The publisher provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The suspension of disbelief required is pretty high: Sherlock Holmes’s niece and Bram Stoker’s sister work as a team under Irene Adler to investigate the deaths of young women in Victorian England. It’s one of those that will either make readers laugh or make grabby hands. With steampunk features (a steamcycle and steam-stream gun!), cameo appearances by the main characters’ more famous relatives, a time traveler, handsome love interests, and two ahead-of-their-times heroines, it sets a rollicking pace that carries the reader all the way through. The Clockwork Scarab relies on a fairly absurd premise. But their strengths complement each other in ways they each come to respect as they work together to solve the mystery.Īs the beginning of a series for young adult readers, The Clockwork Scarab is lots of fun. Mina has inherited the Holmes’ nose and prefers her laboratory to parties. This adventure kicks off in London, where they discover a connection between the missing women and strange models of Egyptian scarabs. Eveline is beautiful and part of the society scene.

It was three days after the events above the fish-smokers shop at the docks. The two bristle at working together at first, because they are so different. Miss Holmes Wherein Our Heroines Learn the Meaning of the Word 'Debrief' 'If youd just waited a moment longer, everything would have been fine,' I said, eyeing Evaline with unconcealed resentment. Classic detective literature meets vampires and steampunk London in Colleen Gleasons new Stoker and Holmes series. Eveline Stoker and Mina Holmes are sure the girls have been murdered, and evidence points to the presence of a secret society that may endanger others.

And when two society girls go missing, there's no one more qualified to investigate.

But when you're the sister of Bram and the niece of Sherlock, vampire hunting and mystery solving are in your blood. Young women have been found dead, supposedly from suicide, with mechanical scarabs near their bodies. The Clockwork Scarab: A Stoker and Holmes Novel Evaline Stoker and Mina Holmes never meant to get into the family business. The time is late 19th century London, a city that has outlawed electricity in favor of steam. What would happen if Bram Stoker’s sister, trained in killing vampires, teamed up with a master of observation, Sherlock Holmes’s niece? Colleen Gleason answers that question in her novel for young adults, The Clockwork Scarab.

The clockwork scarab