The Perfect Place to Die — Teen Book Review

Set in Chicago at the end of the 19th century, The Perfect Place to Die tells the story of seventeen-year-old Zuretta, who traveled to the city to uncover the malevolent secret behind her sister’s disappearance. Her search leads her to The Castle, an eerie hotel where women have purportedly gone missing and the storyline doesn’t fit quite right. It’s not long before she finds herself caught in the notorious death trap of one of history’s most infamous serial killers. 

The idea of a hotel custom built for homicide is a chilling one, dutifully explored in The Perfect Place to Die. Even though it was set in the 1890s, the vivid descriptions of the cramped, crooked hallways and labyrinthian layout makes me uneasy about the next inn I visit. The uncanny feeling is supercharged by Zuretta’s hasty sketches of each floor scattered throughout the novel. The crooked lines and messy scrawl made me feel right in there with her, connected to this incongruous hotel. Unfortunately, Zuretta’s investigative floor plans were her only relatable quality. Despite the novel being told from a first person perspective, I felt very detached from the characters—Zuretta especially. I admired her courage, yet many of her decisions made little sense and her interactions with others came off as unrealistic. I felt like any other person could have told the story and it would have been the exact same. The same can be said for the facelessness of the side characters. Instead of possessing a personality beyond the way they treat Zuretta, all of the roles felt there solely for plot convenience, and I had a hard time connecting with them meaningfully. Besides that, The Perfect Place to Die is an easy read, albeit a slow paced one at times. It is a nice read even for those adverse to the grotesque side of horror, as the macabre and gore are kept to a minimum. Unfortunately, if you have heard of the famous story of The Castle and the serial killer lurking within it, the novel is easily spoiled and the plot twist witnessed before you even pick it up. 

2.5 stars.

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384 pages