What I liked best about this book was the scrapbook pages before and after each chapter. Pictures, letters and little mementos were drawn by the illustrator (Lisa Brown) to accompany Jennie's memories and stories. The process of taking pictures of the dead wasn't unknown to me before now; there were several such pictures at family member's old house and though its creepy it was highly fascinating at the same time.

What didn't work as well for me was Jennie's narration. I'm not entirely certain why, just that no matter how interested I became in the story Jennie would draw me out of it almost immediately. She had a very formal sound to her voice, not stiff exactly, but as if sharing the story wasn't the first thing she wanted to do.

I know very little about Civil War America, as far as the culture and what happened outside of the battles is concerned. It was fascinating to read about Jennie's family and in hindsight what she couldn't see about her Aunt and Uncle, or even her cousins, she observes and discounts. She observed her cousin Quinn's odd behavior from the first, but chose to discount it. She was so worried about not being tossed out (now that her fiancee was gone) she didn't want to see I think.

The ending is darkly hilarious--secrets are laid out and Jennie finally gets back her own. I was kind of disappointed, only because the epilogue made her exit feel less climatic. I think this will appeal to fans of history (this is chocked full of historical tidbits) or of suspense/mysteries honestly. It has a gothic appeal to it in fact. ( )

This is the story of a young girl during the end of the Civil War. There is much history blended into this ghost story including depictions of what soldiers did in the war as well as how photography was used to communicate with the deceased. Interesting book. ( )

After Jennie Lovell's fiancé, Will, is killed during the Civil War, she forms an alliance with a spirit photographer and uses her ability to talk to the dead to investigate the secrets Will was hiding and how he really died.

Picture the Dead was a good mix of two of my favorite genres, historical and paranormal fiction. The book is skillfully illustrated with drawings which depict the sepia toned photos of the Civil War Era. This book is the story of Jennie Lovell who has experienced much loss throughout her young life. Her twin brother, Tobias, and she were orphaned at a young age and taken in by their less than welcoming aunt and uncle. Luckily, their cousin Will was excited to have them join the family and quickly became a surrogate brother to the twins. When Jennie and Will are old they are engaged to be married before Will goes off to fight for the Union effort. When Will is killed during the war Jennie is heartbroken especially since her brother has been lost to her as well. However, a ghost will find its way home and soon Jennie is feeling as though Will is trying to contact her from beyond the grave. If you are looking for a solid historical novel with a paranormal twist I highly recommend you check out this book ( )

Historical fiction meets creepy ghost/suspense story, Picture the Dead was an interesting book. It was a quick read, because it actually had pictures--the second author credited on the cover is actually the illustrator--pictures which gave clues to things that were about to happen or clarified things that already had. I enjoyed the story, but the pacing seemed a bit off--for a lot of it, it felt like not much was happening and then once it did, bam! it all happened at once. Still, though, it was a fun way to spend a few hours. ( )