Strange Beasts

I went into Strange Beasts looking for a very specific flavor of fiction, and on an atmospheric level, it absolutely delivered. If you are a fan of the classic, high-stakes psychological warfare of a Sherlock Holmes vs. Professor Moriarty dynamic, this book captures that exact retro, Victorian-esque tension beautifully. But instead of just keeping it grounded in pure deduction, the author injects a healthy dose of the supernatural, giving the whole story a dark, eerie edge that kept me flipping the pages deep into the night.

That being said, while the journey was incredibly fun, the destination left me feeling a bit shortchanged.

The world-building is easily the strongest asset of Strange Beasts. The author weaves a murky, fog-drenched world where science and the occult collide. The intellectual chess match between the protagonist and the antagonist gives off major Baker Street vibes, and the supernatural elements are intermixed seamlessly (never feeling like a cheap gimmick, but rather an organic extension of the world's danger.)

The tension between the two brilliant minds at the center of this story is palpable. You get those classic moments of mutual respect masked by absolute disdain.

It feels delightfully retro. It honors the gothic mysteries of old while keeping the pacing fast enough for a modern reader.

Here is where the book ultimately lost its shot at a 4 or 5-star rating: the mystery itself was entirely too predictable.

As a seasoned mystery reader, I love a good puzzle. Throughout the book, you can tell the author is working overtime to throw smoke mirrors at the audience. There are plenty of red herrings, shiftily-behaved side characters, and narrative diversions designed to make you look left while the crime is happening on the right.

The problem? The true criminal was visible from a mile away.

Despite all the heavy-handed misdirection, the breadcrumbs leading to the actual mastermind were just too obvious early on. I spent the last third of the book waiting for a secondary twist (a twist behind the twist) that would prove my theory wrong and blow my mind. Instead, the narrative landed exactly where I expected it to. There is a specific frustration in being right too early in a mystery; it saps the urgency right out of the climax.

Looking at how other readers are reacting to this one, the sentiment is pretty split along similar lines:

The Plot Purists agree that the central mystery lacks the razor-sharp tightness needed to truly shock a hardcore thriller fan.

The Mood Readers, on the other hand, are raving about the gothic aesthetic, the dialogue, and the sheer entertainment value of the supernatural elements.

If you are picking up Strange Beasts solely for a mind-bending, unguessable whodunit, you might find yourself a bit disappointed by the predictability. However, if you are willing to overlook an obvious culprit in exchange for a highly entertaining, atmospheric, supernatural Sherlock-and-Moriarty style showdown, this is still thoroughly worth the read.