There are few things as satisfying to me in a story than women who, after years of being condescended to and underestimated, kick a whole lot of ass. Our protagonists in Susan J. Morris’s exciting historical fantasy, Strange Beasts, have more than their gender as a strike against them. Samantha Harker, the daughter of Jonathan and Mina Harker, has visions that most see as a serious vulnerability to the forces of evil. Dr. Helena Moriarty will never be fully trusted because everyone suspects that her father, James Moriarty, the Napoleon of Crime, is somehow pulling her strings.
Sam works as a researcher for the Royal Society for the Study of Abnormal Phenomena. The Society is responsible for tracking down, studying, and killing monsters that stalk humanity. For the most part, Sam is content to delve into the Society’s archives and library to help the field agents do their work. She enjoys the work and staying out of the field makes it easier for her to hide her occasional visions. But when a series of Morse-encoded numbers turns up in a particularly bloody case in Paris, Sam has to leave the library. Sam’s missing grandfather left the same numbers as a clue when he disappeared year’s earlier. Some arm-twisting secures Sam a place as a new partner for Dr. Helena Moriarty.
Morris doesn’t wait very long before throwing even more obstacles at our protagonists. Sam and Hel are attacked before they can even take ship for France. Once in Paris, they have to race from crime scene to crime scene as who (or what) is behind a series of grisly murders escalates. The murders are baffling. All of the victims are influential wealthy men. They are killed in some of Paris’s most fashionable spots, torn apart by some unknown monster. And yet, no one sees a thing. A Paris gang, the Wolves of God, have claimed responsibility for the killings even though they don’t have the means to pull off these murders.
I loved every page of this book. The literary references pulled me in, but what really hooked me was the gritty atmosphere, original spin on the paranormal, and the competence of Sam and Hel. I’ve already got a hold on the next book in the series at my library.