I loved this book, I was maybe expecting a bit more of the sapphic romance but I think there are more books planned with these characters (the daughters of Moriarty from Sherlock, and Mina Harker from Dracula). I also enjoyed that the book had me going: Oh I know the perp, wait do I, no I do, but are you sure until the end. I did know, but I never second guessed my instinct before like that.

This story has a little bit of everything: Fun world building, a clever and twisty plot, interesting characters, interesting villains, interesting herrings in various shades of red, and some really great lines and descriptors:

“The first man was young, his eyes bright with drink. Nature had failed to furnish him with a chin, but he made up for it with a roguish scruffiness and a floral scarf around his neck.” and “She had a kind face, round cheeked with laugh lines and soft brown eyes that were currently contemplating the brass knuckle knives on her hands, the gentleman’s ear caught between two of the blades like a scrap of meat between teeth.”

Told from Samantha’s point of view, the book doesn’t let the reader get into the head of Helena “Hel” Moriarty, which I think it just as well. Like her famous father, Hel is supposed to be smarter, quicker, and more cunning than everyone else — everyone but her brother and father — and that’s a hard ask for any author. As it is, Sam’s admiration, vexation, indignation and reliance upon Hel’s skills gives enough of a shape to Hel’s character, and I think is very well done.

Sam, herself, is soft hearted, unused to physical efforts and violence, and it shows. Her sympathy for the women she meets, her use of soft power — making friends, playing up her womanly helplessness, even against Hel — net her better results than a gun or a knife. All in all she’s a very well done character.

The plot is nice, solid and well constructed, but the writing is what really worked for me. The difficulties of being a woman agent in a world where women are often seen as either workers, wives or mistresses and rarely as people of influence or authority lends a frustrating element to Sam and Hel’s efforts, and I enjoyed the various monsters scattered through the adventure.

The romance … well, I will say it worked for me, but it might not for everyone. Sam’s thoughts are so full of Hel, and her various feelings towards her, but because the book never shows Hel’s thoughts, I’m left having to judge her on her actions. (And that kiss!) It’s clear Hel is socially awkward and may be neurodivergant coded — that, or just really not good with people; her manner of speaking, her behavior isn’t that of someone courting a lover or someone falling in love, but it’s clear Hel comes to rely on Sam for the emotional support, for the quiet understanding, for being one of the few, and maybe only people in Hel’s life to look at her as being worth anything.

It’s a slow burn, and by the end of the book they’re only just starting to figure out what it is between them. So if you’re after something with more romance than plot, this book might not work for you. I want to thank Net Galley and the publisher for granting me access to an advanced reader copy

ARC Reviewer! Thanks to NetGalley and Bindery for approving me!

What an absolutely fabulous way to debut! I enjoyed this whole novel beginning to end. I had so much fun trying to figure out who was behind the killings and never guessed it. I was left surprised in the best way!

Strange Beasts features the daughter of Dracula, Sam, who is on a mission to find her mysterious disappearing grandfather. When a lead catches her attention, she leaves the comfort of her library position at The Royal Society for the Study of Abnormal Phenomena and convinces Hel, the daughter of Professor Moriarty (Sherlock's nemesis), to let her be her partner on the case she is on. This could prove dangerous, however, because Hel's last three partners have all mysteriously died out in the field. Hel, or Dr. Helena Moriarty, and Sam, or Samantha Harker, set out to find who is killing all of these men. They run into an underground society, fashionistas, Van Hel Sing's son, a baker, a perfumer, and an opera cast with a rivalry. Each with only a piece of the puzzle. Will they be able to put the pieces together in time? Will Sam survive this case and find her grandfather? Susan J. Morris will keep you guessing!

Morris’s novel contains many aspects I love: folklore, monster hunting, murder mysteries, Victorian/Edwardian era Europe as a setting – in other words, I went into this book already knowing I’d probably like it. No surprise, then, when I did!

Sam and Hel are both engaging, complex characters. Sam, the 3rd person POV readers follow, has a great mixture of knowledge from being the Harkers’ daughter, a paranormal researcher and librarian, a psychic channel, and a fashionista. Hel is a paranormal investigator and daughter of Professor Moriarty, a doctor of chemistry, and special-disposition-to-wear-pants-in-Paris badass. Their professional relationship and budding friendship were both well done, as was their investigation.

