One of the most enjoyable elements of this book is the excellent team dynamic, and the banter and clear strong bond between them. The female characters feel somewhat less fully developed: Toshiko the stereotypical science geek entirely devoted to her job and to saving the world with brain and not brawn Gwen dedicated and resourceful but still caring, and spunky enough to verbally spar with Owen (some nicely underplayed residual tension harking back to their past affair). A brash and bitingly sardonic Owen teases and flirts his way through interactions with the rest of the team, especially with Toshiko, but shows his deeper side as he juggles his Torchwood duties and his doctor’s sense of responsibility to heal the sick. Ianto is underused, for the most part reduced to the role of cleanliness-obsessed tea boy – barring a rather badass appearance in the culminative battle – although he has a nice line in dry sarcasm and his growing self-confidence is evident. Jack’s portrayal is closer to his original Doctor Who incarnation, and is every bit as flirtatious, sexy (did Ianto avoid that threatened spanking?) and wise-cracking as fans who first fell in love with him in The Empty Child could wish for, with little sign of his more recent dark angst. The characterisation is strong, albeit a bit one-note at times. This book has not only humour, but plenty of gripping action and fight scenes, and a cohesive plot.
But stranger things lie ahead, and as the body count rises team Torchwood have to resist falling victim to alien flu long enough to discover – and stop – what is going on (a hilarious reveal that harks back to Jack’s monologue in Everything Changes – apparently fanficcers were not the only ones to embrace the idea of mpreg). Something in the Water, a Season Two-set novel by Trevor Baxendale, begins with a window into everyday life at Torchwood, with a night of Weevil-hunting and ghost investigating. Coupling ancient myths of water hags and grindylows with the most modern of technobabble (chronon discharge?), the team have to utilise all their skills: chasing leads, conducting scientific research and finally going in, all guns blazing. A mysterious flu epidemic is sweeping Wales, and when corpses start turning up who resolutely refuse to stay dead, Torchwood must do everything they can to save the earth from an insidious alien invasion.
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