Club Monstrosity
By Jesse Petersen Monsters exist. They all have stories to tell. Sometimes their books got it right, sometimes not so much. They have been living amongst us undetected for decades. Doing so means hiding who they are. Living such a double life isn't easy. You learn to cope best you can. For the monsters in Club Monstrosity, coping means meeting weekly in a support group. When two of their members suddenly disappear and are subsequently found dead, the remaining members of the support group realize that they are likely all in danger.
Natalie (Frankenstein's monster) and Alec (the Wolfman) take the lead in investigating this mystery as Natalie works in the morgue so she has some connections that the others do not have and Alec is just, well, wolfy -- that nose comes in handy. The other members tend to have serious issues that make their assistance in solving the mystery all but non-existant. Still, someone is out there killing monsters, issues or not, they need to sort this out before they lose another member. Is it a human who discovered their secret and is sending them a message? If so, who is it and why are they doing it? Is it a fellow monster, taking out their own kind? They have kicked some out of their group in the past, perhaps someone with a grudge? The Van Helsings? Would they break the truce?
I tried to figure out what to rate this one. I debated and debated with myself (perhaps Jekyll and Hyde wore off on me). In the end I have settled on 3/5 stars. It's okay. There's a piece of me that really hopes the follow up books are developed, getting better and better as the series continues, though generally you never top the first book. I get the feeling this series can break that tradition. There is potential here. The humor is a bit juvenile and cliched, sometimes it works with the characters and sometimes it felt out of place or forced. For me the ideal audience for this book is people who like both the tv show Lost Girl and classic monsters.
