The Devious Dr. Jekyll by Viola Carr

The Devious Dr. Jekyll by Viola Carr
Series: The Electric Empire #2
Published by HarperCollins on October 27th 2015
Genres: Fiction, Science Fiction, Steampunk, Fantasy, Historical, Paranormal
Pages: 464
ISBN: 9780062363114
Goodreads

A perilous case. A worthy foe. Thıs could make her career . . . or ruın ıt forever.
Solving the notorious Chopper case was supposed to help crime scene physician Dr. Eliza Jekyll—daughter of the infamous Henry—establish her career in the chauvinistic world of Victorian law enforcement. But the scrutiny that comes with her newfound fame is unwelcome for a woman with a diabolical secret: her dark and jealous shadow self, Lizzie Hyde. And there is the mercurial Royal Society agent with his own secret to hide, Captain Remy Lafayette. Does he want to marry Eliza or burn her at the stake? It's impossible, however, for Eliza to push Remy away when he tempts her with the one thing she can't resist: a bizarre crime to investigate. And although Eliza is uncertain about Remy, Lizzie isn't. Lizzie wants to steal the magnetic and persistent agent and usurp Eliza's life.
As the search for a bloodthirsty torturer dubbed the Pentacle Killer draws Eliza and Remy into a terrifying world of spies, art thieves, and evil alchemy—where the price of immortality is madness or damnation—only Lizzie's dark ingenuity can help Eliza survive. Eliza and Remy must race to thwart a foul conspiracy involving the sorcerous French, but they must also overcome a sinister enemy who is all too close to home: the vengeful Lizzie, who is determined to dispose of Eliza for good.

In this second book in Viola Carr’s Electric Empire series, the female protagonist feels utterly trapped by her life and society. Her alter ego Lizzie feels trapped by sharing Eliza’s body; but Eliza is actually more trapped by her own mistrust and resentment of the social constructs on her life and her career. She is a modern woman a hundred and some years before society is ready for her and her opinions. Lizzie is a direct result of Eliza’s social repression, but Eliza has also made her own cage of mistrust which resulted from childhood trauma. He father who she should have been able to trust inexplicably was not her safe place to fall, as he being the infamous Henry Jekyll had his own demons to face. In this book both Lizzie and Eliza bite and snarl at everyone. Both characters broke my heart, but the abject despair that plagues Lizzie existence was shattering. Lizzie just wants to be loved and accepted, those dark impulses blended with the calm reason of Eliza. Lizzie’s relationship or lack there of with Remy gutted me. She is just a girl asking a boy to accept and love her and he can’t as he only has eyes for Eliza. Both Lizzie and Eliza are utterly self destructive in this novel, neither incarnation can admit that they need anyone. That need is what makes both so abrasive in this book, as needing someone opens them up for the possibility of rejection, which poor Lizzie feels the sting of far to often.

In the first book of this series The Diabolical  Miss Hyde, the male protagonist Remy Lafayette was boring and a cardboard cut out of what a hero should be. In the book he is flesh, blood and sometimes not nice but he is a real character.

I was disappointed by Malachi Todd’s character in this book, he was written as the gentleman killer in the previous novel, and Eliza and I were both fascinated by him. Here he is just a plain old killer, such a disappointment to us both.

The mystery aspect of this story has enough twist and turns to keep it a page turner. I do wish police inspector Harley Griffin would have had more page time, but him being omitted did open up the relationship to blossom between Remy and Eliza.

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