The Clockwork Scarab by Colleen Gleason

COMPLETELY DIFFERENT!!! This is not a bad thing, as I found the book to be quite well done. This one, however, combines two of my favorite novels, Sherlock Holmes and Bram Stoker. In this novel we meet Sherlock's niece and Mycroft's daughter Alvermina (Mina) Holmes, and Bram Stoker's sister Evaline Stoker. Evaline is a "chosen one" meant to destroy all vampires. Her brother Bram is her guardian and is currently writing his book Dracula. In The Clockwork Scarab, Mina and Evaline are called together by Miss Irene Adler to work secretly under the orders of Her Royal Highness Princess of Wales Alexandra. There are women disappearing and then re-appearing apparently as suicides. One such vanishing girl is the Princess's god daughter. While Mina and Evaline are looking into the disappearances/deaths, they come upon a secret society formed around the Egyptian goddess Sekhmet. What does this goddess have to do with the women, and why?

I found this novel appealing to my senses because of the characters. These were two very strong characters and I do believe they stood up to the legends of their "families". They were easily relatable as women and I found I empathized with Mina a great deal, mainly feeling out of place around groups of people. They were also relatable in their independence as well. It is easy to know one's strengths and weaknesses, then to bother asking for help from another. Even if the other has strengths to match our own weakness.

There were some underlying issues I had, however. And questions that went unanswered. Mainly what is the deal with the time-travel young man? Why are there so many potential love interests for the two girls? (Thankfully, none of them overlapped with each girl, so there was that blessing.) And the ending left a major cliffhanger. Don't get me wrong, I'll read the second book, but the synopsis for the second book doesn't mention even a tiny bit parts of the first.

Over all I rate this novel 3.5 out of 5 stars. I just expected a little better plot and ending than what I received. Again I still recommend this book for lovers of Sherlock Holmes and Bram Stoker, but be prepared for a slight (I do mean slight) disappointment at the end.