Mystery Play Book Review: A Sequel to The Historian

The Historian is one of those books that sticks with you. As a vampire fanatic, I read it years ago and always had a soft spot for its scholarly tone and slow gallivanting through Europe. Now, over 20 years later, Elizabeth Kostova has reentered the world she created to give us a pseudo-sequel in the form of Mystery Play. The cast of characters may be different, but the theatrical antics hit just as hard in this stage-themed production.

This book is a true whirlwind from start to finish. Much like its predecessor, Mystery Play gathers up the reader in an immense adventure that’s taking place across time at a breakneck pace. The sense of mystery and tension is palpable, and the stakes truly do seem to be life or death. As our protagonists James and Riley uncover one mystery, another one emerges, meaning we’re never quite satisfied until the succulent ending.

New Faces, Same Vibes: How Mystery Play Compares to The Historian

At first I wondered how apparent it would be that Mystery Play is a sequel to The Historian. But right away, we learn that James Turner (our primary narrator) is the son of the daughter of Helen and Paul. Now that I think of it… I don’t think we ever learn her name!

Despite sharing some characters and lore from the first book, you don’t need to read The Historian before reading Mystery Play. The plot is based on entirely new findings that don’t necessarily correlate with the Dracula storyline. So while there are plenty of Easter eggs and callbacks throughout, the story is perfectly understandable without this prior knowledge.

However, if you did read The Historian and love it… you’ll be pleased to know the vibes are exactly the same. We get that similar Victorian narrative voice that drives the story forward through an epistolary-style telling. Jay is an excellent narrator, and while I was at first reticent about the other POVs, they eventually grew on me. Slowly but surely, the story comes together through his narrative and the other documents he finds along the way.

The biggest difference between these two tomes is the setting. Mystery Play takes place mostly in the Northeastern United States, while The Historian takes place all over Europe. That does mean a lot of charm is lost, because let’s face it — the U.S. is not as mysterious as ancient Europe. However, Kostova does the best she can with this premise, taking us on a scavenger hunt to century-old castles, historic cities, and the backrooms of one of the grandest theater collections in the world.

And while The Historian focuses mainly on vampires and chasing down Dracula, Mystery Play instead delves into turn-of-the-century stage plays, focusing on a theater troupe led by actor, writer, and director Gael Brogan.

Meet Gael Brogan: The Cringiest of Actors

Gael Brogan is a man of mystery, that’s for sure.

He’s an actor. But for him, acting isn’t just a way to earn some cash. It’s life.

To compare him to a modern-day entertainer, I’d call him Daniel Day-Lewis. While he doesn’t go full method (most of the time), he’s constantly using real props on stage to make things feel authentic. There’s no stage magic here — he even goes as far as casting real witches from Salem to fill the role of the Three Witches in Macbeth.

In other words, he’s kind of insufferable.

If I saw him start acting out Macbeth in the middle of an ordinary conversation — or worse, flip into a handstand and start pulling an endless kerchief from his pocket — I would probably punch him in the face. Those aren’t scenarios I made up to be funny — they’re from the book.

But that doesn’t stop him from getting all the ladies he wants. Somehow, he has an alluring swagger that transcends the bonds of time.

And that means, as our primary antagonist, he’ll be a worthwhile opponent.

A Brief Summary of the Premise of Mystery Play

To briefly summarize the plot of Mystery Play without giving anything away: James Turner is reeling after the death of his mother, but his life is turned upside down when he receives a mystery dragon book in the mail. This, coupled with a mysterious slip of paper inside his mother’s old dressing table and an old biography on his neighbor’s bookshelf, leads him on the historical trail of Gael Brogan.

The deeper he digs, the more dangerous the situation becomes, until he has no choice but to solve the mystery that’s been thrust upon him.

Obviously, this is a dazzling premise, especially if you love academic-led investigation. But I did find fault with some of the catalysts in the story that pushed Jay to keep investigating. So many mysterious things kept happening to him as a way to scare him off, so naturally, he wanted to figure out why. It seems that if whatever malevolent force was behind all of this simply stopped making mysterious things happen, then Jay would have forgotten about it and moved on with his life.

The characters also felt a bit… dense at times? These are very smart, scholarly people, and while they might not initially believe supernatural tidings are afoot, they eventually realize there has to be something unnatural behind it all. Once they do… it takes them a very long time to draw simple conclusions about what is going on.

I also felt like we were strung along a bit too long. Key pieces of information were withheld until nearly the end of the book, meaning it felt like it took forever to solve this mystery. And once it is solved, we do have full resolution, but I’m still a bit confused about how everything could possibly have gone down the way it did.

Final Thoughts in This Mystery Play Book Review

Overall, I do feel that Mystery Play is a worthy sequel to the greatness that was The Historian. It’s a delightful, if overly long, romp into an academic mystery. Kostova is clearly a skilled writer who knows how to weave a tale packed with tension while slowly dripping new information. Her characters are real and drawn to life, her prose is luscious and filling, and her mix of occult and academia is entirely immersive.

P.S. I absolutely hate the cover — I think it makes the book seem cheesy, like a soap opera. Like, why are this man’s eyes floating in the sky? Can we get a redo?