Uncanny Times, by Laura Anne Gilman (Saga)
This new turn-of-the-20th-Century supernatural hunter series boasts engaging characters, a gigantic magical hound, and a murder mystery. Siblings Rosemary and Aaron Harker come from a long tradition of hunting monsters. When an elderly cousin dies under mysterious circumstances, they journey to a small town, along with their oversized hound, Botheration. On the surface, the death appears to be natural, but as Hunters of the uncanny, the Harkers know something sinister is at work. At every turn, their investigation leads nowhere, even when one corpse after another turns up.
That’s the setup, but it falls short of conveying my experience
of reading the book. Gilman’s a skillful writer, and here she perfectly
balances the tension of a murder mystery with exploring a world that’s just
enough skewed from the mundane to be endlessly fascinating, and best of all, to
hang out with three really interesting characters (I definitely include the dog
in this category!) Even the minor characters bring vivid quirks that deepen the
journey through this town and its mysteries.
Despite the dramatic elements, plot twists, and escalating danger, the pacing is measured rather than thriller-taut, yet I found myself turning page after page, reluctant to put the book down. If the opening of a novel is an invitation to the reader, Uncanny Times provides superb hospitality, chapter after chapter. I hope this is only the beginning of a long-running series of the Huntsmen adventures.
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