Book 39 The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter

The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter by Theodora Goss fulfilled the category “Book with a ‘Found Family’” for the PopSugar 2022 Reading Challenge.

Does the title sound familiar? It should, and it reveals who’s in the story.

I saved it for October because of the characters. In this novel, five women find each other and create a safe home for them to share. Each woman has a parent with a past and a terrible history. Each woman is the child of a Victorian-era monster.

I loved this book. Not only am I a book junkie, but I’m a weirdo because I love classics, not to mention horror. I’ve read Frankenstein, Dracula, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I also love graphic novels and literary twists. The movie League of Extraordinary Gentlemen hit all my buttons (Tom Sawyer, Allan Quartermain, Dorian Gray…) And this book had a league of extraordinary ladies.

In the novel, we meet Mary Jekyll, yes, that Jekyll. She is forced out of her home after her parents’ deaths. She’s on the trail of Edward Hyde, her father’s associate, to find out if he had any hand in her dad’s fate. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson assist her as she searches London for a safe home and her father’s killer.

Along the way, she gathers other women in low circumstances. Diana Hyde—yes, that Hyde—helps answer some of Mary’s questions. Other women join their house, each with an intelligence or a skill that helps the group solve the mystery of Jekyll’s death. Beatrice Rappaccini, Catherine Moreau, and Justine Frankenstein aid Mary. Together they become a force to be reckoned with and a family.

I loved everything about the book—their struggle, their bonds, their fights. All the literary references had me signing. It didn’t hurt that the novel is well written and seems consistent with how these famous characters (or daughters of the famous characters) might behave. I almost used the title for the “Book Set in Victorian Times” prompt, but it seems to fit here the best.

I read a few others for this category, as I’m want to do. I tore through two of TJ Klune’s books, and I’ve mentioned them for other prompts. Under the Whispering Door fit as well as The House in the Cerulean Sea. The latter was perfect for the prompt, but I found it too predictable. Don’t get me wrong. The story was wonderful and very warm, but I wanted to share my literary monsters more.

I give The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter by Theodora Goss Five Literary Seals of Approval and plan to read the rest of the series.

And The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune as well with Four Big Stars for having special-needs kids that find people who love them for who they are.