Soulless by Gail Carriger

Orbit, 416 pages, $15

“Soulless” is the July seelction for the MBTB book group. We will be meeting on Tuesday, July 28, 2015, at 6:30 p.m., at the Belmont Branch of the Multnomah County Public Library,1038 SE César E. Chávez Boulevard, Portland, Oregon.

The front cover of this book heralds that it is “a novel of vampires, werewolves, and parasols.” Although that basically sums it up, I would add that steampunk and Victorian England are also in the mix.

Alexia Tarabotti is a preternatural; that is, she has no soul. As a result, she is safe against the supernatural machinations of vampires and werewolves, but she is mortal and must still beware.

As the book opens, Alexia is an aging (26 years old!), plain spinster of independent disposition and moderate wealth. She is a thorn in the side of handsome, virile, alpha werewolf and head of the UK’s BUR (whatever that stands for), Lord Maccon. BUR deals with the troubles supernaturals might cause. It is, in a sense, the supernaturals policing their own, although humans are also part of the organization.

Gail Carriger has put together all the elements of popular interest, including some salacious romance, and crafted the well-received “Parasol Protectorate” series. of which “Soulless” is the first.