Yancey transport readers back in time in a story he claims to have found in a series of folios relating the story of an apprentice to an monstrumologist, someone who studies the oddities of nature. The first folio starts in 1888, and Will Henry is 12 years old. He has recently been taken in by Dr. Pellinore Warthrop, the monstrumologist in question. Will Henry's father was the doctor's previous assistant until a fire killed both Will Henry's father and his mother.

William Henry and the doctor have settled into an interesting work relationship. The doctor has an a thorny temper, but he clearly cares about Will Henry. He is also the type of scientist who is totally enthralled by his work, forgetting to eat, drink, sleep and bathe when things get really interesting. Thankfully, young Will Henry looks after him as well as helps him in the lab.

Things become interesting when the local gravedigger comes knocking on their door late in the evening. He arrives with the corpse of an Anthropophagus, a man-eating monster that has no head, sports its eyes in its shoulders, and a mouth full of shark teeth in its lower chest. The creatures, who have been referenced both by Shakespeare in Othelloand Herodotus in his histories, are native to Africa. As a result, the doctor is quite surprised to find an example in the New England town of New Jerusalem.

Before long, our heroes learn that this is just one member of a breeding pod that has been living in the area since the final months of the American Civil War. The doctor is horrified that anyone would willingly bring a group of these creatures to America and want to breed them. Whatever the reasons for the arrival of the monsters, it will be up to the doctor and his trusty sidekick, Will Henry, to seek out and destroy the monsters before the wreak further havoc on the Massachusetts countryside, killing hundreds.

Yancey has done a wonderful job of capturing the real feel of a Victorian Era horror story. The writing quickly captures the tone of that time while bringing up memories of reading Mary Shelley and Jules Verne. The relationship between Will Henry and the doctor reminded me a lot of the similar one between Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson, particularly if the doctor had been a pre-adolescent.

Readers will be left on the edge of their seats as they come face to face with the monsters with the story's heroes. Yancey spares nothing in his descriptions of the creatures and the terrible things they can do. This is no story for the meek at heart or weak of tummy.

The story is also filled with a number of standout characters. While they often seem like archetypes for this type of story, they really fully embody those examples, and the characters come to life (at least for a little while before something comes along to end that) on the page for the reader.
*The gravedigger is an older gentleman who makes money digging up corpses to sell to area medical schools or to the doctor if he finds something interesting
*There is a director of a mental institution nearby that seems to be more concerned with keeping things at the hospital quiet so no one will look to closely at how bad the conditions really are
*There is also the darkly humorous monster hunter who is brought in by the doctor to help. The two men don't really like each other. Ironically, the monster hunter's willingness to place others in danger really makes the doctor seem like a more caring character.

My one complaint is that the story sometimes seems to slog along. It is not for a lack of intense action scenes. I think the challenge is that the doctor and Will Henry seem to learn everything by being told about it. As a result there is a lot of talking rather than doing. Also, there is no shortage of rich description, which is common for Victorian works.

I am definitely looking forward to the next set of installments from Will Henry's folios.