The folklore used was not-the-most-commonly referenced, which made for a much more interesting read. The mystery was well done, equally balancing exciting adventure with clue finding and cognitive leaps. One aspect of the novel that stood out to me was that women and their concerns were always centered in the narrative, not just with Sam and Hel, but with others they meet along the way. That helped, I think, to make it feel more contemporary and less male-centric like classics of that era tended to be.

The portion of the book that I am iffy about regards the romance between Sam and Hel. While I’m a fan of slowburn and non-sexual relationships, there was nothing throughout the book that indicated Sam had, or was developing, romantic interest in Hel. Sam shows a flirtatious level interest in a man, so readers have that for comparison. While Sam’s relationship with Hel is much more engaging as it develops, it’d be a stretch to call it romantic before a sudden kiss.

From the other end, Hel’s interest is very subtle to the point it could be argued it doesn’t exist. It’s easier to forgive this subtlety since Sam’s POV is used and Hel is a less emotionally expressive character, but it still felt incomplete. Likewise, Hel’s gender non-conforming dress, demeanor, and overall attitude are not commented on much. Having more explicit discussions of her gender identity and sexual orientation, or the presence of more gender non-conforming and sapphic characters interacting with our protagonists, would have been helpful in cementing how this universe handles Queer folx.

The romance aside, I loved this book, and if there is a sequel, I’ll definitely read it.

4.5 rounded up. Samantha Harker (Sam) is a researcher and daughter of Jonathan and Mina Harker; her world is the library and books. Dr. Helena Moriarty (Hel) is a field agent and daughter of the infamous Professor Moriarty; she's had three partners die suspiciously on previous cases and doesn't want a partner. Both work for the Royal Society for the Study of Abnormal Phenomena in the London Field Office and Strange Beasts has then reluctantly partnering up to investigate the suspected paranormal murders of wealthy and powerful men in Paris just after the turn of the century. Sam is a channel is has to contend with Van Helsing's son, her former friend and colleague, trying to get her sent back to London. Can they track down the Beast before it takes another victim?

I wasn't quite sure what to expect going in to this book, knowing that the protagonists are based off the children of renowned literary characters, but I was pleasantly surprised. The story is historical fiction/fantasy, but it finds non anachronistic ways to feel current that so not feel contrived. I can see where this story has been set up to allow for a sequel and I'd love to see more. You can expect a fair number of magical monster mentions or appearances: grindylow, werewolf, boggart, will o the whisp, etc.

Thank you to Bindery Books for an ARC on NetGalley. All opinions are my own. This book is due to be published 10/15/24.

Sam Harker is the daughter of Mina and Jonathan Harker, and unfortunately, she's been cursed with the same issue her mother had; she can channel monsters. This means that whenever she touches anything that was touched by the monstrous, she is given visions of what the monster did, and it is what is blamed for her mother being so easily used by Dracula himself. And while her parents, whom she hadn't, Sam joins The Royal Society for the Study of Abnormal Phenomena, dedicated to not just investigating these monsters but finding her grandfather who disappeared ten years ago.

Helena Moriarty is the daughter of Holmes' great nemesis and determined to not be anything like her father. Unfortunately for her every partner she has had has died which is not a good look and now Sam has been partnered up with Hel investigating a series of truly baffling murders which appear to have been committed by werewolves, but that's impossible as they are extinct. As Hel and Sam chase down bad lead after bad lead with Hel going off on her own, Sam begins to think that maybe the reputation that Hel has earned among the society is well earned.

This was really good for the first book. While the actual killer was fairly obvious from the minute they were introduced, it was still a fun ride. Especially since this is a little different from a lot of these speculative fiction type novels, instead of monsters being hidden from society at large and the Royal Society's job to keep it that way monsters just exist. The general public is not only well aware they exist but even things like where their normal habits are, which I found to be an interesting take on what could have been a very stereotypical story.

I'm not sure how I felt about the whole Sherlocke Dracula connection, it would have been a good story without it and while I do love me a good Sherlock/Dracula story there just wasn't enough of a connection for it to actually feel like it was a continuation of those books. Actually I think it almost detracted from Hel's and Sam's relationship because it was always Moriarty standing between them and like fine I get that's the whole point but at the same time it just didn't feel like it was the Moriarty connection, hell I didn't even really feel like there was a connection to Moriarty period. And maybe that will change with the next book. I just found that the bad guy was bad enough without someone in the background pulling strings.

