I became aware of A.C. Hessenauer upon reading her gothic horror novel “Dread House” several months back. 

“Manimal” is one or her more recent works. It swaps out the gothic vibe for something closer to the ambience of a Lovecraft tale (though without the ornamental Lovecraft prose—thank god). It’s Atlanta in the 1930s, in a world where vampires and other supernatural creatures are an acknowledged part of life, albeit somewhat hidden from view. In this setting, two detectives, themselves more than human, work to solve a mystery.

I won’t get into the details of the mystery other than to say it reminded me a bit of True Detective Season One.

There’s some great prose here; Hessenauer is an accomplished wielder of words.

I didn’t get into the “world” of this story as much as I did “Dread House”, but its still worth a read. I give it a solid 4 out 5.