05/01/2017
In this comic supernatural mystery debut, Shaw assembles an appealing, amusing collection of London’s modern undead and the humans who care for them. Dr. Greta Helsing continues the family business of discreetly providing antibiotics to ghouls, bone replacements to mummies, and pints of blood recovered from medical facilities to vampires. She joins several supernatural entities and an archivist at the British Museum in stopping a group of homicidal monks with burned skin, glowing blue eyes, and antique weapons who are targeting both the supernatural population and humans they deem wicked. Shaw excels at depictions of long-lived characters who combine old-school aesthetics with an appreciation of modern conveniences; readers will be amused by ancient entities coopting modern technology. Her idea that immortals make friends with families of humans through several generations makes sense. But characters recapitulating old angst feel shallow and inauthentic, exposition is directed at no one in particular, and a devil-ex-machina ending devalues the work of the team. Shaw has plenty of room to both to continue developing the relationships inside the ensemble cast and add more quirky players in the planned sequel. (July)This review has been corrected to accurately reflect the author's last name.
"In Vivian Shaw's Strange Practice, a charmingly unusual doctor and her charges keep the city of London from grave danger. In the process, they peel back the covers of familiar (and according to them, somewhat "libelous") stories to find that reality - especially with the undead - is more poignant and complex than it seems at first glance. An excellent adventure."— Fran Wilde, award-winning author of Updraft, Cloudbound, and Horizon
"Strange Practice is written with elegance, wit, and compassion. The prose is gorgeous, the wit is mordant, and the ideas are provocative. Also, there are ghouls."— Laura Amy Schlitz, Newbery Medal winner
"A satisfying and surprising read, with rich imagery, nuance, and real compassion for its characters—give Strange Practice a shot!"—Elliott James, author of Charming
"An exceptional and delightful debut, in the tradition of Good Omens and A Night in the Lonesome October."—Elizabeth Bear, Hugo-award winning author
"A darkly delicious adventure featuring a quirky new heroine. Strange Practice breathes new life into the undead."—James Bennett, author of Chasing Embers
"Shaw's lively debut introduces a great cast of characters who should sustain this new series for many volumes to come.... Shaw brings her Victorian monsters into the modern age."—Library Journal
"Shaw balances an agile mystery with a pitch-perfect, droll narrative and cast of lovable misfit characters. These are not your mother's Dracula or demons ... Strange Practice is a super(natural) read."—Shelf Awareness
"An appropriately dark breath of fresh air."—Booklist
"Readers will look forward to more of Greta's adventures. An imaginative, delightfully droll debut."—Kirkus
"A book to settle into. A warm quilt of a thing that's made for curling up with ... I miss this newest Helming already."—NPR
"This book is a joy to read, unlocking every bit of delicious promise in the premise."—B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog
"What a splendid adventure this is - Dr. Greta Helming is a brilliant character, world-weary doctor on-call at all hours, sorting out the ills of the undead and trying to run her Harley Street practice without drawing too much (or any) attention to her patients from the living world ... a splendid new urban fantasy series."—Espressococo
"Strange Practice surprises and delights. It's completely different from anything I've read before. It ticks so many boxes: action, mystery, suspense, an exciting and different world adjacent to our own to name but a few. But the greatest elements of the book are the characters. They shine."—The Bookbag
"Enchanted me from the very first page ... I just couldn't put it down. When I say that there is nothing like this book out there, I mean it, and that's a damn good thing."—Book Worm Blues
"Occasionally I can pick up a book, start to read and know within a couple of pages that I am going to be absolutely hooked. Strange Practice is a splendid case in point. Vampires, demons, ghouls, supernatural cults and all manner of inexplicable jiggery-pokery. What's not to love? I can only hope Vivian Shaw writes many more Greta Helming novels ... I can tell you now that if she does write more I'll be first in line to read them."—The Eloquent Page
"A delightful ensemble mystery featuring some of literature's favorite vampires (and one really great demon)."—NPR
"An absolute delight to read ... this is a remarkably well-realized world and cast of characters; it really isn't very long before you find yourself not only enjoying the story but the world demi-monde Greta moves in, a world where you can take the regular London Bus or Underground but which also has ghouls in the sewers, or Lord Ruthven in his Embankment House grand home."—Forbidden Planet
"For a book filled with creatures who ironically want to suck your blood, by the end it is a radiantly positive, life-affirming tale that won me over surprisingly quickly and with effortless prose that simply engages the reader from the start ... But most of all, and perhaps surprisingly for a book filled with monsters, Strange Practice has a lot of heart. The characters clearly care for each other and their mutual investment in each other's well-being leads to a book where you want to see that all is well. Vivian is to be commended for writing an entertaining book with characters that the reader will love — even the undead!"—SFFWorld
"Shaw's nifty spin on classic horror literature is fresh and clever.... The author has packed her book with characters who are a pleasure to spend time with."—SciFiNow
"A marvelous new character.... I can't wait for the next one!"—The Williamsport Sun-Gazette
07/01/2017
When Greta Helsing is summoned to help the wounded vampire Sir Francis Varney, it is just another work assignment. A physician to London's supernatural creatures, she keeps their secrets and heals them as best she can. Her new patient had been stabbed by men dressed as monks, chanting about doing God's will and wielding unusual weapons. With the help of Lord Ruthven (another vampire of a different variety than Varney), an old family friend who happens to be a demon, a pack of ghouls, and a human scholar, Greta is determined to discover who is attacking both the human and supernatural community of London. Shaw's lively debut introduces a great cast of characters who should sustain this new series for many volumes to come. VERDICT Fans who enjoyed gaslamp fantasies such as P.N. Elrod's The Hanged Man or Viola Carr's The Diabolical Miss Hyde will appreciate how Shaw brings her Victorian monsters into the modern age.—MM
2017-05-15
Murderous monks run amok underneath London in this contemporary supernatural tale.Thirty-four-year-old Dr. Greta Helsing has run a very specialized clinic for five years after taking over for her late father, Wilfert Helsing: she treats the "differently alive" (aka vampires, ghouls, mummies, etc.) that roam in the shadows of London, keeping to themselves and avoiding the public eye. When her good friend Edmund Ruthven, a 400-year-old vampire, calls to tell her that Sir Francis Varney, a very famous vampire, showed up on his doorstep gravely wounded, she can't get there fast enough. He has a cross-shaped stab wound that's making him very ill, and he tells of an attack in his flat by a bunch of men (or are they?) dressed like monks, chanting strange phrases. The garlic they drenched his home in added insult to injury. It's a strange story, but when Greta is attacked in her own car by one of them, who tries to slit her throat no less, seeing is believing. She escapes and gets the dagger after spraying her assailant with a heaping helping of pepper spray, hoping it will get them closer to finding out what they're dealing with. Meanwhile, a vicious killer inevitably dubbed the "Rosary Ripper" is stabbing people to death and leaving cheap plastic rosaries in their mouths. Could it be the work of the rabid monks? Greta, Ruthven, Varney (who's having an existential crisis), along with old friend of the family Fastitocalon (of still undetermined supernatural stock) and August Cranswell of the British Museum, are keen to find out and stop the madness, and the killing, for good. Shaw's affection for her characters is obvious, and Greta is a sensitive, genuinely nice person who loves her job, is unerringly discreet, and cares deeply about her patients, even ones that try to kill her. She's always innovating new methods of treatment, such as replacing the bones of a mummy's foot so entropy won't set in or treating depression in a rat fur (with tails)-draped ghoul chieftain. Readers will look forward to more of Greta's adventures. An imaginative, delightfully droll debut.