I really didn't like Van Helsing though which is fine with me because regardless of whether or not this character was Van Helsing or Van Helsing's son he plays the roll of overbearing machismo jerk perfectly here which given the year this takes place makes sense. Hel and Sam are adorable, by the way, and I really can't wait to see how their relationship progresses!

Overall, this was a solid debut for the author and a solid start to a new series with a couple of bad ass women sticking up for other women.

As always, thanks to Bindery Books and NetGalley for the eArc!

This book had it all! I've read quite a few fictional detectives who were themselves inspired by fictional works, and this is easily one of the best that I can recall. In this book, Sam Harker and Helen Moriarity are trying to find a murderer. Sam is particularly invested as there is a connection to her long-lost grandfather, while Helen is just trying to make sure her dad isn't behind everything. They are initially skeptical of each other, but a believable relationship grows between them through the course of the book. The mystery itself was entertaining, steeped in lore, and while I guessed parts of it, I didn't guess all of it. Anyway, I enjoyed the character development, worldbuilding and plot, and would generally recommend this to mystery readers (it's pretty gorey, so probably not for the cozy folks).
 
Side note: This was fun enough that it made me question whether or not I've read Dracula (results: inconclusive) and I think I might actually (re)visit that classic. And as a general rule, I do not have the highest opinion of tHe CLaSsiCs (it varies, and I love some of 'em but I think many are highly overrated), so that's like very high praise indeed. Anyway, the ending of the book sets up a sequel and I shall be checking it out. 4 stars - I really enjoyed it.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bindery Books for the arc. The cover really caught my eye and the premise intrigued me as it wasn’t exactly what I usually read and was a great exploration into the different genres of fantasy and murder mystery.

I really enjoyed this book! The premise was really interesting and I never found myself bored by the plot. It constantly kept you on your toes wondering what Sam & Hel would experience next. I don’t read many murder mysteries but found myself really enjoying it, even with the occasional gore- the gothic and murder aspects were great for a novice like me sticking their toe into the genre. I (embarrassingly) have never read Dracula & Sherlock Holmes, so I didn’t initially understand the references at all to either of the books characters and googled it in order to immerse myself more into it. I imagine having read them would add even more experience to this book- however I didn’t feel like it was necessary in me enjoying it which I think is great when referencing as I was compelled enough to keep reading.

There is so much to love about the two main characters in this book. I love how the author explored different characterisations that may seem stereotypical to people but highlight how fleshed out people can be even if they fit (or don’t fit) certain stereotypes within their gender identity. I adored Sam and how she was the reclusive reader but also was a blonde fashionista that fit into the archetype of a more ladylike character from the time- and played the part of ditzy when it was in her advantage! I loved the banter between Hel and Sam. The chemistry was incredible and I loved their characters so much, their dialogue and wit were entertaining. I wish we had more scenes of romantic tension, just because I loved them so!

I love the authors take on monsters- however do not want to spoil anything for any readers- but just want to highlight that their exploration into monsters was unique in its depth.

There is so much to love about this book and the ideas explored within it, the ideas of women-hood, victimisation, identity, gender, (especially gender identity + gendered roles), how the era impacts all of these concepts and how this is all explored through a compelling and thoughtful murder mystery fantasy. A 4.5 read for me.

A gothic tale with magic, and murder. I didn’t find too much new or novel in this account. A cozy read. Thank you tom#netgalley and the publisher for an ARC.

I tend to divide perfect books in two categories. There are those that flawlessly accomplish what they're set out to. Then there are those that are riveting, breathtaking, surprising and ambitious. The kind of books that I'll be thinking long after I've read them.

Strange beasts falls under the latter category.

I don't usually read mystery, never been a fan of the genre, but Strange Beasts, being both mystery and fantasy, intrigued me. And once I picked it up, I literally could not put it down. Strange beasts didn't include ANY of those things I dislike about mystery books (and there are a lot), nor did it have any of those issues that fantasy books so often have. The novel balanced perfectly between the genres, with a splash of horror in there as well.

PLOT
The plot is flawless, with more and more layers of the mystery unfolding over time, keeping me constantly on my toes yet without getting overwhelming. I honestly had no idea who the killer was, yet when I found out, it made sense. Every twist made me feel like 'aww man, I should've seen that coming!' In other words, perfection.

