Book Review: Ordinary Monsters by J M Miro

According to The Daily Mail, this book is a 'gaslit, gothic tour de force'. I don't tend to agree with The Daily Mail very often, but in this case I have to admit they are exactly right. This book has American Gothic: small towns plagued with racism, wandering freakshows and self-destructive cults; Victorian Gothic: the foggy, rainy streets of London and Edinburgh, gaslight and shadows, loyal widows and the downtrodden poor; and Monstrous Gothic: ghosts and ghouls and people with dark powers, portals to the afterlife and terrible secrets.

The story is beautifully written, evoking an incredible sense of atmosphere in every scene. The large cast of characters is handled well with each one being well fleshed out and made meaningful to the reader. The heroes are ambiguous, the villains are terrifying, and the story is an epic adventure through America, England and beyond, leading to a haunting (pun intended) climax that is impossible to put down.

I loved every second I spent reading this book. And in posting this review on Goodreads, I just found out it's the first book in a trilogy. I can hear my To Read Pile screaming at me already....