The Affinity Bridge by George Mann
A Newbury & Hobbes Investigation (Book 1)
ISBN: 978-0765323224
Steampunk, 334 pages

The more I read steampunk, the more I like it. Especially when the story and characters are as engaging as they are here.

This is the first book in George Mann’s Newbury & Hobbes Investigation series. As with traditional steampunk, the setting is Victorian England. Also, there are airships, zombies, brass automatons, and ground trains:

They stopped as a ground train trundled by, the huge steam engine roaring as the fireman stoked the flames, the carriages behind it bouncing along the cobbled road, their wooden wheels creaking under the strain. Newbury caught stuttering glimpses of the people inside the small carriages as they rushed by, snug inside their little booths, speeding on towards their destinations. The driver, on the other hand, was wrapped up warm against the elements, sitting atop the engine itself on a large dickey box, a huge steering wheel clasped between his gloved hands.

Beyond the science fiction however, is a well-crafted mystery. From the beginning I was enthralled. I knew immediately this was going to be an enjoyable book to read. I guessed at part of it, but when unraveled, the complete story was beyond what I’d imagined and I was thrilled to be so surprised. It’s been a long time since an author caught me off guard that way. It was wonderful!

The only part I had trouble with is how one of the sub-plots was resolved. It felt . . . awkward, as if it was loose end not discovered until too late and fixed hurriedly. Since the book opens with this particular storyline, or at least it’s main character, then I’m hoping it’s because it will be developed more in a later installment, so I shouldn’t jump to conclusions.

Still, it didn’t detract much from the overall story and how much I liked it.

This is a definite recommendation not only to those who like steampunk, but especially for introducing it to others. It is an excellent ambassador for the genre.

Now, off to read the second in the series, The Osiris Ritual.

But, and I have no idea why, my inner goblin just wasn’t feeling it.

I tried zombie stories. I’ve been reading a lot this year and am looking forward to season two of The Walking Dead starting tonight.

Maybe that was the problem. Too much of a good thing. After a while my spook-o-meter was barely registering. I needed something that I wasn’t familiar with, something that would creep me out, but not so much I’d have to sleep with the lights on for several weeks after finishing.

Vampires are cool. But I tend toward either the classic version or one’s with an interesting twist like Guillermo Del Torro’s The Strain. Which reminds me, I need to read book three of the trilogy, but it’s one of those I know will scare me a little too much, and I was looking for a some frighteningly fun middle ground.

I did find an interesting book in the store where I work. It’s called Renfield: Slave of Dracula. It seems like it would be a great companion piece to Stoker’s work. Much like Mary Reilly to The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Which brings me to the cure for my apparent malaise.

In another I-could-just-kick-myself-for-never-reading-sooner moment, I read Robert Louis Stevenson’s story of the dark side of man personified and exposed. I had no idea it would go so quickly, and not just because it is a novella, with most editions being less than 100 pages.

I even made the effort to pull down Valerie Martin’s book to read as I liked the movie and hoped the book was better – and it is. It is also a short novel and easily read in one or two sittings.

My recommendation is that if you have never read either, read them together. If you’ve only read Dr. Jekyll, then I highly recommend you re-read it with Mary Reilly. You will not be disappointed.

Both are dark and disturbing. One exploring the inability to deal with the evil within, the other giving voice to the victims of such evil. The perspectives of the main characters in each book help give a more complete view of how people and society deal with something that lives within us all.

Dr. Jekyll thought he could banish it, destroy it. His folly only made things worse, amplifying the darkness inside all of us and becoming a prisoner to it.

Mary Reilly, before working for Dr. Jekyll, had her own experiences with a man who could not contain his demons. Yet she does not become fear’s captive. Interesting since this is set in Victorian times and women’s roles in society were such that her strength and character stand out against the backdrop of such a sexist society.

I feel it is no coincidence that Valerie Martin developed her story from a woman’s point of view. How better to showcase and manipulate the theme of duality? Stevenson’s work is nearly without a female presence, whereas Martin’s Reilly is all feminine as it is told in the first person.

Reading these two books was exactly what I needed. I am more in the Halloween mood than I was last week.

I might even go buy some bags of candy today.

Or maybe not. Unless I can hide them really well, including from myself, it might be better to wait until the night before – or even the day of. My scale, and dentist, will thank me.

Don’t Breathe A Word by Jennifer McMahon
ISBN: 9780061689376
Harper Paperbacks
Mystery, 464 pages

FTC Disclosure: Review copy provided by publisher

Psychological games abound in this mystery-thriller by Jennifer McMahon. Although I found myself taking notes toward the end in order to keep some things straight in my mind, the plot really isn’t that complicated. But it required me to concentrate in order to better deal with some heavy-duty revelations.

The ending is good. Very good. It’s not sappy or happy and left me questioning who the real victims are and if my feelings of sympathy toward certain characters are misplaced or well-deserved.

What helps is the author keeps the reader at a distance with her choice of POV’s. It’s never in the first person, so no one ever really knows the true thoughts or motivations of any of the characters. It would bring too much clarity. She compliments the readers intelligence by letting them decide what to believe, what to fear, and what to take away at the end.

McMahon’s storytelling is powerful enough to give us enough information, but does not hand-hold anyone.

When I got to the last page, I literally yelled, “Noooooooooo!” I was shocked more than surprised as I saw it coming, but didn’t want it to. I guess the best endings are the ones that make you emotional in some way: mad, happy, sad. They should evoke an emotion so strong it lingers long after you’ve finished reading it.

That my friends is a great story, and an even better storyteller. I can’t wait to read McMahon’s other books.

I am not a huge mystery reader, but Don’t Breathe A Word has made me want to read more. That is if I can continue to get novels that are as good as this one.