Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

Jack Spintecătorul. Crimele din Whitechapel by Kerri Maniscalco

75 reviews

cndillon17's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Cannibalism, and Death of parent

anoveldestination's review against another edition

adventurous dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

I have a love/hate relationship with this book. There were things I absolutely loved about this book, like our two main characters and the setting of the book. However, there were other things I really didn't like. I loved Kerri Maniscalco's writing style in the Kingdom of the Wicked series, but here I thought the feminist themes were over the top and preachy. As much as I hate the phrase "show, don't tell," I think this book could've done with more showing and less telling with its themes and character growth. I don't think many of the realizations our characters come to in the book are earned. 

I was also disappointed with the murder mystery plot. The ending felt both predictable and like there weren't enough clues for it. It felt like the murderer was chosen not because of the clues in the novel pointing toward them but because of the impact it would have on the main character. 

While I have several problems with the plot and character arcs in the book, I enjoyed reading the book. I loved Thomas Cresswell and his banter and chemistry with Audrey Rose. I still think their attraction and love for each other come out of nowhere, but I enjoy reading their scenes. I just think his and Audrey's motivation for liking each other isn't explained well. 

My love for Thomas and Audrey and the great worldbuilding is why I'll be continuing with the series. However, I'm hoping the mystery and writing style improve in the latter books. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, and Murder

Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Death of parent

Minor: Addiction and Drug abuse

nikolas_kolinski's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

• Stalking Jack The Ripper - review

The literary work has great potential and, if only the plot had been better developed and the authoress had a more experienced pen, it could have been the perfect example of a modern gothic novel. 

The characters are pleasant and well characterized and the reader can easily identify him/herself with them within the story, but the absence of numerous suspects within the  story, makes it easy to guess the identity of the murderer (

the only real suspects are Audrey Rose's father, William Blackburn and Nathaniel, but while some of these have guilty of 'immoral' behaviour or are portrayed as negative characters, Nathaniel seems the only one who is always perfectly innocent, which is why he attracted my suspicions)

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Nineteenth-century London is an excellent setting, effectively serving as a backdrop for the characters' events, but the author's addition of more modern elements may not always be appreciated. 

In: "Stalking Jack the Ripper", Kerri Maniscalco proves to be a skilled author, although her writing is amateurish and sometimes simplistic.
The idea behind the narrative is creative and original and the characterization of the characters is well structured.

I promise. I’ll be as silent as the dead.”
“Ah,” Uncle said, putting a hat on and tugging it low, “the dead speak to those who listen. Be quieter than even them.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Medical content, and Murder

Moderate: Drug abuse, Sexism, Forced institutionalization, Blood, and Death of parent

Minor: Grief

bookstarbri's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

So I wanted to love this more than I did. It was really slow at some parts for my taste. And I think I expected more murder mystery than it was. That was obviously a big component, but I guess I expected more spectacle and drama around the murder mystery? The forensics side was cool too, but at times I found myself wanting less of the internal monologues and more action. But that ending was WILD and I loved the red herrings we got as well. I loved the the characters so much! I especially adored Audrey Rose who was brilliant from the first page. I'm super excited for book 2 and the rest of the series!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Blood, Medical content, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and Medical trauma

Minor: Cannibalism

amalialemay's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, and Murder

coveredinpages's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Drug abuse

ednam0dewannabe's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, and Stalking

Minor: Death of parent

notastate's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

Reading for the second time- I loved this just as much as I did the first time! It was so eerie and just creepy reading some of the sections of this book, but so addicting! I'm excited to read the sequel- I really hope that Kerri Maniscalco explores how Audrey Rose copes with the aftermath of everything that has happened to her and doesn't just gloss it over.


Edit: this was my third time reading the book, and I found it just as enjoyable as the first two times! It’s eerie and dark, but in a very digestible way. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Medical content, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, and Death of parent

folded_between_pages_of_books's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Cannibalism

semelos's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

this book could eat me out 😛

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Hate crime, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Medical content, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Torture

Minor: Chronic illness and Death of parent