Something Strange and Deadly (Something Strange and Deadly #1)

Synopsis

The dead are on her heels. Her life is on the line. And time is running out.

After her father dies and her brother goes missing, Eleanor Fitt is left to deal with her family's declining financial state. With her controlling mother trying to marry her off, sixteen-year-old Eleanor doesn't think life could get more complicated.

But then the dead start walking.

Desperate to solve the mystery of her brother's disappearance, Eleanor ventures into the private lab of the elusive Spirit-Hunters, who protect the city from supernatural forces. Always a social misfit, Eleanor finally feels at home among the intelligent Joseph, feisty Jie, and extremely stubborn yet handsome Daniel. But the more time she spends with them, the more dangerous her life becomes.

Loved

• The spookiness. Reading this around Halloween, I needed a good zombie thriller, and this hit the spot. This is definitely creepy- dead corpses not only walking around, but they're hungry and rabidly feast on anything living. Not to mention the freaky spirit from the other realm that brings deathly cold everywhere it follows, young men being decapitated, and ghostly mysteries whispering all around Eleanor. However, even with this creepiness, the feel of the story is fairly light-hearted and doesn't feel super dark or heavy. This was a good amount of spook for me- some good zombie action, creepy mysteries, and a few murders- disturbing, but kept lighter because it's all supplemented with witty banter and quirky characters.

• Speaking of the characters, this was one of my favorite aspects of the story. Each character has his/her own mysteries and secrets, and I enjoyed conjecturing about each person's past, intentions, and power. Even while running from zombies and dodging elusive murderers, we get good character development and time for multi-faceted characters who are all hiding something and fighting for everything.

• The mysteries. The central mystery in this story is discovering the identity of the brutal Necromancer- and it's a fairly easy mystery to guess. But the plot has many other threads of mysteries woven through the histories of the characters, old family feuds, and magical abilities. Although they were fairly obvious, these mysteries were well-thought-out and the author kept the plot fast-paced and engaging with frequent revelations and new pieces of the puzzle.

• The romance. At first I honestly wasn't sure who Eleanor would go for, and when I realized who the romantic lead would be, I was definitely surprised. This guy is uncouth and blunt, but his not-so-subtle adoration for Eleanor quickly became obvious, which softened his character. There were some frustrating miscommunications (of course- this is YA ;), but I still thought this verrrryyy slow-burn romance was cute and I am definitely here for it for the rest of the series.

Didn't Love

• While the writing is very fast-paced and engaging, it's also a little cliche and cheesy at times. It's clear this is Susan Dennard's debut novel, because the writing is not quite as polished as it could be. However, it's the perfect writing for a fun, action-packed zombie novel, and I didn't find myself as distracted by the writing as I would have had the story not been so fast-paced and action-packed. 

Content

• Language: 
• Frequent uses of "damn" and "hell," infrequent uses of "shi*."

• Sexual content: 
• One passionate outburst of a kiss- described as her being pressed against a lamp post, his hands on her face, and kisses being "desperate."

• Violence:
• This is a zombie story, so we've got LOTS of dead bodies walking around. Some are more mellow and just walk around, but others are Hungry and rabidly feast on anything living.
• There is a lot of description of fighting off the hungry corpses as they gnash teeth, claw with fingernails, and bite. Lots of injuries from these corpses. One corpse kills a character by chewing a hole in the neck.
• Lots of fights against the corpses using fists, shovels, and dynamite.
• Two characters are captured, bound, beaten, and nearly killed.
• One familiar character is decapitated and we later see him as a walking corpse holding his head- which is very disturbing to the main character (obviously).
• Young men are being found decapitated- no descriptions, but lots of talk of this as it is a big piece of the mystery.
• One character tries to bring back a family member from the dead- the coffin is dug up and the body is tampered with.


• Other themes:
• At the beginning of the story, Eleanor's mother holds a seance as a form of entertainment for a party. She accidentally permits an evil spirit to enter this realm. There is a lot of talk about this spirit being evil and cold, and possibly wanting to possess a body.

Overall Thoughts

This book wasn't the most well-written or most original book I've ever read, but it was exactly what I hoped for- engaging writing, lots of zombie action, interesting mysteries, some creepiness verging on horror, and a dash of romance. The characters are relatable, funny, and clever- and I found myself cheering for them right from the first paragraph. Don't go into this story expecting a completely new and original plot or beautiful prose, but you can definitely expect to find yourself a little spooked, laughing at Eleanor's pragmatic stubbornness, dying to know what happens as the plot races forward, and maybe even swooning a little at this fun and unconventional romance ;)