Review: “The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter”

‘The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter” is a delightful amalgamation of all the great gothic fiction stories of the 18th and 19th centuries - think of H.G. Wells, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Robert Lewis Stevenson and Mary Shelley twisted up with a secret society doing questionable scientific experiments on young girls. Following the adventures of Mary Jekyll (the alchemist's daughter) and her band of merry misfits, Goss ties together some of the most well known fictional characters into a delightful romp through Victorian England in the tradition of Sherlock Holmes. In fact, Mr. Holmes and his pal, Mr. Watson, even make an appearance to help Mary solve the disappearance of her father, Dr. Jekyll, and the murders reminiscent, for modern readers, anyway, of the Jack the Ripper murders.

Too keep the story from getting too dark and heavy, Goss tells the story through the eyes of Mary and her friends after their adventure is complete. Goss allows them to break into the narrative, as if she is sitting in the room with them taking down the story. The characters give additional background about themselves and the story. Goss breaks the fourth wall in an effort to make the multitude of characters coming together less confusing as each character is able to have a distinct voice while Mary is the main character in the narrative bringing everyone together. At the beginning of the novel this storytelling technique was fun and witty, but as the story continued it became annoying - almost like a commercial in the middle of your favorite show - as some of the same arguments and discussions were had over and over again. The fourth wall break-ins took over the story at the end leaving a dissatisfying conclusion to the overall story.

'The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter” is certainly a delightful romp through some of literature's greatest hits and is a wonderful book for any reader who has contemplated what would happen if some of their favorite fictional characters gathered under one roof and went on an adventure together. The unique storytelling approach of allowing the characters to break the fourth wall and share more of their thoughts and feelings helps in creating clear voices for the many characters Goss brings together, but she does lean on this device a bit much at the conclusion of the novel much to the disappointment of any reader looking for a satisfying conclusion.