2023 Nostalgia Re-readathon | SVH #106: Beware the Wolfman

[luxken27]

A savage werewolf is loose in London, and identical twins Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield could be its next targets. On assignment for the London Journal, the twins are on the trail of the most deadly killer since Jack the Ripper. When he ransacks their room and leaves telltale claw marks, the twins know they must capture the maniac before he captures - and kills - them. Terrified, they follow the villain's trail, not suspecting that it's part of his deadly plot to lead them straight into his lair.

Luke, the quiet poet who has won Elizabeth's heart, has armed the twins with anti-werewolf potions and amulets. But when the moon is full, not even the strongest spell can protect them against the awesome powers of this legendary beast. Are Jessica and Elizabeth fated to die in London?

This one gets an extra star for Liz receiving her comeuppance and a little residual trauma, to boot.

As the novel opens, Liz and Jess are still on the outs, as Liz suspects Jessica's London boyfriend, Robert, of being the man behind the werewolf murders. She actually believes Robert to be a werewolf, showing her own incredible ineptitude and naivety, not to mention how deeply she's fallen under the spell of her own London honey, Luke Little Lord Byron Shephard. Both twins are desperate to solve the mystery: Jessica, to vindicate her love; Liz, out of concern for Jessica's safety.

The twins each stumble onto the key to the mystery, a mysterious woman named Annabelle, and both go about trying to figure out who she is. Jessica gets there first and is immediately afraid for Liz's life, especially after learning that she's out alone with Luke.

Liz has indeed discovered Annabelle's address, and the writing is actually fairly good in this section, as she slowly discovers the identity of the werewolf - not Jessica's boyfriend, but her own! Then Luke shows up with a werewolf mask and makes several threats to her, and she's rescued at the last second by Rene, Robert, and stumbling Sergeant Bumpo, who shoots Luke with his own silver bullet, and he dies happy, because of course he does. He's killed a lot of people and animals, and tried to kill her father, but now he's going to join mommy in heaven, so he dies with a smile on his face.

You don't even have to be a practiced mystery reader to see the backstory here, which was telegraphed in Book #1 of this miniseries. Basically its a deadly combination of jealousy, bitterness, and hatred, wrapped up in the English class system with a nice lil bow.

This book is much better written than the previous, and with its singular plot focus, makes for easier reading. It's still incredibly absurd, and the last couple of chapters try way too hard to redeem the killer (and fail miserably, albeit hilariously). Like I said before, given how much of an asshole Liz has been this entire series, it was satisfying to see her get her comeuppance, even if Jessica did forgive her a little too quickly, IMO. At least the end for Liz is fairly realistic, given she doesn't immediately snap right out it. The scars run deep, and quite so.

There is a mini subplot, in which Lucy Friday and Tony Frank decide that they love each other and want to get married, which could've been excised and nothing of value would've been lost. It feels strange reading about a love affair between adults in a YA series - its just as unrealistic as the teenage romances, and feels even more pathetic for that.

I'm glad this series is over, and I'll likely never revisit it.