Review: Something Strange and Deadly (Something Strange and Deadly #1) by Susan Dennard
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Series: Something Strange and Deadly #1
Author: Susan Dennard
Published June 25th 2013 by HarperTeen
Goodreads Synopsis
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 the maddeningly stubborn yet handsome Daniel, the situation becomes dire. And now, not only is her reputation on the line, but her very life may hang in the balance.
Goodreads
Review
I read this book, and it's sequels way back in 2016, and honestly don't know why it's taken me until now to review them, but there we go. I first heard about this series when I was a newbie blogger, and decided to use a gift card I had won to order them, and give them a try, and boy, am I glad I did. For one thing, they're fantastic books in their own right, and for another, it helped me to discover Sooz, and her fabulous writing.
Now, Something Strange and Deadly follows Miss Eleanor Fitt, as she struggles with the disappearance of her brother, the loss of status for her family, her father's death, and the zombie apocalypse apparently occurring in Philadelphia in 1876. One day, there is a zombie attack while Eleanor is out, and one of the zombies happens to hand her a letter from her brother, Elijah. As good as she may be, she can't do anything to help him, or stop the zombies, so much join forces with the Spirit Hunters, headed by Joseph Boyer, and with the working class Daniel Sherridan in tow. Daniel and Eleanor lock heads a lot, what with them being from differing social classes, but they work together to create and design sort of steampunk weapons that can stop the zombies, and the Necromancer who seems to be targeting the high society of Philadelphia.
Eleanor was a wonderful main character. From a high society background, of the Philadelphia Fitts, it might be expected that she wouldn't do anything for herself, and was a damsel in distress type of character, but she really wasn't. She was strong and feisty, and since her family had fallen on hard times, she had had to support herself and learn a bit of truth about the real world. She would do anything to save her brother, especially with her mam trying to marry her off at the young age of sixteen, and she won't go down without a fight. From the first meeting with Daniel, who is brash and someone wholly not of her circle, they butt heads, but there's always a chemistry there, sparks growing and an attraction seeming to develop every time he calls her a princess.
Everything about the plot was so carefully planned out, that I only put this book down to sleep, that's how good it was. I'm not usually one for zombies, but the descriptions aren't graphic in the sense to horrify you. What I loved most about this book was the history of it all. The 19th century has always been a favourite period of mine to read about - the Regency Era or Victorian Era in British History in particular - and although I didn't know much about America at this time (the only American history I've really studied was the Civil War at university, and I've taught Vietnam and Race Relations at school), Sooz made it easy to understand it all, and it clearly was well researched. Because of all of this, I just had to dive into book 2, A Darkness Strange and Lovely, straight away.
Dates Read:
September 17-18, 2016
Rating
5 Stars
September 17-18, 2016
Rating
5 Stars
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