Review: Department 19 by Will Hill

Department 19 by Will Hill
Release Date:March 31 2011
Publisher: HarperCollins
Pages:489
Format:Hardcover
Genre: YA/Supernatural
Series: Department 19 (#1)
Source:Publisher 

Goodreads Synopsis:
Jamie Carpenter's life will never be the same. His father is dead, his mother is missing, and he was just rescued by an enormous man named Frankenstein. Jamie is brought to Department 19, where he is pulled into a secret organization responsible for policing the supernatural, founded more than a century ago by Abraham Van Helsing and the other survivors of Dracula. Aided by Frankenstein's monster, a beautiful vampire girl with her own agenda, and the members of the agency, Jamie must attempt to save his mother from a terrifyingly powerful vampire.

Department 19 takes us through history, across Europe, and beyond—from the cobbled streets of Victorian London to prohibition-era New York, from the icy wastes of Arctic Russia to the treacherous mountains of Transylvania. Part modern thriller, part classic horror, it's packed with mystery, mayhem, and a level of suspense that makes a Darren Shan novel look like a romantic comedy

My Thoughts;
Department 19 is a modern twist on my most favorite paranormal and supernatural creatures,Frankenstein and Dracula. Will Hill incorporates all of my favorite Bram Stoker and Mary Shelley character's into this wonderful debut novel and adds some new character's who you will most definitely fall in love with. Will is definitely an author that you are going to want to watch out for. An up and coming star with his genre. 


Department 19 is not at all what I expected it to be. The cover threw me off of this exciting new YA/Supernatural novel. I was not expecting to be introduced into the chaotic world of Jamie Carpenter the son of a traitorous father who betrayed his country and left his wife a widow and his son fatherless.

Two years after Julian Carpenter's death, Jamie comes home to find his mom missing and his world turned upside down. A creature who calls himself Victor Frankenstein takes Jamie into the world of Department 19. The British top secret government agency who has sworn to protect mankind from all that is supernatural and evil. Started around the time of Dracula, Department 19 consists of the founding families who started the agency so long ago.


Jamie is thrust into this world with only one goal in mind to find and get his mother back. But what he doesn't know is that one of the world's oldest vampires has a personal vendetta against his family and will stop at nothing to destroy Jamie as well as the world.


I absolutely adored Department 19. It is one of those novel's that caught me by surprise. I thoroughly enjoyed the entire novel. The only issue I have is with the cover. It threw me off. To be honest if I had seen Department 19 in the stores I would not have picked it up based on the cover. It does not do the novel justice. You begin to understand the cover design as you read the book but like I said if I had seen it on the shelves of my store I probably would have walked right past it.


I am so glad that HarperCollins Canada sent me a copy because I would have missed out on such a great book. I thoroughly recommend to anyone who loves the classic Bram Stoker Dracula and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein to pick up Department 19. Do not base the book by it's cover! Because you will be very sorry if you do.