WORLDBUILDING
Set in early 1900's Paris, the book had just the amount of worldbuilding I like: the world is constantly present without drawing attention from the story. The author's descriptive style made me feel as if I was actually there.

CHARACTERS
The two main characters, Sam and Hel, feel like completely real people instead of mere characters. They're both flawed, yet strong in their own ways. I especially liked how there remained a certain amount of mystery around Hel all through the book.

FAVORITE THING?
My favorite thing was, in one word, the lore. Strange Beasts draws influence from classic novels and folklore of Western and Northwestern Europe, from Shakespeare to Arthur Conan Doyle, from Will-o'the'wisp to the Beast of Gévaudan. All of this in a dark, Parisian setting? The atmosphere is astounding. The author has done an incredible job at researching and learning about these things.
Another favorite thing: The themes. Feminism, morality, different types of strength and so on. YES.

LEAST FAVORITE THING?
That I can't read the second part right away. How can I wait?

This book is amazing. Definitely cracks top 3 reads of the year and top 10 reads of my life. I highly recommend.

For the most part, I really, really enjoyed this. It gave me vibes of the 2003 Van Helsing movie meets Theodora Goss's The Extraordinary Adventures of the Athena Club series plus maybe a dash of Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries (wrong time period, I know, but I was thinking more the banter). All of this added up to something exactly for me. I liked Sam and Hel's relationship from reluctant partners to "Oh no I think I like this person??". Definitely a bit more of a slow burn, even if it doesn't exactly end up as a romance yet.

There are just a few things keeping this from being a 5-star for me:
1. I feel like there was a lot of build-up and the ending wasn't quite as satisfying for me. I'm not sure exactly what would have made it more satisfying exactly. I don't think the way things ended up was unsatisfying, more I think I wish the way to get there was a little less hurried?

2. There were a few moments, especially at the end, where the revelations felt a bit more heavily telegraphed than I felt was warranted. I think it's more a debut author thing because these moments felt very much like "I have to clarify things for the reader or else they may not understand". It felt a little like hesitance on the author's part to fully trust in both the writing and the readers' abilities to pick up on the finer details. Like, there was a lot of reiteration on certain facts where it started to feel repetitive rather than something for dramatic effect.

Overall, though, I really enjoyed this and hope that it's a series because I'm fully locked-in and invested in where this could potentially go.

I absolutely could not put this book down! I love the premise of having these descendents from classic monster stories fight their own monsters. Not only is the cast and story well though out, but the writing is phenomenal. I found myself actually laughing out loud multiple times, and so many of the sentences are just beautifully crafted- very quotable. I have been telling everyone I know about this book because I just can't help myself and I dont think ill be stopping anytime soon.

“Men are entirely too quick to call a woman mad or monstrous just because she can do something they can’t.”

Strange Beasts was a fun read with a great story, a fair share of blood and violence, and really enjoyable FMCs. I really enjoyed the ties to Sherlock, nods to classic monster villains like werewolves and vampires, and the banter between Hel and Sam kept the dialogue engaging and relatable.

There were sometimes that the minor magic felt a bit unfounded. There could have been a little more backstory to help the reader more fully understand and believe the magic involved, but overall, I really enjoyed this story, and will definitely be reading any future books from Susan J. Morris.

Thank you to NetGalley, Inky Phoenix Press, and Susan J. Morris for allowing me the opportunity to review this digital ARC of Strange Beasts.

This book was a bit too much aesthetic over plot, sadly. The cover is gorgeous, and the world the writer creates feels real and pretty as well, its just that nothing really happens in it, and when something does its quite predictable. The romance was also very sudden, no build up or tension, just slam! Sad, because the description was so hard up my alley!

This story had such strong and alluring beginnings for a book that ended up being all fluff and no substance. The immersive historical setting has a way of drawing you into the story, and it felt like Susan J. Morris left no stone unturned whether that be fashion, places, and people. Unfortunately, it feels as if all, dare I say too much, of the energy devoted to this book was placed into the ambiance.

Sam's naive librarian schtick was amusing and entertaining at first, but gradually became grating and beyond frustrating. Her refusal to lie to complete strange men, her commitment to never telling a fib even to protect herself or Hel, somehow never spat out any dire consequences, feeling like the character's flaws had little to no stakes. Plus, her treatment of Heathcliff the rat was abysmal, the way these characters gave this creature a name and then locked him up and tortured him as a research subject was abhorrent.

