Some book series you can pick up along the way and fall into the storyline seamlessly without having read the previous books. Unfortunately, that's not entirely the case with Shawna Reppert's Moon over London, which is the second book in an otherworldly Victorian mystery series; the author apparently assumes that readers have a working knowledge of the first book's world-building. Since I have not read A Hunt by Moonlight, I sometimes found myself a bit lost in the plot.

That doesn't mean Moon over London is a bad book. I actually enjoyed it quite a lot. But a little more backstory would have been nice.

The protagonist here is Detective Inspector Royston Jones of Scotland Yard, in an England that is home to a fairly significant population of werewolves. They are legal citizens but, much like the Tinkers and Travelers who live on the outskirts of London, they are frequently shunned by proper society; that doesn't mean, however, that the Yard can turn a blind eye when they start disappearing in unusually high numbers.

Jones is aided in his investigations -- which, besides those disappearances, also include a young runaway heiress, an even younger kidnap victim, an attempted burning at the stake and an apparent black market trade in werewolf hides -- by Richard Bandon and Catherine Fairchild, a married couple from a higher social stratum, one of whom is a secret werewolf and the other of whom is a cross-dressing scientist and alchemist. Jones's work is complicated by an uncle, who seemingly wants to welcome him into the family despite his bastard upbringing; a gregarious world traveler with lots of stories to tell; an attractive research assistant who might be attracted to Jones (it's hard to tell); and the aforementioned heiress who is looking for an exciting new match.

The story is a mystery couched in a Victorian steampunk and urban fantasy setting. There's also a message -- not so subtle that you'll miss it, not so heavy handed that you feel overwhelmed by it -- about the way society treats those who fall outside of "the norm." And, while Victorian attitudes (and prejudices) are never sugarcoated, you'll find that most of the main characters have more enlightened views.

Most importantly, it's a good, entertaining read with lively, interesting characters and an engaging mystery set in Reppert's lush and intriguing world. It's a world I would happily visit again, if the opportunity arises.

[ visit Shawna Reppert's website ]