[ARC Review] The Vines by Shelley Nolden

The island hadn't changed, but it had changed her...

Cora has been a prisoner on New York's North Brother Island since she was 18. A carrier of five different deadly and contagious diseases - yet seemingly immune to any of their side effects while on the island - Cora has been experimented on for decades by the men of the Gettler family. In the name of science, they claimed, each Gettler man took his experiments into darker and more inhumane territory, from Otto's original experiments, to Ulrich's sadistic plans, to Kristian's ideas to infect her with even more diseases just to find a vaccine. But through it all, Cora manages to survive. Not only is Cora a survivor, but it seems like the island won't let her die...

If you love historical fiction, thrillers, science fiction, or all three, The Vines is a perfect read for you. Shelley Nolden beautifully wrote a tale centered around Riverside Hospital, a now-defunct quarantine hospital on North Brother Island. Riverside is probably best known for being the hospital where Typhoid Mary spent her last days, but Nolden brought so much intrigue and suspense to this abandoned site. Cora has such a unique story, and I really enjoyed how effortlessly her fictional story was woven into the real-life events of North Brother Island. Nolden also pulled so many historical events into the story, from Typhoid Mary to medical experimentation during WWII, and all those details made Cora's story that much more believable. I also loved watching Cora's relationship with each generation of Gettler evolve as each Gettler's reasons for experimenting on her changed over time. The Vines was an absolutely enthralling tale, and I can't wait to see how Nolden continues the story in the next book.

A few trigger warnings: medical experimentation, rape, main character is tied down/tied up, mentions of pandemics and coronavirus, Nazis/mentions of experiments done in concentration camps.

A huge thank you to Freiling Publishing and Netgalley for letting me read The Vines in advance of its release date.