Her Dark Curiosity

April 1, 2014

Gr 8 Up-Megan Shepherd's deliciously dark and exciting sequel to The Madman's Daughter (HarperCollins, 2013) continues with Juliet's return to London after her escape from her father's island. Life is somewhat easier for Juliet now that she is back-a former colleague of her father's has taken her under his wing so that she does not want for anything, she has a job developing grafted rose bushes, and her friend Lucy has welcomed her with open arms. But not all is well. The serum her father, the infamous Dr. Moreau, developed to keep her symptoms at bay is no longer working and she cannot seem to perfect a new and stronger dose; she misses Montgomery, her old friend and new lover; and one of her father's monsters, Edward Prince, now known as Dr. Jekyll, has also returned to London. To make it worse, a serial killer, dubbed the Wolf of Whitechapel, is murdering people who have wronged her, and a Scotland Yard inspector keeps questioning her about her father. Somehow, Juliet holds the key but can she survive long enough to save the ones she loves and unmask the conspirators who are behind the terror? Shepherd masterfully blends yet another classic horror story into a new setting, and the continuing echoes of H. G. Wells's The Island of Dr. Moreau combined with Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde result in a book that resonates with evil and suspense. While the novel can be read independently of the first title, as enough of the backstory is given to make what is happening clear, readers will have a more satisfying experience if familiar with the previous installment. The psychological questions that Prince/Jekyll raises as to evil, desire, and nature vs. nurture add a depth of richness not often seen in young adult literature.-Janet Hilbun, University of North Texas

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2013
Juliet Moreau struggles with monsters, morals and family tragedy in this moving, if melodramatic sequel (The Madman's Daughter, 2013). Not content to relax in the well-appointed home of her guardian, professor von Stein, or to shop and gossip with her friend, Lucy Radcliffe, 17-year-old Juliet sneaks away to the slums to experiment in anatomy, botany and chemistry. Her father is gone--killed by her own hand--but his medical misconduct and her former poverty are not forgotten. When her former persecutors fall victim to a serial killer, Juliet suspects that someone or something made it off the island. Juliet finds herself torn again between her love for the faithful (if secretive) Montgomery and the tortured Edward Prince, who shifts between boy and Beast. Amid a whirlwind of romance, fancy dresses and death, Juliet uncovers a vast conspiracy that stretches into the highest ranks of society and touches everyone she knows. Although heavy-handed, Shepherd's unsubtle allusions to The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Frankenstein draw readers' attention to the classics and may provoke discussions about medical ethics and split personalities. The experiments are more fiction than science, and Juliet contradicts her supposed delicacy by dispatching threats with chemistry and violence, but the fast pace of the story overpowers the minor imperfections. Secrets and mad scientists offer a gory gothic adventure. (Gothic thriller. 14 & up)

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November 1, 2013
Grades 9-12 This follow-up to The Madman's Daughter (2013) finds Juliet Moreau in London, far from the surgical horrors of her father's islandor so she thinks. Edward, whose love she'd spurned, has made it back, too, and his monstrous alter ego, the Beast, is to blame for a rash of brutal killings. Is there a way to save Edward before the Beast's violence turns to Juliet? Meanwhile, a cabal of powerful men hopes to take Dr. Moreau's discoveries and use them for nefarious means. As with the previous book, this is a romance first (albeit one where a human brain is discovered in a hat box). There are two dashing, virile men vying for Juliet's loyaltyone of whom is literally a lustful animaland there is the requisite amount of tormented dithering, with lines like Montgomery had shipwrecked my heart. Luckily, Shepherd's integration of romance into her nods to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Dracula, Frankenstein, and Jack the Ripper is masterful, and she does not back down from a hugely dark cliff-hanger ending. Bosoms, prepare to heaveand throats, prepare to scream.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)