A 'classic' tale, by which I mean overly familiar

Read some fantastic reviews of this but was surprised at its well worn plot that just didn't feel engaging enough to keep me in the story. The publishing blurb explains that this is a retelling of frankenstein story (although with some phantom mixed in for good measure), but it takes 11 hours before we 'discover' the shocking secret that we'd been told about before we started, and our predicted double twist never happens, the ending merely confirms the first words of the publishing summary. The writing is intelligent but the 19 th century language seems off at times with contemporary references seemingly thrown in (translation maybe responsible), and the mix of mild Spanish accents and bizarre East end London (for the police) is jarring. I got to the end and wondered what all the fuss was about, nothing memorable and personally not particularly pleasurable, but not without some merit for an interesting setting. This would suit anyone looking for a retelling of frankenstein who wanted all the 'finding of the body parts' to fill the novel but isn't curious about the 'monster' itself (it really doesn't feature) and wasn't looking to have any contemporary spin put on the storytelling (prostitutes are big hearted, police are corrupt, business men are in it for a quick return, doctors are behind the times, and no one believes our hero).

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