Review: The Strange Case of Finley Jayne

by Kady Cross
publisher: Harlequin Teen
date published: May 1, 2011
format: NOOK eBook
pages: 78
source: free download from B&N
Amazon / Goodreads / B&N
challenges: Goodreads 2011 Reading Challenge; 2011 E-Book Reading Challenge; 2011 YA Reading Challenge

From Goodreads:

Finley Jayne knows she's not 'normal'. Normal girls don't lose time, or have something inside them that makes them capable of remarkably violent things. Her behavior has already cost her one job, so when she's offered the lofty position of companion to Phoebe, a debutante recently engaged to Lord Vincent, she accepts, despite having no experience. Lord Vincent is a man of science with his automatons and inventions, but Finley is suspicious of his motives where Phoebe is concerned. She will do anything to protect her new friend, but what she discovers is even more monstrous than anything she could have imagined…

What I Thought

I came across The Strange Case of Finley Jayne completely by chance while perusing B&N's assortment of free and inexpensive eBook downloads. When I read the plot synopsis, I knew I had to download it and read it very soon. The Strange Case of Finley Jayne is a prequel to the upcoming novel The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross, the first book in The Steampunk Chronicles. After getting my first taste of steampunk from Cassandra Clare's Clockwork Angel, I have been looking for other books to read in this subgenre. I first heard about The Girl in the Steel Corset back in late March/early April and knew that I definitely wanted to read it. As the book comes out on May 24, I had few options aside from waiting it out. When I saw The Strange Case of Finley Jayne as a free download, however, I thought it would be a great idea to download it to read as a sneak peak of what I could expect from The Girl in the Steel Corset. I am very glad that I did. This novella was an action-packed, fun read from the very beginning.

Our first introduction to Finley gets off to a roaring start. As the story opens, we find her being fired and ordered out of the house where she has been working as a maid. As we come to find out, she has been sacked not for saying something inappropriate. She has been fired for punching the governess. What is truly remarkable about this occurrence is that she punched said governess hard enough to knock out her teeth. Why did she do this, you may ask? Finley was visiting retribution upon the woman, who had been mistreating a child. This lets us know that Finley has a strong sense of right and wrong. Her strong reaction is the result of what she attributes to a darkness within her that takes over in situations of high stress or anger. Combined with her abnormal strength, this makes Finley a person not to be crossed. From this very first chapter it is apparent that Finley is going to be a heroine who takes matters into her own hands and puts up with no nonsense. She is straightforward, independent, and willing to do what it takes to ensure that wrongs are righted. When Finley is approached by Lady Morton to be a companion for her daughter, Phoebe, she is given the opportunity to show more of her characteristics. As soon as the trio attend Phoebe's engagement party, we are clued in that something is amiss. Finley will use every bit of her intelligence, strength, and confidence to get to the bottom of the situation.

The plot for this story was fairly well-done since it had to be so compact. As you may have noticed above, the book contains 78 pages, so brevity can be key. Perhaps as a result the secondary characters (Lady Morton, Phoebe, Lord Vincent, Lord Morton, and Finley's mother and stepfather) were not described at as much length as a full-length novel, which may leave a reader feeling a bit in the dark as to the full extent of these characters' traits or physical descriptions. Most of the emphasis is on Finley, as she is who is meant to be introduced the most. Also, the details as to the peril Phoebe is in and the motivations behind it are a bit spare, detracting from the sense of urgency one would expect. There is a sense of worry for Phoebe, but there just doesn't seem to be enough time to fully impart that punch of dread that is needed to have the reader on the edge of their seats.

I really did enjoy The Strange Case of Finley Jayne. It served to whet my appetite in anticipation of the release of The Girl in the Steel Corset next week. I have the feeling that I am going to love Finley as a heroine even more once I read TGitSC and look forward to seeing what else Kady Cross has in store. In the meantime, I will be waiting anxiously to read more and am happy to give The Strange Case of Finley Jayne 4 hoots.