The Daemoniac

The Daemoniac, despite some cliches and some misleading advertising, is a thoroughly enjoyable book that is right in my wheelhouse. It is the first in a series by Kat Ross called "Gaslamp Gothic," which has my attention, and is set in 1888 in New York City, just a few weeks, we are told, before the Jack the Ripper killings started.

That those killings are mentioned sets the tone, as Ross tells the story from the point of view of Harrison "Harry" Pell, a nineteen-year-old girl and super sleuth who has a serial killer of her own to catch. She is the younger sister of Myrtle Pell, who is a private detective of some renown. Myrtle is off on a case, so when a couple come in looking for help, Harry lets them assume she's Myrtle and takes the job.

Along with her friends John, a medical student, Edward, a society swell, and Connor, a street urchin, Harry looks for a missing man who was last seen at a seance. Was he possessed by a demon, and is now mutilating young women throughout New York City? Harry investigates, while interacting with some real people, such as reporter Nellie Bly and phony spiritualist Margaret Fox.

Ross does entertain cliches, such as having Harry being extremely plucky and lucky (she is saved at least three times from death at the last second by someone she didn't know was there) and, in the grand tradition of private eye stories, avoids the police for dubious reasons. Also, the blurb that first attracted me to the book said that she was Arthur Conan Doyle's niece. Not so: "First off, he’s not actually my uncle. More of an unofficial godfather. But I’ve been calling him that since I was a child and although we may not be blood relations, he is and always will be family to me." Harrumph.

Doyle does not appear in the book, although we get inklings of his famous character in Harry: '“She has made a study of tobacco ash,” John replied, grinning. “Miss Pell can distinguish thirty-seven different types, isn’t that so?”' She even says "Elementary."

Despite that, The Daemoniac is great fun. Ross has done some extensive research, and as Harry and her friends canvas New York City Ross effortlessly weaves details in. The locations range from the Five Points to the Upper East Side (Sutton Place once had a grain elevator). The action is suspenseful, and I was totally taken by surprise by who the killer was.

This is the first book in a series and I will definitely be back for more.