Bitter Waters

By: Vivian Shaw

Narrated by: Catrin Walker-Booth

In this witty and charming novella Greta Helsing, doctor to the undead, investigates the mysterious appearance of a newly turned child vampire.

Relaxing at her partner’s ancestral estate, work is the last thing on Dr. Greta Helsing’s mind. But before she’s had the chance to kick up her feet, a wight appears on their doorstep carrying a newly turned child. Turning a young adult is a grave transgression; to do it to an eleven-year-old is nearly unheard of. Who could possibly commit such a sin, and why would they abandon her?

Dr. Helsing and her vampiric friends will travel across the United Kingdom and to Hell and back to find the answer.

Critic reviews

Praise for the Dr. Greta Helsing series:

"An excellent adventure."—Fran Wilde, award-winning author of Updraft

"Strange Practice is written with elegance, wit, and compassion. The prose is gorgeous, the wit is mordant, and the ideas are provocative. Also, there are ghouls."—Laura Amy Schlitz, Newbery Medal winner

"An exceptional and delightful debut, in the tradition of Good Omens and A Night in the Lonesome October."—Elizabeth Bear, Hugo Award winning author

"Shaw balances an agile mystery with a pitch-perfect, droll narrative and cast of lovable misfit characters. These are not your mother's Dracula or demons ... Strange Practice is a super(natural) read." —Shelf Awareness

"An appropriately dark breath of fresh air." —Booklist

"Catrin Walker-Booth's performance brings Dr. Greta Helsing to life in this charming novella--part of a series but it can also stand alone. Walker-Booth's skill with pitch, tone, and accents brings each of the characters to life."—Audiofile Earphones Award Winner

Great book!

Very well written, and excellently read. the author always manages to circle back to every plot line. very satisfying.

My Favorite

this book did not have world-wide emergency travel, but took place at home in London, and had a comfortable, complete ending. I liked all of the characters. I have read the other books in the series and they are great, but this will be my favorite.

A happy surprise!

Was thrilled to listen to this novella from Ms. Shaw. After the last book of the series I was afraid that it was a goodbye to all of the curious and wonderful characters that I’d finally gotten to know and understand by the third book. Highly recommend that you start with the first of this series—while Bitter Waters is a great stand-alone, some important character elements will be missed without critical backstory provided in the preceding novels. It is perfectly narrated. Highly recommend this series— please check it out!

Delightful fairy tale feel

This is my third listen from this author. She tells stories of vampires, werewolves, and other magical beings in fresh and engaging ways. This is a fun break if you’ve had too many depressing books lately.

Great mini Greta Helsing story

Heads up, this one is a lot more slice of life than the previous. Rather than fighting hordes of facing Armageddon, the close collective gets to learn a little more about themselves and each other while trying to sort out what to do about a newly turned child vampire. This change of pace works well for the author’s voice and the cast of characters.