Review: Atlas of Unknowable Things

Atlas of Unknowable Things by McCormick Templeman
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

1.5 stars ... maybe.

I made it to the 50% mark and then just gave up.

I felt that I needed a Master's Degree to read this book, and in so many different areas. I almost felt the author was mocking my intelligence with their heavy-handed use of irrelevant crap.

As for the mystery? The idea that there was one wasn't enough to keep me reading. The MC was book-smart (maybe), but a ten-year-old when it came to self-preservation.

I thought I would be getting an excellent, spooky, Halloweenish read, but what I got instead was a headache.

*ARC was supplied by the publisher St. Martin's Press, the author, and NetGalley.

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SUMMARY: "Perfect for fans of The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, with a modern gothic twist.

High in the Rocky Mountains on a secluded campus, sits Hildegard College, a celebrated institution known for its scientific innovation and its sprawling, botanical gardens. Historian Robin Quain has been awarded a residency to examine Hildegard’s impressive collection of ancient manuscripts, but she has a secret. She’s actually on the hunt for an artifact—one she must find before her former best friend turned professional rival gets his hands on it first.

But Hildegard has secrets of its own. Strange sounds echo across the alpine lake, lights flicker through the pines, and the faculty seem more like Jazz-age glitterati than academics. And then there’s the professor who holds the key to Robin’s research. She vanished suddenly last spring. What exactly did she do at the college, and why does no one want to talk about her?

As Robin searches for answers, an unknown source sends her a series of cryptic messages that makes her question whether she’s the one doing the hunting, or whether someone is hunting her. Drawing on historical, botanical, and occult research, and steeped in the gothic tradition, Atlas of Unknowable Things considers what it means to search for meaning in the scientific, only to come face to face with the sublime."