Strange Beasts

By Susan J. Morris

Originally published October 2024

Strange Beasts by Susan J. Morris

4/5 🐣🐣🐣🐣

tl;dr The daughters of two of the most renown literary

figures must come together to solve a gruesome series of murders. Everyone assumes Samantha Harker is mad, or will be soon, and that Helena Moriarty is a murderess, and if that wasn’t enough the arrogant Van Helsing is trailing them all over Paris. But when Samantha’s worst fear comes true, can she trust the mysterious Lady M to come rescue her?

***

It’s a well known fact that a Channel who uses her ability to see through the eyes of monsters will inevitably become one herself. Every one assumes this is doubly true for Samantha Harker because of her mother Lucy’s connection with the evil Dracula.

Helena Moriarty, daughter of the infamous Professor Moriarty, is suspected of having killed her last three partners and is actively being hunted by her brilliant father in a cat and mouse game of chess in which the entire city of Paris is the board and Hel merely a pawn.

When Samantha’s beloved grandfather disappears, nothing will stop her finding him, not even the cold, calculated and potentially murderous Lady M. As Sam’s ability to Channel grows and the threat of madness draws closer, Professor Moriarty is closing a noose around their necks. The deeper Sam digs, the more she comes to realize that she and Lady M are connected in some unexpected and mysterious ways.

Susan J. Morris deftly weaves a world of mist, mystery and monsters in which any number of Victorian literary icons could lurk. It felt like a world were you could turn the a foggy corner and doff your hat to Dr. Jekyll or catch a glimpse of the handsome Dorian Gray. I love nothing more than a world that feels inhabited and lived in, worn a little soft at the edges.

The mystery that Morris builds is intricate, well structured and pays off wonderfully, even if I did figure out the culprit early on. The ride was worth if and it the reveal was satisfying enough that I felt vindicated rather than short-changed.

Sam and Hel face some very real problems around the way women were expected to behave in this era, and seeing them find their own ways around those expectations was refreshing. Though I have to say, I have rarely detested a character so much as I did Van Helsing in this story. Seeing these women seriously dent his male privilege was so much fun.

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