Monstrous Beauty by Elizabeth Fama

This is a dual-plot novel. One part follows the romance between the mermaid Syrenka and a naturalist named Ezra in the 19th century. The other plot follows Hester, a modern girl in her late teens who is facing the fact that the women in her family die shortly after giving birth.

Syrenka is a thousand-year-old mermaid who periodically falls in love with mortal men. As we learn in the prologue, she forgets her strength and the need for her lovers to breath so she has not successfully consummated any of her relationships.

We know from the beginning that Hester must be Syrenka's descendent. When she was young she was saved from drowning except she insists that she was able to breath underwater.

The modern plot follows Hester's attempts to solve a 140 year old mystery involving multiple deaths.

This book could have been written for me. Not only does it have mermaids, it takes place on Plymouth Massachusetts and Hester has a job at Plimoth Plantation (I have been to Plymouth multiple times and volunteered for special events at Plimoth Plantation).

The book is well-written. I think that it is supposed to be a young adult novel but it is written at an adult level.

The novel does take a few liberties with Plymouth. In fact, many of the important plot elements involve things that do not exist. For example, there is no back door to the church (I went through Plymouth right after reading the book and I checked).

One jarring element is when Hester finally meets the mermaids. The transition to a fantastic undersea world and back is rushed and has a different tone than the rest of Hester's story.

Regardless, I would recommend it.