Book Review: Dreadful Company by Vivian Shaw

Dreadful Company by Vivian Shaw
Length: 400 Pages
Genres: Urban Fantasy, Mystery
Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

Trigger Warnings in this book for Some Violence and Gore

I'm back with the second book (here's the review for the first one) in the delightful Greta Helsing series by Vivian Shaw! These books, for me, are like the most delightful sort of well-made candy -- with a heart made of sweet marshmallow fluff and an outside coated with something sinfully dark and rich. And in this book, we're heading not just Paris, but the famed Catacombs of Paris! And I have to say, Shaw's description of them is one of the best I've ever read:

"The catacombs of Paris were a well-known tourists attraction: a curated series of passageways neatly lined with row upon row of skulls interspersed with femurs, the V-stacked shapes of their medial condyles forming a pattern reminiscent of rough knitting. There were some very big names down there -- Danton, Robespierre, Camille and Lucile Desmoulins, among others -- although it was now impossible to know which cranium was whose; liberté, égalité, et fraternité, demonstrated in death if not in life."

Greta Helsing and one of her favored companions, the always-fashionable and solicitous vampire, Lord Ruthven, are headed to Paris, rather unexpectedly. Greta has been called to present at a medical conference for monster doctors, and Lord Ruthven is simply there to show her around before heading onwards to his ancestral pile in Scotland -- and of course, like any self-respecting vampire, he insists on taking Greta to the Opera. There, they are surprised to find another vampire lurking about, but one that seems otherwise harmless, another patron there to enjoy show. Little do they know, this vampire is the second-in-command to the dangerous, dramatic, red silk and body-glitter clad leader of a local coven, Corvin. And he has quite the bone to pick with Ruthven.

So when Ruthven departs, he sees the perfect opportunity to bring him crawling back: kidnap Greta and keep her hostage in a cell deep in the catacombs his coven calls home.

And that's not the only thing brewing in Paris. Someone has been summoning little monsters: tricherpetons, also known as "hairmonsters", and the frog-like "wellmonsters", and it's done a number on the fabric of the universe. Ghosts, missing heads and legs and other parts, have shown up, most likely disturbed when the previous cemetery ran out of room and their bodies had to be moved elsewhere, passing easily through the "thin place" made by all this magic. It's up to psychopomps Crepusculus Dammerung and Gervase Brightside to put this all to rest, along with the help of the lovable demon Fastitocalon.

Just like the previous installment, this book is a magically fun-romp featuring classic gothic characters, like Varney the Vampyre, the aforementioned Lord Ruthven, a little mention of Dracula and co., plus a take on the fabled St. Germain. The only thing I disliked about this one was that Greta was imprisoned for more than half of the novel, and I found myself wishing she could have escaped sooner to do more investigating with the others. Otherwise, I loved catching up with Greta's wonderful found family of monsters and I was of course thrilled at the development in the relationship between Greta and the melancholy Varney!

Perfect for an urban fantasy and classic literature lover, this book has it all: pin-stripe suit wearing demons, werewolves, vampires and vampyres (there is a difference!), famous ghosts (featuring Oscar Wilde and Chopin) and even the Phantom of the Opera! Due yourself a favor and escape to the fantastical world of Greta Helsing for awhile -- you won't regret it.