I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Mudlark by Mary Helen Specht Published by Ballantine Books on July 21 2026
Genres: Adult, Dystopian
Pages: 400
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: While the writing and themes were beautifully done, the plot and the multiple timelines never really gelled for me.
Mudlark had a lot of potential, but it lacked a few important things for me. Mostly, I never felt an emotional connection to the characters, so it was very hard to care about what happened to them. However, I loved Mary Helen Specht’s writing, and her imagery and metaphors were so beautiful in places. I’m a big fan of dystopians, especially ones like this that take place in the near future and feel very believable. Mudlark is being compared to Station Eleven, which is one reason I wanted to read it, but sorry, it’s nowhere near as good.
The story opens at a Burning Man concert (I’m assuming in the present day). We meet musician Jenny Sweet, her husband Max, and their band the Nightjars, who are about to split up and are playing their last concert at the event. Jenny has brought along her thirteen-year-old daughter Neko, but after agreeing to let her go to a food vendor for pizza, Neko never comes back, and Jenny and the band spend hours trying to find her.
The next chapter jumps ahead twenty-five years. Hurricane Frida decimated New York City and much of it is now under water (I have no idea what happened to the rest of the country, we’re never told). Neko is now thirty-eight and survives in the desolate landscape by “mudlarking,” scavenging for lost items, many of them buried underwater. Neko and her crew—boyfriend Iggy, Harriet and Jules—have agreed to a dangerous but lucrative job: someone is paying big bucks to get ahold of some canisters inside an underwater storage unit.
Neko discovers the canisters are full of old master recordings, including the masters of the old Nightjars albums. Thinking the “client” might be connected to her mother, who Neko has been searching for for years, she’s determined to make the drop off herself. The delivery location, though, turns out to be a secret, almost impenetrable bunker, and it won’t be easy to get inside.
In chapters scattered throughout told from Jenny’s point of view—each one titled with a song from Jenny’s solo album The Wreckage—we see how Jenny’s past was shaped by music, her relationship with Max, and her complicated feelings for Neko. I loved the idea of these flashback chapters, which delve into Jenny’s early days as a musician, all of which happened in the years leading up to the hurricane. Specht sprinkles lots of familiar band names and music references throughout her story, which I really enjoyed.
In Neko’s chapters, which make up the bulk of the story, there’s more of a dystopian, survival vibe going on. The city seems to be divided into the “haves” and “have nots.” Those on the “Inside” go about their daily lives as if nothing has happened, while those outside struggle to survive. “Inside” felt almost like a version of utopia, and we never find out if it even exists. But Neko, who lives on the outside, has become an expert diver and scavenger and has kept her head above water (so to speak) by taking on not only legitimate jobs, but illegal ones as well.
In addition to the tension surrounding the bunker and the possibility of Neko finding her mother, there’s quite a bit of drama among Neko’s crew members: betrayals, secrets, break-ups, etc., and I didn’t find these relationships nearly as interesting as the scavenging scenes. Quite a bit happens with Harriet, Jules, Neko and Iggy, but Harriet and Jules in particular never did much me. I would have preferred more of a focus on the relationship between Jenny and Neko, but unfortunately the author spends much more time with the other characters.
Neko’s disappearance when she was thirteen is one of the main mysteries of the story, and when the answer finally comes at the end, it was sort of vague and unsatisfying. Likewise, Jenny’s fate is never fully explained, and the author only paints a blurry watercolor of those events which left me frustrated.
I was also confused by the different timelines. Both Jenny’s and Neko’s chapters include flashbacks, and none of these sections are identified by dates. The author randomly jumps around, interrupting action in the present while the characters reflect on the past. Normally I love this style of storytelling if it’s well done, but here it just came across as chaotic and confusing.
But there is a lot of good in Mudlark too. I especially loved the way the author uses motherhood as a theme, tying together Jenny and Neko across the years, even though their story never gets a happy ending. I loved the sense of nostalgia the author invokes as Neko reflects on places and things from her childhood that are gone forever—her favorite bakery, the stamp store in Manhattan she loved as a child, and other poignant moments from the past. Specht’s imagery is simply beautiful, and I marked many passages in the book as I was reading. If only the plot and characters were stronger, this could have ended up being a favorite book. Instead, I have to recommend a different dystopian with a similar setting and idea, All the Water in the World, which is a beautifully crafted and much more cohesive story.
Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.
I can see why you picked this up – the premise is cool! I’m sorry it didn’t quite live up to your expectations.
It was a great idea, especially the music element.
This sounds so interesting! I’ve read other books with drowned cities and usually love that sort of setting. I can see why the flashbacks might have felt confusing. Too bad that it wasn’t as well done as you’d hoped. It does seem like the premise would be fantastic!
I loved the premise, but all the parts just didn’t come together the way I’d hoped.
Hmm I am intrigued. Thanks for sharing your honest thoughts.
Thanks Hena!
While reading your review I was thinking you’re making it sound all very interesting, so what’s wrong? Then you said the ending was vague and uninteresting, which kinda seals it…that kind of ending is frustrating when the mystery is built up throughout the book. Sorry this one didn’t quite work for you!
It was a great idea, and I’ve read other similar stories that managed to do a better job combining all the elements.
I was originally interested in this one, then I read some very early review that caused me to reconsider, though I can’t remember why exactly. Anyhow…like you, I have issues with books whose characters don’t grip me, and while I can absolutely enjoy stories with open endings and /or things that are left to imagination, I need at least some answers, or a clue. On the other hand, your observations on the writing piqued my interest…
Her writing is really good, and I will definitely read her next book. But there was such a tease about what happened at Burning Man, with Neko disappearing, and then just an offhand comment about why she disappeared. I guess I wanted more of an emotional reason, and it just didn’t hit me right.
Not being able to connect with the characters is also a big failure for me!
It’s so important, right?
Hmm, sorry this didn’t work. Like others have said, I also need to connect to the characters, so that is a reason I often DNF if I can’t. Great review though!
I definitely wanted more character connection.
Its a shame this one felt chaotic and didnt have particularly strong characters as the ideas intriguing and I do love beautifully crafted writing. I feel like from what you’ve said that the lack of answers would really frustrate me though. It feels like the whole story revolves around Neko’s disappearance and efforts to track her mother down, within a dystopian setting, so for the explanations to be weak is pretty troubling. Hope your next read hits more strongly.
I found myself not wanting to pick it up and continue, which is a sure sign a book isn’t working that well. Oh well, the book I’m currently reading is fantastic!
I like the musical elements, and chapter titles as songs from an album in the story is kinda cool. Too bad it all didn’t work better for you as a whole. I really like the cover, the softer cloudy colors, the building in the background and person on a boat in the foreground, the birds, really well done.
The whole concept was fantastic, I guess it just didn’t quite come together overall.
Interesting but tough if there is no payoff of a reunion or clear info on what happened.
That ending was sort of wishy washy…
That’s a shame, it sounded so promising. But, if I don’t like the characters I always really struggle to engage with the book.
Lynn 😀