I’ve already read a book with this title, but I assure you, this is a different one.

The Resurrectionist by Kathleen S. Allen follows Dilly, a young woman living in the Victorian era. She’s just lost her father and is facing the fact that, if she or her sister Dierdre doesn’t marry soon, they’ll have no way to survive. But Dilly has a plan: she’ll follow in her father’s footsteps and become a surgeon, as she’s always been interested in medicine and anatomy. Then, two things happen: she meets a charming young man who’s willing to help her enter the medical world, and she finds her father’s hidden journal, which contains knowledge she never dreamed of. But as Dilly continues to follow her ambitions, she makes dark choices, ones that she might not be able to come back from.

I’m returning to my obsession with Frankenstein. However, this book pales in comparison to Mary Shelley’s masterpiece.

I’m just going to say it: I didn’t like Dilly. As a narrator, as a character, at all. I understand that she’s a seventeen-year-old in Victorian England with the goal to enter a male-exclusive field of study, and generally had very few opportunities to make choices about her own life, but ugh. I’m shocked she never told anyone that she’s “not like other girls,” because that’s her entire attitude at all times. Frankly, that’s not a feminist attitude to have at all, though it’s kind of presented that way. Hating being a woman and looking down on traditionally feminine traits or pursuits is just internalized misogyny, not girl power. It’s really tiresome to read from the perspective of someone like that.

(However, now that I think about it, a dislikeable protagonist is a very Frankenstein thing. So… kudos, I guess?)

Also, for all that Dilly is brilliant when it comes to medicine and anatomy, she is incredibly oblivious regarding her love interest Ben. To me, it was so obvious what his true motives were (spoiler: he’s up to no good). He’s kind of constantly indicating his secret villainy/darker side, so for Dilly to be unaware just makes her look foolish. Further, when her revelation finally does come, it feels way too late. The things she’s learned about him earlier should have been enough to make her realize that he’s dangerous, but it’s only after another big reveal that she gets it. Why is she like this?!

On another note, I really wanted to like the grave robbing and Jack the Ripper aspects of the story, but they didn’t feel as researched as they should have been. They kind of lacked detail, more like they were an afterthought to the Frankenstein aspects of the story. Then again, I’ve read another novel that went very deep into the grave robbing underworld of that time period, and I also had an entire class in university about London history centered around the Whitechapel murders. Others might disagree with me and think that these parts of the story are great, and that’s fine!

One thing I did like was Dilly’s complex relationship with Deirdre. Their bonds of sisterhood do seem genuine and loving, though it’s clear from the start just how different they are. And as the plot progresses, things take a sinister turn, which I actually really liked. The Frankenstein allusions and homage are good, and the dark developments work well enough. I mean, I wasn’t nearly as invested in this story as I should have been (for all the reasons listed above), but the relationship between these two sisters was easily the most interesting part of the story.

But then there’s the very end of the book. Dilly and Deirdre have grown up without their mother, who died when they were very young. Then, in the last chapter, the truth about her death comes to the surface, and the book ends. This was incredibly frustrating, because why bother putting that in there? Canny readers had already figured it out, but now it feels like this is baiting us for a sequel. Is there going to be a sequel? If there is, I’m not going to read it.

In the end, The Resurrectionist by Kathleen S. Allen was a disappointing read for me, though the audiobook narration by Harrie Dobby was good. There are a lot of creepy and/or Gothic elements that I wanted to like, from Frankenstein callbacks to body snatchers and allusions to the Whitechapel murders of 1888, but there were just as many—if not more—elements I disliked. Dilly’s characterization and backwards attitude toward women, and the annoying obvious plot “twists” made this a tough book to enjoy for me. Luckily, I’ve got a couple other Frankenstein-inspired stories that I’ll be reading soon, so hopefully I’ll have better luck with them!

The Resurrectionist is available now!