The plot itself was fairly predictable, which unfortunately resulted in the story feeling overly dragged out longer than there was a story; frankly I feel this book could've been 1/4 shorter to the same effect. So many of the words on the pages were dedicated to creating the setting/atmosphere, that the simplistic plot gets diluted out to tiny tendrils of tidbits barely holding together the story. The "romance", if you can even call it that, element of the story was nonexistent; there was no tension, chemistry, nor hint of romance between Hel and Sam for a vast majority of the book, and once the romance happens, it feels completely random, dropped into the story to immersion-breaking effect.

Overall a massive miss of a book for me, with the last 20% of the book having me constantly questioning "well what was the point of XYZ then?" (with XYZ a shoe-in for: Van Helsing, Sam's grandfather, the police officer's "love interest", among so many other things). This is not a book I would recommend, but I suppose others might find merit in overly flowery historical "sapphic" stories.

I loved this book from the start. With nods to Dracula and Sherlock Holmes, I was hooked from the start. Add in two female sleuths - both with their their own storied histories -- and this is a great read.

With mixes of gothic horror, historical fantasy, and mystery, this is a super fun read!

I love a good who-dun-it murder mystery and this one hit the spot! Add in a little bit of sapphic romance to sweeten it up between our two investigator FMCs to make things more entertaining. I love Sam and Her together- thing were a bit terse at first and towards the end, but they clicked together and work SO well. As much as I enjoyed the slow burn romance between the two of them, the brutal murders and discovering with them who did it was enthralling to read. I wish there was more on Hel's family, as there was, and still is, so much potential on following the trail to them. Although it did take a couple chapters to get a feel for the world and the monsters in it, but it was a quick and enthralling read. I hope Morris decides to come back to this world because there's so much potential for more!

Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for an advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

Well, this novel was fun enough. I liked the idea more than the execution, because the plot moves way too fast and doesn’t allow for any meaningful development for the characters OR story.

Unfortunately, it’s just too fast paced—scenes just ram into each other. There was little conversation between the two main characters. Anytime it seemed like they were about to have a heart to heart they end up running into the next action scene, which killed me because I liked the idea of these two forming a relationship. Because of the lack of dialogue and character development, the romance was completely unbelievable as neither woman seemed interested in the other. In fact, the main character was more interested in literally every other available man she comes into contact with. I had to keep checking the book synopsis to make sure this was actually supposed to be sapphic.

I’m not very familiar with the monster hunting genre, so I’m unsure if a lot of the information that was glossed over I should have context clues from other reading or if things were just rushed in their explanation. The main mystery ends on a weak cliffhanger, which left me more disappointed than excited for the next installment.

There’s a great story here, if there was time given to develop the characters and their relationship.

3.5 stars - Samantha Harker, daughter of Johnathan and Mina Harker, is a researcher for the Royal Society for the Study of Abnormal Phenomena. Usually she's buried in the library working to assist the Society's many field agents, but this time she's managed to talk her way on to a case. Teaming up with Dr. Helena Moriarty, the daughter of the infamous professor, Sam sets off for Paris to investigate a recent string of gruesome murders. Though Sam quickly finds she might be a bit out of her league in the world of field work, she's not as useless as some might think, for much like her mother before her, Sam is a channel and can see into the minds of the monsters they're hunting.

Set in and underneath the streets of Paris at the turn of the century, Strange Beasts was a wonderfully entertaining tale of mystery, murder, and monsters. Initially filled with suspicion and secrets, it was fun to watch Sam and Hel's relationship change as the story progressed, as well as learn why each woman chose to pursue this case. Although currently a standalone, it's clear this is a world made for more adventures, and I would not be surprised, or sad, to see a sequel in the future.

I really liked the idea of the novel but some things were just a bit too rushed for me. It felt very convenient how fast Hel and Sam could get to different places and while I was looking forward to their romance it didn’t feel that believable to me. I could see the signs from Hel’s side but it felt like Sam just flirted with everyone who gave her any attention. I think both characters would have profited from working through their various problems a bit more. The mystery itself was fun but the pacing was off in my opinion. Unfortunately, not a book for me but seeing the other reviews I’m glad that so many people enjoyed it.