European Travel for the Monstrous Gentlewoman by Theodora Goss

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This is the second installment of this series... a story about Mary Jekyll, Diana Hyde, Catherine Moreau, Justine Frankenstein,, Beatrice Rappaccini, and Lucinda Van Helsing.  All are the daughters of their scientist fathers who have questionable moral values when it comes to genetic manipulation.  Together, the women make up The Athena Club, and are dedicated to helping save other women facing a similar fate to escape the controlling scientists in their lives, all members of the Alchemical Society.

This book, similar to the first, takes the women on tenuous adventures across Europe, where they encounter strange circumstances and even stranger people.  They are faced with mystery and danger at nearly every turn, and must face it all alone through their own special skills, wit, and snark.

As with the first book, Catherine Moreau is the chronicler of their adventures, and frequently records the other women's comments within the text, as they all sit down to read the manuscript together in a sort of critique and editorial session before publication.  I find Goss' technique here quite entertaining.  It's almost like you have a secret window not only into the adventure, but also into the mind of a fictional author, and by extension, into the mind of Goss, herself.  It really is quite delightful.

I would call this book a cozy mystery for those who enjoy the horror genre... it's a new approach to the topic matter that will keep your attention well to the last pages.

Again, I read the audio book version, and found the narrator to be equally skilled the second time around.  It's certainly worth your time.

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