Album of Dr. Moreau

Daryl Gregory always gets a second look from me. I thought [b:Afterparty|17910129|Afterparty|Daryl Gregory|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1379720402l/17910129._SX50_.jpg|25095584] interesting and clever, [b:Harrison Squared|22238192|Harrison Squared|Daryl Gregory|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1411902596l/22238192._SY75_.jpg|41612065] interesting and clever, [b:We Are All Completely Fine|20344877|We Are All Completely Fine|Daryl Gregory|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1407196510l/20344877._SY75_.jpg|28350172] interesting and disturbing, [b:Pandemonium|3191189|Pandemonium|Daryl show more Gregory|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1320403877l/3191189._SX50_.jpg|3224200] interesting and challenging... You get the idea. When I think of Gregory's writing, I think of clever, a story with emotional complexity, and a skewed way of looking at the world. The Album of Dr. Moreau achieves 2/3s of this, being a normal (for Gregory) mash-up relying on [b:The Island of Dr. Moreau|6265974|The Island of Dr. Moreau|H.G. Wells|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328147138l/6265974._SY75_.jpg|68894], boy-bands and murder mystery.

Weighing in a novella length, it feels light on the emotional complexity I'm used to getting from his stories, as well as the knife-edged horror. If there's horror here, it's strictly of the boy-band variety, a type many will argue is inherently horrific for different reasons. Interestingly, although I originally hesitated to start reading at bedtime, (knowing how Gregory writes, I didn't want it in my dreams), this one ended up being so easily digestible, I had no trouble reading before bed.

"But we don't talk about [redacted], because... well, we're a fucking boy band. We're not The Cure."

The feel of the book skews new or young adult, and with members of a boy-band center stage in plot and narration, it's no surprise. The structural conceit is a 14-track album, with bonus track and Intro (which really should have been 'Cover Notes'), which goes quickly. While it opens with a mysterious letter and CD addressed to a 'Melanie,' it really begins with the housekeeper discovering a very altered Bobby the party-cat('the cute one') and a dead body in the room. Detective Lucia Delgado is at home trying to sleep through the racket of her daughter's music when she's called to the hotel by her partner for the investigation. Once they learn they have only a couple of days before the FBI (or FWS) steps in, the pressure to solve is on.

"'Fifteen hours?' Banks asked. 'That's not fair. In any decent movie, the hard-ass captain gives the detectives twenty-four hours to solve the case. Eddie Murphy got forty-eight.'
'Eddie's the criminal in that movie,' Luce said.
'Are you saying you'd rather be Nick Nolte? Nobody wants to be Nick Nolte, except for Gary Busey.'"

The beginning was a bit of a slower crawl for me, alternating between the viewpoints of various band members and the detective. Although we're progressing the investigation through different people, their background knowledge is concealed, which makes for a complicated task of characterizing them. As such, they do rather take on boy-band personas, only being about as deep as their physical characteristics go.

The writing is still prime Daryl Gregory, although perhaps a lighter, more pop version:

"He'd evidently just stepped out of the shower, and he smelled amazing--a mix of citrus, cedar, and ex-boyfriend who just worked out."

"They were both as fit and aggro-cheery as spin class instructors."

Once I hit Track 8--excuse me, half way--I felt a lot more involved with both pace and writing style. I guess the exposition interviews just didn't work as well as they could to keep me caring. It didn't help that I was largely unfamiliar with the original work of H.G. Wells, and that I was waiting for the weirdness. The last quarter of the book is where I felt it really shone. This might be another case of Gregory appealing to a more niche group, only this case, I'm not in it--although I'm clearly in the age group the jokes are aimed at. Still, he writes it, I'll read it. If it sounds intriguing, I'd say give it a shot.

Three and a half tracks, rounding up. show less

This book is short, hilarious, clever, strange, and buck fucking wild. I think the description should speak for itself and there isn't much more for me to say; it's mystery, it's science fiction, it's a little bit of a cop show, it's a little bit of a teen drama. It hops around the highlights of five or six genres and it comes for your kidneys. I suppose you should read this if you want to have a good time and feel like you've lost your shit, and skip it if you don't.

This was a fun locked door mystery story that featured a boy band comprised of animal/human hybrids. I really liked the two police officers investigating the case and enjoyed trying to figure out who did it along with them. The story involved a little suspension of disbelief as to how the hybrids came to be (but the story's inspiration - The Island of Dr. Moreau had a similar issue) but I did not mind. I appreciated the boy band humor and the references to some pop culture and mystery novels. The ending was satisfying and the format of the book was clever. I look forward to reading more by this author.

Another one of the Edgar award nominees ( for paperback) and definitely well worth a read. This book is exactly why I read from lists at times. Forces me out of my comfort zone, occasionally resulting in a pleasant surprise. It is very unlikely that I’d have picked up a book about a boy band formed by human animal hybrids that are at the center of a murder mystery, but I’m glad I did. The animal traits that show up in each character are both likely and , at the same time, amusingly exaggerated. The detectives are likable and basically believable. An unusual and fun little mystery tale

In the early 2000s, a boy band made of animal-human hybrids, the WyldBoyz, is ending their tour when their awful promoter is killed. A mystery with lots of animal puns ensues. It’s a fun novella with Gregory’s usual inventiveness despite some grim backstory.

The only reason I didn’t read this in one go is that I started it too late at night to do so. Hilarious, interesting, fun, but the ending was a bit of a mood change and downer leaving me feeling underwhelmed.

Fun, entertaining, and recommended for all libraries.