I read the last book in this trilogy (so far?) before this one, and I'm actually glad because nothing good ever happened and life is a vale of tears.

Seriously, though, what I like about Ms Holloway's books is that she doesn't even try to give her characters an easy time of it. If something bad can happen, something probably would. And her characters always rise to occasion. And I think that's what's really admirable.

I don't think I've ever been a fan of novels that 'add' to the Sherlock Holmes mythos, but I'm a fan of this series. The Holmes brothers don't really make much of an appearance here, it's always about Evelina Cooper, but it works so much better with the Holmesian elements.

It's really so nice to see steampunk done right while still playing fair to all characters (female and male alike). Also, a love triangle that's not all about 'But which one would I choose?' *swoons*