The Strange Case of Finley Jayne is a short story prequel that takes place before the rest of the series. I haven't read the The Girl in the Steel Corset yet so perhaps I will like that better, but I found myself just kind of skipping through a lot with this story. Everything that happened was just too convenient and of course Finley managed to save the day to everyone's delight. 
 I'm hoping the longer novel will be much more fleshed out than this was. I think that Cross sets things up nicely in the end for The Girl in the Steel Corset. Hopefully it delivers.