I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Strange Beasts by Susan J. Morris Series: Standalone
Published by Bindery Books on 2024 October 15
Genres: Fantasy, Mystery
Pages: 283
Format: E-Arc
Source: Netgalley
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In this fresh-yet-familiar gothic tale―part historical fantasy, part puzzle-box mystery―the worlds of Dracula and Sherlock Holmes collide in a thrilling exploration of feminine power.
At the dawn of the twentieth century in Paris, Samantha Harker, daughter of Dracula’s killer, works as a researcher for the Royal Society for the Study of Abnormal Phenomena. But no one realizes how abnormal she is. Sam is a channel into the minds of monsters: a power that could help her solve the gruesome deaths plaguing turn-of-the-century Paris―or have her thrown into an asylum.
Sam finds herself assigned to a case with Dr. Helena Moriarty, daughter of the criminal mastermind and famed nemesis of Sherlock Holmes and a notorious detective whom no one wants to work with on account of her previous partners’ mysterious murders. Ranging from the elite clubs of Paris to the dark underbelly of the catacombs, their investigation sweeps them into a race to stop a beast from its killing rampage, as Hel and Sam are pitted against men, monsters, and even each other. But beneath their tenuous trust, an unmistakable attraction brews. Is trusting Hel the key to solving the murder, or is Sam yet another pawn in Hel’s game?
What a refreshing book this is! Granted that I have been a long time fan of Sherlock Holmes and anything to do with the fandom that it was with a bias that I picked the Strange Beasts from Netgalley without any hesitation. Of course, world of Sherlock Holmes + Fantasy with magical beasts involved= COUNT ME IN PLEASE! And here, take my money!
Sherlock Holmes, was of course, not present in this book but rather it’s a story of two determined and goal-oriented ladies who are working for the Royal Society for the Study of Abnormal Phenomenon (RSSAP) in London, Researcher Samantha Harker and Field Agent Dr. Helena Moriarty (Yes, she is the daughter of the ). While the blurb can make one doubt about this novel being a rehashed version of the Sherlock Holmes stories, worry not because the Strange Beasts is totally a different beast (pun intended!) Here, we are thrown into the 1900s wherein supernatural threats are widely accepted as a normal every day happening. And thus, organizations such as the RSSAP came to existence to address, regulate, and terminate concerns and threats related to anything paranormal.
Samantha a.k.a Sam Harker, one of our heroines, is employed in the organization is a researcher who spends most of her time poring over books, reading and filing reports and who is likely to be tagged as bookishly boring. What a lot of people doesn’t know is that there’s more to her than being the uninteresting researcher. While she’s thoroughly happy and contented being drowned in books on a daily, she suddenly gained an appetite to be deployed in the field where mademoiselles like her have no business as she’s just so incompetent in terms of physical survival. And so, this is where our story started.
After manipulating the head of the RSSAP, Sam finally got her wish and got partnered with the overly mysterious but renowned Field Agent Dr. Helena a.k.a Hel Moriarty. This partnership has somewhat burst Sam’s bubble of happiness because while Hel is an outstanding Field Agent, all her previous partners died due to peculiar circumstances. So the question is, is Sam going to be the next casualty?
While I was busy figuring out whether Sam would die or not or, other equally suspenseful things are happening as our duo must solve a horrendous case of serial killings involving some sort of lycanthrope attacks. But that’s only scratching the surface for our duo because on the background, Sherlock’s archenemy and Hel’s father, Professor Moriarty, is also running a game of his own to trap Hel into his own clutches once again.
Written with sophistication, this book did not leave any room for breathing. There’s just a lot of action, a lot of brow raising scenarios happening that it’s just so hard to put this book down even for the occasional toilet and snack breaks. The atmosphere that Susan J. Morris wrought made me feel like I was also accompanying our characters in their search for the truth. The 1900 version of France, the setting of the Strange Beasts, became alive with Morris’ beautiful writing.
When I read the author’s bio, I was pleasantly surprised to know that Strange Beasts is her debut novel because this book was so perfectly written that I had a hard time believing such fact. So yes, I love this book. I love how it was written, I love how the characters were developed and their dynamics (hehehe), I love how the author made the plot so intricate and yet, not irritating me with infodumps and dragging the story with verbosity. Whether you are a fan of Sherlock Holmes or not, give this book a try.
PS. AND WHY IS THIS NOT A SERIES? THERE’S NO WAY THAT IT JUST ENDED LIKE THAT!