First of all, I love the cover, it clearly captures the tone, time period, genre, and overall feel of the novel. Also I love purple.

Here’s the blurb:

It is the Fall of 1890, and there is a serial murderer on the loose in the sprawling Victorian city of Fabler.

Ripping through the dark underbelly of the city, the killer leaves a trail of bodies with evidence of religious rituals.

The police are looking for a mortal. Ikaros Crux knows better.

Crux is nearly sober and on the hunt through the rainy, fog-filled streets, searching for the thing that killed his friend.

Together with an accidental medium, Viola van Wyk, he fights to solve the mystery of the murders while dodging the new Detective Inspector, and finds the truth might be more dangerous than even he suspected.

Characters:

For me, this was the best part of the story. Ikaros Crux steals the show. An alcoholic running a dismal pawn shop, struggling with some sort of supernatural ‘problem.’ He is rude, uncouth, and inappropriate. Also hilarious. There was lots of laugh out loud moments from this character.

Miss Viola Van Wyke is an impoverished noble struggling to survive, looking after her senile mother and keeping an eye on her wayward cousin. She is a modern woman: strong, scientifically minded and very proper. Very opposite to Mr Crux, which in part makes their dynamic a great aspect in the story.

Leonid Sandor is the new detective inspector and clashes with Mr Crux throughout. Ex-military, Sandor is a man who upholds the law no matter what. There’s some great conflict between him and Crux in this book and keeps the twists and turns compelling.

There’s great arcs and development for each character in this story. I felt sympathetic for each one and rooted for them throughout the book.

Plot:

A Victorian murder mystery supernatural style story. I loved ATU from the start, it captured my attention and held it right to the end. The plot moves at a steady pace, introducing the supernatural elements at a believable rate. Gritty, mysterious, compelling, and humorous, there’s lots of twists and turns and numerous factors involved in the complicated plot.

Viola comes across a dying man in the street and feels compelled to find his murderer. She teams up with Mr Crux who is sure the supernatural is involved. Mysterious murders happen throughout the city which are all connected. Both Crux and Sandor are trying to investigate, with very different means and methods. It escalates from there.

I laughed, nearly cried, and nearly jumped out my seat with excitement (no joke.) It’s one of those books that’s difficult to put down. I love Bredenberg’s creation and can’t wait to read the sequel.

All Things Unholy is available on:

Amazon
and
Smashwords