Review: Something Strange and Deadly By: Susan Dennard

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

Author:  Susan Dennard

My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Goodreads Summary:

The year is 1876, and 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 their maddeningly stubborn yet handsome inventor, Daniel, the situation becomes dire. And now, not only is her reputation on the line, but her very life may hang in the balance.

My Thoughts:

I received this book from Edelweiss from the publisher in exchange for review.

This book was not what I was expecting, not in a bad way though, just that I had a different vision of what it would be like. I have to admit I am not a huge fan of historical fiction but, I was hoping the zombie aspect would pull me in and it definitely did! Something Strange and Deadly was full of mystery with the sprinklings of paranormal which I really enjoyed. 

We begin meeting our main character Eleanor Fitt of the Philadelphia Fitts ( I read that a few times in the book so I just had to repeat it lol) Her family has fallen on hard times, with the death of her father and her brother a scholar who is overseas, Eleanor is her mother's last hope. With their money slowly dwindling, her mother wants her to marry a wealthy man and save their families reputation. Eleanor on the other hand is worrying for her brother, because of the letter she was hand delivered by one of the walking dead. To help save her brother Eleanor takes matters into her own hands and goes to the one group of people who she knows can help with zombies, The Spirit Hunters, who were hired by the city to do just that, handle the zombies. Adventure, mystery, and a little bit of romance awaits Eleanor in this awesome adventure. 

I really liked so many different aspects of this book. I enjoyed reading about Eleanor's character, she is not the normal girl of her time, she doesn't want to be married and wear fancy dresses for the rest of her life she wants to see the world and wear pants! Throughout the story we really get to see Eleanor grow and change and find out so many different things about herself that she never knew. I also loved her determination, especially for a girl of her society stature and time. Eleanor would not give up on helping her brother and finding him. No matter what obstacles that she was faced with she never gave up. The mystery and suspense kept me turning page after page, trying to unravel the story along with all of the characters.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book, I do have to admit however that the ending was a bit predictable at parts but the book as a whole was very enjoyable. If you like historical fiction with a  dabble in with a little bit of paranormal, then check this one out!

Happy Reading!

Kristin