​Griffin Rinaldin is a thirteen year old boy that is dealing with a lot of crap. His abusive father recently died and now Griffin has been diagnosed with Depersonalization disorder, where Griffin feels like he is outside of his body and looking at himself from someone else's point of view.  Griffin's sources of comfort in his life are his cousin Tanner, whose father is also abusive as well as his Grandfather Soren.  Soren tells Griffin stories of a mysterious young man with red hair taking revenge on abusers.  The stories are meant to help Griffin with coping strategies, but the red haired boy begins to take form in Griffin's life and Griffin is seeing him more and more often along with his out of body experiences.  


The Disembodied is a gripping psychological horror story that slowly pulls you in by weaving together different elements from both the natural and supernatural world.  A unique narrator and well developed characters fascinated me and made the book difficult to put down. All of the characters felt very real; they made mistakes, they felt real emotions and tried their best to get through everything.  Perhaps the most terrifying thing about the book is that most of the horror elements are firmly rooted in the natural world: abuse, mental illness, and addiction are all prevalent throughout the story.  My favorite parts however are the stories that Soren tells of the red-haired boy throughout history; these are great ghost stories that would stand on their own.  Overall, a thrilling and powerful story of love that masterfully combines elements from the horror world.

​Dr. Anton Kronberg is England's leading bacteriologist.  Dr. Kronberg is called in to investigate a case of a cholera victim floating in the city's water supply.  While the fact that the victim died of cholera is pretty clear cut, the way the disease was received and how the body  found its way into the water supply opens up to many more mysteries.  When Sherlock Holmes is also brought into the case, Dr. Kronberg has even more to fear as Holmes quickly discovers Dr. Kronberg's secret that Anton is really Anna Kronberg.  Holmes and Anna find a tenuous relationship as the case brings them into dangerous scenarios with devious men and treacherous plots.


The Devil's Grin is an engaging Victorian Era mystery.  Dr. Kronberg is a very interesting character.  Her choice to live as a man in order to practice medicine is honorable, yet has many difficulties and bears the consequence of death if found out.  Since she could legally practice medicine as a woman in other countries, this seems like a strange and dangerous predicament to place herself into.  Other than that, I really enjoyed the sharp and witty writing, the mystery and the passion behind Anna's character.  The mystery was a slow burn and grew on me with a series of well crafted layers that started with what seemed like a simple case but quickly grew into a large conspiracy that took Anna under cover.   Another interesting aspect of the story was Sherlock's character, a tortured soul and amazing detective, yet very different from the classic Holmes character.  Overall, an engaging historical thriller in Victorian London.