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AudioBook information:
Author: Elizabeth Kostova
Narrated by: Maggi-Meg Reed, Charles Linshaw, Lisa Flanagan, Nicholas Guy Smith, Kirsten Potter
Release date: October 13, 2026
Audiobook Duration: 20 h 5 min
Summary:Â The last living member of a family of historians who has been hunted by dark forces associated with Dracula finds himself in peril at the hands of a new threat in this thrilling novel from the #1 bestselling author of The Historian.
After his beloved mother passes away suddenly, Jay Turner finds himself at a crossroads. She was always secretive, and when he returns to their Boston home to clear out her possessions, he finds an unusual item: a partially burned scrap of newspaper bearing the name “Gael Brogan.” Soon after, a deliveryman leaves behind a package containing a small antique volume bound in leather—and two bloody footprints.
The sight of the volume is chilling. As a young scholar, his mother had been given the medieval book—one of a set commissioned by Vlad ČšepeČ™, otherwise known as Dracula, just before his death in 1477. She’d always warned Jay of the dangers associated with it, and had donated it to a museum before she died . . . yet here it is, back in his possession.
Jay sets out to learn more about Gael Brogan, a prominent nineteenth-century actor whose last and most famous role was based on Bram Stoker’s Dracula. As Jay begins to dig deeper—with the help of a mysterious woman named Rhiannon—he uncovers the frightening story of a young actress who fell under Brogan’s sway long ago. Before long, Jay and Rhiannon realize that something similarly implacable is pursuing them.
In this epic and riveting tale, Elizabeth Kostova takes us deep into the Gilded Age of the theater and across the Atlantic in pursuit of an ancient evil and its dramatic followers.
Reviews:
Praise for Mystery Play
“Returning to the world she created for her bestselling debut The Historian, Kostova brilliantly blends a Henry Jamesian storytelling style with a wonderfully atmospheric, gothic-infused plot worthy of M. R. James at his best. The result is a spookily supernatural slow-burn thriller that casts its own haunting spell over readers . . . This quietly creepy, deadly entertaining thriller ingeniously plays with the myth and legend of Dracula.”—Library Journal, starred review
“Fans of [Kostova’s] previous work will be thrilled to see her circling back to Dracula and the vampire mythos. . . . She seamlessly blends history with the supernatural, creating a dense and atmospheric read. . . . What unfolds is an atmospheric mystery built around the Gilded Age of American theater.”—Kirkus Reviews
“From the glamour of Gilded Age theater to the hidden gems of research archives, Kostova’s dark tale delves into secret societies, obsession, and immortality, but also shows how far a mother’s love and protection can reach. Readers looking for an engrossing escape will find themselves transported.”—Booklist
Praise for The Historian
“[Elizabeth] Kostova’s knowledge of occult arcana is impressive, and she packages her erudition in a graceful narrative.”—The New Yorker
“Kostova has done something quite extraordinary. . . . She has refashioned the vampire myth into a compelling contemporary novel, a late-night page-turner.”—San Francisco Chronicle
“Part thriller, part history, part romance . . . Kostova has a keen sense of storytelling and she has a marvelous tale to tell.”—The Baltimore Sun
“Hypnotic . . . a thrill ride through history.”—The Denver Post
“Kostova’s vampire is no campy Lugosi knockoff. . . . Blending history and myth, Kostova has fashioned a version so fresh that when a stake is finally driven through a heart, it inspires the tragic shock of something happening for the very first time.”—Newsweek
“Kostova excels at the kind of quirky details that bring her characters to vivid life.”—The Seattle Times
About the Author:
Elizabeth Kostova is the bestselling author of The Shadow Land, The Historian, and The Swan Thieves. She holds a B.A. in British Studies from Yale University and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from the University of Michigan, where she won the Hopwood Award for the Novel.