tension, and threw a considerable amount of the first half into doubt, revealing it as largely fiction.

The writing style was where the book shone, with visceral descriptions that did well to evoke the various locations.

The plot however, felt a bit rushed, like the author was favoring the cleverness of the format over character and plot development. Of all the characters, Oliver was the most developed: the others felt a bit flat, and Ken's involvement did not feel particularly solid. Ultimately, things would've been much easier for him had he just walked away - and his motivation for staying felt weak.

Whilst you supposedly could start the book with either side, i would strongly recommend starting with the Victorian half.

I DNFed this book about halfway in. LOVE the concept but couldn't get into the writing and characters. Thank you for letting me read this book.