I loved this book so much!
Fantasy murder mystery. Two bad-ass women. Paris. Mythical creatures, Magical abilities. This book has it all, and I ate it up.

Sam and Hel are both agents of the Royal Society for the Study of Abnormal Phenomena. They enter into an unlikely partnership to solve a string of gruesome murders in Paris. But of course, nothing is as simple as it seems. The convoluted case leads them all over Paris, from the grand Palais Garnier all the way down to the ancient catacombs. And of course, Sam and Hel both have personal motives for solving this case, motives they strive to keep hidden from the other. Can they work together when they don't fully trust each other?

✨

Sam and Hel are both so well-written. Their backstories are slowly revealed throughout the book, and you get to understand how their upbringing shaped them and made them into the person they are. They both have a lot of growing to do, and I loved how we got to see all of that play out. Their dynamic was interesting to read, with Hel being more experienced in the field, more hardened to the gruesome realities of their job, while Sam is new to all of it. As a researcher, Sam is used to getting information from books. But when what she finds in the field is so different from what she's read, she has to grapple with what it means for her and for how the Society operates.

The mystery element kept me hooked. I could not put the book down because I really wanted to get to the bottom of it. The clues were there, as were the red herrings, and when Sam and Hel finally find the answers, it felt so so so satisfying.

Van Helsing though. Yeah, I don't like him, But he is also a product of his upbringing. Is it weird that I also want to learn more about him? And why he is the way he is?

Reading Strange Beasts by Susan J. Morris was such a fun time. This is definitely a perfect addition to your spooky or Halloween TBR.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the digital ARC!
Strange Beasts by Susan J. Morris is out on October 15.