Zombies seem to be replacing the oversaturated vampires and werewolves as the go-to supernatural creature of the moment. Honestly, that is just fine with me. 
 So it was oddly refreshing to read "Something Strange and Deadly," Susan Dennard's moderately suspenseful debut novel about a plucky Victorian heroine versus the forces of supernatural undeath. There's both romance and ghoulish violence aplenty, as well as a steampunky flair when the Spirit Hunters appear. 
 Bad things are afoot in Eleanor's life -- first one of the zombiesque Dead hands her a cryptic note from her missing brother Elijah, then a seance her mother conducts goes horribly wrong. Fearing that Elijah is dead (or worse), she sets out to the Centennial Exhibition to enlist the help of the Spirit Hunters -- and learns that a necromancer may be sacrificing people to raise the Dead. 
 So she begins her own investigation, despite the best efforts of both the Spirit Hunters and the mysterious, wealthy Clarence Wilcox. But the more secrets Eleanor uncovers, the closer the Dead attacks seem to appear -- and she begins to suspect an ugly conspiracy that had something to do with her father's death. 
 "Something Strange and Deadly" is one of those books that is hard to classify -- lots of rotting zombies and evil ghosts without being horror, a teen romance without being mushy, and some steampunky flair without being proper steampunk. Since it doesn't lean too heavily on any one genre, it feels refreshingly smooth. 
 Dennard writes in a brisk, crisp style, sometimes with splatters of vivid imagery ("An icy wind blasted through the room, and with it came the smell of dark, moist, ancient soil"), although you won't find much of the Victorian style in this book. And she throws in some clever twists that genuinely derail Eleanor's investigations, such as her discoveries about Daniel's past. 
 The biggest problem with "Something Strange and Deadly" is that I figured out the necromancer's identity and motives pretty early into the story. But Dennard does make up for that by throwing in an unexpected twist. 
 Eleanor makes a pretty solid, realistic heroine -- she's determined, frank and smart, but still freaks out when she sees zombies and feels bound by her upper-crust society. The Spirit Hunters make a pretty solid team behind her, but sadly we don't get quite enough background on Jie and Joseph, although Daniel makes a solid potential love interest. Maybe they'll be fleshed out more in the sequel. 
 "Something Strange and Deadly" is a solid mystery/horror/romance/steampunk adventures, with dollops of rotting flesh and evil magic. A fun read that leaves me wanting more of Eleanor's adventures.