Mary Jekyl is strangely unaffected when her guardian dies. When her parents died when she was a child, she was left in the care of her guardian  for whom she felt very little affection. Now in her twenties, with her guardian gone, she feels a sense of freedom and possibility that she had never previously been allowed to feel. There is just one thing holding her back and that is the fact that she is almost penniless. But Mary believes that she may be able to find her father’s killer, Edward Hyde, for whom there is still large outstanding reward, which would solve all her current financial problems.

After the funeral and the sale of the contents of the small little house where she had lived for most of her life, Mary travels to London by coach with the goal of consulting with Sherlock Holmes. But no sooner has she arrived in London, then she finds that she is in danger from persons unknown. Nevertheless, she perseveres in following the clues she has about Edward Hyde, until they lead her to Hyde’s daughter, Diana, a mostly feral child who was abandoned to be raised by nuns. Unable leave Diana with the nuns, and hopeful that she might be able to jog Diana’s memory of her father, Mary takes her into her own home.

Then the case seems to take an unexpected turn, merging with a strange case of disapearing women that Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson have been pursuing. As each woman is found and rescued from torture and foul experimentation, Mary takes them in: first, Beatrice Rappaccini, then Catherine Moreau, and finally, Justine Frankenstein.

Pooling their knowledge and gifts together, Mary and the women begin to unravel a diabolical and monstrous plan concocted by a society of immoral and power crazed scientists with only Mary, the gifts of these extraordinary women, and Sherlock Holmes’ powers of deduction to keep the evil this society wants to unleash at bay.

Goss proves that you can improve on a classic! She has created a whole new world of possibilities for the Sherlock Holmes’ genre. The addition of Mary, a smart, intuitive young woman, who is shockingly unfazed by current conventions to the storyline is refreshing and startling. She more than holds her own against Sherlock Holmes, who gives her a certain amount of respect and deference. The other women are also quite intriguing as we learn more about their backstories and what they have had to endure. This is book one of a series called, The Extraordinary Adventures of the Athena Club, and I am looking forward to reading all of them!

Brenda’s Rating: ****(4 out of 5 Stars)

Recommend this book to: Sharon, Marian and Lauren

Book Study Worthy? Sure, why not!

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