Bitter Waters

• Author: Vivian Shaw
• Genre: Fantasy
• Publication Date: June 25, 2024
• Publisher: Orbit
• Series: Dr. Greta Helsing #3.5

Thank you to NetGalley, Orbit, and Angela Man for sending me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A witty, charming standalone novella starring Greta Helsing, doctor to the undead, who must get to the bottom of a mystery involving a newly turned child vampire.  

A barrow-wight shows up on Greta and Varney’s doorstep one night with 11-year-old Lucy Ashton who’s been newly—and forcefully—bitten and turned. Who did this to her, and why? With the help of her vampiric friends, Greta is determined to find out.

When I was offered the chance to read this novella, it sounded so interesting that I couldn’t pass it up. A new spin on the story of van Helsing and Dracula was like catnip, especially knowing that it is part of a series. Plus, this novella works as a standalone, so it offered a great chance for me to see how I liked the writing style and story before committing to a full-length book. Turns out, I liked it a lot.

I haven’t read any of the books in the series before, so I went into this not knowing any of the characters or the story thus far. We are quickly introduced to Dr. Greta Helsing, who isn’t your traditional medical doctor. She exclusively caters to the paranormal population, although at the beginning of the story, she’s on a little break, staying with Varney and his ward, Emily (a vampire), at his country manor, when a barrow-wight appears with a child who has been attacked and turned into a vampire. Dr. Helsing quickly calls reinforcements, and Ruthann and Grisaille show up to lend a hand. 

First of all, I loved the way the author really flipped the narrative as to who the monsters are in the story—while vampires and barrow-wights and other supernatural creatures are usually viewed as the ‘monsters,’ there’s a clear separation of the good guys and the bad guys. Not all vampires or paranormal ‘monsters’ are the bad guys; there are many heroic and moral characters amongst the monsters, and they are on a mission to find the bad guy or guys who have hurt this child and turned her into a vampire significantly earlier than when it’s agreed to be acceptable by supernatural society as a whole. 

Despite the short length of the story, I couldn’t help but be amazed at how wonderfully fleshed out the characters were. In addition, the story also felt complete and never rushed. The pace was good and kept me intrigued, and everything wrapped up wonderfully. I loved meeting the characters, especially the little cameo by Dracula himself. After this novella, I’m ready to backtrack and start the series from the beginning to catch up on everything. This is a good novella to try out if you like an unconventional paranormal fantasy, a mystery with quirky and intriguing characters, and a fun spin on the van Helsing story.

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