August 15, 2018

Review: Stalking Jack The Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco

Stalking Jack The Ripper (Stalking Jack The Ripper #1)
Author: Kerri Maniscalco
Publisher: Jimmy Patterson
Publication Date: September 20, 2016
Pages: 318
Format: Paperback/Own

Presented by James Patterson's new children's imprint, this deliciously creepy horror novel has a storyline inspired by the Ripper murders and an unexpected, blood-chilling conclusion...

Seventeen-year-old Audrey Rose Wadsworth was born a lord's daughter, with a life of wealth and privilege stretched out before her. But between the social teas and silk dress fittings, she leads a forbidden secret life.

Against her stern father's wishes and society's expectations, Audrey often slips away to her uncle's laboratory to study the gruesome practice of forensic medicine. When her work on a string of savagely killed corpses drags Audrey into the investigation of a serial murderer, her search for answers brings her close to her own sheltered world.

The story's shocking twists and turns, augmented with real, sinister period photos, will make this dazzling, #1 New York Times bestselling debut from author Kerri Maniscalco impossible to forget.

Review: So I wasn't completely sure what to expect from this book. I just heard it was a pretty good story and it involved Jack The Ripper. I enjoy a good Jack The Ripper story so I figured I should pick this up and give it a try. It definitely did not disappoint. It wasn't the best YA Ripper story I've read so far, that goes to The Name of The Star by Maureen Johnson. But it was good. I do think the blurb is a bit misleading. I didn't find half as much horror or blood chilling as I was expecting. I actually think this was a lighter horror read. I don't know, I've just read stuff that was more gruesome in YA before. But I did really like that this was a fast paced lighter read. Definitely a plus on that front. 

So I really enjoyed our characters. I really loved how Audrey Rose defied societies view of women in this time period (late 1800's). It was just so great. Everyone saying she shouldn't be seeing dead bodies, or working on dead bodies or seeing blood. Claiming to be concerned with her so called "fragile womanly temperament." I love that she just put her brother in his place when he said that and just ignored others in her family that made such a fuss about her being interested in autopsies and forensics. I just loved how strong of a woman Audrey Rose was. Sure there was a particularly gruesome scene with missing skin and whatnot even she couldn't handle, but I know some men that also wouldn't be able to handle that scene. So no shame in her losing it over that particular one. 

Thomas Cresswell also grew on me. Despite the fact he was indeed a know it all, he seemed like the Sherlock Holmes type of know it all and it totally worked for him. I enjoy a Sherlock kind of character and that was the vibe I got from Thomas. So he grew on me. Despite his know-it-all attitude, I liked that he observed and made reasonable conclusions based on those observations. People that know how to do both of those are great people to have around. Better than the people who just jump to conclusions based on one tiny bit of information. I wasn't super keen on his like Instalove with Audrey, but hey. What can you do about that? At least she didn't reciprocate it back for a fair amount of time. 

I was super intrigued by the mystery surrounding the murders. I wasn't sure what to think about who was doing it. The only thing I was positive on was that it was not Audrey's uncle. I just knew it wasn't him. But at certain points I definitely did suspect both Thomas and Audrey's dad of being Jack the Ripper. I was definitely surprised at the end finding out it actually wasn't either of them. And specifically who it actually was and why they were doing it. Definitely a bit weirded out by the whole Frankenstein reason though. Was not expecting that bit at all. So points for the shocking ending for me. 

I loved the the time period we were set in and I really enjoyed that we got time period appropriate talk and dress. It definitely gave a more authentic feel to the book. I also really liked that a fair amount of the book had people and events from the real life time period when this was going on. 

Another thing I thoroughly enjoyed was the pictures throughout the book! I loved them! Even though some of them were kinda gruesome, I enjoyed actually seeing who our characters were dealing with and what they were finding, and where they were. I just love it when we get some visuals in books! 

I am genuinely happy about the ending with her father accepting what she wants to study and even helped get her into a school for it! After his trying to hard to shelter her, I was so thrilled to see this change! And I'm really excited to see what happens next in Hunting Prince Dracula!