The Conductors by Nicole Glover

This is a phenomenal debut novel full of mystery, magic, and history. Hetty Rhodes, along with her husband Benjy, are conductors on the Underground Railroad. Using their magical gifts to aid in the rescue of many enslaved people, Hetty and Benjy find themselves also serving as the unofficial detectives and investigators for their community. When an old friend of the couple is murdered, the investigation into his death will uncover a tangled web of magic, lies, and devastating secrets. As the couple dive deeper into the mystery of the murder, Hetty continues her years-long search for her missing sister, and discovers that there may be more to her and Benjy’s relationship than she previously believed.

The Conductors is a compelling and engrossing story that effortlessly blends magic and history with the suspense of a mystery. The magic system draws on the powers of the stars and the sigils depicting the constellations. As with our history, white people hold the majority of the magical power and consider their use of it as “good” while they consider the magic held and practiced by Black people to be wrong and dangerous. It’s a gross and unjust system and there’s a very disturbing use of magical collars to control the magic of Black people, but it’s also in line with all the grossness and injustice that white people have inflicted over the centuries. Please don’t think I’m justifying it, I’m not, I just don’t want it to seem that I’m calling the author’s intentions gross. The magical sigils could be embroidered into clothing and handkerchiefs to provide protection, as well as be painted and etched into walls and floors and I love how the beauty of the stars could be translated into magic.

Hetty and Benjy were both great characters and I loved Hetty and Benjy’s unconventional relationship provided a layer of conflict and complexity to the story and to their interactions with friends and the community. They are both driven and steadfast in their mission to protect others, and led to their unconventional marriage. Just like in our own history, Hetty and Benjy couldn’t be seen together, unchaperoned, over and over again without raising eyebrows and creating gossip. To stem some of this, they got married but never had real feelings for each other. As the latest mission brings them closer and closer, forcing out long-held secrets, the two grow into a new relationship that was really lovely to watch develop.

While I would have like a faster pace to the storytelling, I found The Conductors to be an engaging read and look forward to more from this author. 

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Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read and review this title. All opinions and mistakes are my own. This post contains affiliate links and I earn from qualifying purchases.