11 Jul 2016

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Book Review / Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard

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.


Published:     24th July 2012
Publisher:  Harper Teen
Goodreads :  Click here
Series or Stand-Alone:  Book 1, Something Strange and Deadly
Source:  Owned Copy

MY REVIEW

What I liked about this book...  This was a very interesting read for me.  Although, for reasons I will give below, I didn't get on very well with this book the element that I did enjoy a lot and the main reason I carried on reading until the end was the mix of history and zombies.  It was a very weird mix.  On the one hand you are in this world (can't remember what time period but I would guess around the 1870s) and on the other hand you have these zombies that are terrorising the living.  This was something new to me and one that I found funny in places and also quite creepy in other places.

What I didn't like about this book...  Honestly, I just could not get into it.  Despite enjoying the zombie olden days feel to the story, I really didn't feel much for the characters, especially the main character Eleanor.  Bearing in mind that she is 16 years old in a world where she is not allowed to go anywhere without a chaperone, she seems to be able to pretty much anything she pleases.  That confused me.  One other aspect of this story that completely confused me was the fact that Eleanor's brother goes missing in the beginning of the book and her main aim is to find her brother and help him.  That all seems to be forgotten not very long into the book and not mentioned much until nearer the end of the book.  I had expected more of a 'I need to find my brother' type of story but it wasn't. 

That being said, I think this was a lot more to do with my reading tastes and my mood at the time rather rather than the writing, which was really good.  I don't think I will be continuing on with this series but will look out for more work by this author.   




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