Book Review: Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard

The year is 1876, and there’s something strange and deadly loose in Philadelphia…

Eleanor Fitt has a lot to worry about. Her brother has gone missing, her family has fallen on hard times, and her mother is determined to marry her off to any rich young man who walks by. But this is nothing compared to what she’s just read in the newspaper—

The Dead are rising in Philadelphia.

And then, in a frightening attack, a zombie delivers a letter to Eleanor…from her brother.

Whoever is controlling the Dead army has taken her brother as well. If Eleanor is going to find him, she’ll have to venture into the lab of the notorious Spirit-Hunters, who protect the city from supernatural forces. But as Eleanor spends more time with the Spirit-Hunters, including their maddeningly stubborn yet handsome inventor, Daniel, the situation becomes dire. And now, not only is her reputation on the line, but her very life may hang in the balance.

 

Something Strange and Deadly is exactly my kind of book.  It is a little bit different, a little bit funny and a little bit bizarre which is exactly what I like in my fiction.  I also loved how this book combined 18^th century America with zombies.  What this book offers is a good story, great characters and some lovely writing.  It is a cross between The Evil Dead and Downton Abbey…just with more cute boys and corsets.  

All in all I found this book to be gripping and exciting, there is a lot of action and at times it was also quite spooky.  It had its touching moments, funny moments and an ending that leaves you satisfied but also impatient for more.  

One of the great things about this book is the characters.  Elenor is a great.  She is stubborn, smart and brave.  She won’t let people walk all over her and I ended up liking her quite a lot.  Daniel was also great.  He is introduced in a peculiar way and it was impossible not to like him instantly.  He is cute but that is not why you like him, he has bundles of personality which makes him easy to adore.  

The romance was a sweet one but there wasn’t much of it, that wasn’t a problem because instead of insta-love there was a build-up which made everything feel more real and more intense.  There is a lot of humorous banter between the two characters and you can feel the connection and attraction between them building and building.  I felt that the romance was realistic which was a real plus for me and something that I adored about this novel.

I loved the way this book was written all the characters were well developed; all the world building made everything easy to envision and the language used was spot on for the period.  

I would love to give this book five stars but there is one thing holding me back.  I found it a little predictable, not the plot or the characters; I didn’t know what was coming next.  But I knew the ‘who did it’ reveals long before they happened.  I have a habit of doing this all the time so I don’t know if it is the book or me. 

Apart from that I was really impressed with this book, it is one of my books of the year so far and a great start to what I hope will be a great series.  I highly recommend it and cannot wait for it to come out so I can get a physical copy! 

4 stars

Published July 24th 2012 by HarperTeen.  A free copy was provided for review. Image courtesy of Goodreads

Review by Kate Phillips