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hannahggroganc's review against another edition
5.0
I received this book in a “blind date” book box from a local bookstore and am so happy that I did. I thoroughly enjoyed it and hope there is a third in the future! I am normally decent at guessing endings, however, this one kept me guessing until almost the very end. 5/5 stars!
annieb123's review against another edition
4.0
Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.
Felicity Carrol and the Murderous Menace is the second book in a cozy mystery series by Patricia Marcantonio. Released 11th Feb 2020 by Crooked Lane Books, it's 324 pages and available in hardcover and ebook formats.
Despite being the second book in the series, it works well as a standalone. The author is adept at interweaving back-story and previous character development into the narrative fairly seamlessly. It is a period Victorian cozy with a young wealthy brilliant protagonist who flouts social convention throughout the book and never seems to suffer any repercussions for her one woman campaign to recreate the social fabric of England and solve crime at the same time.
I never felt one time during reading that there was any actual danger to Felicity, the plot wouldn't dare not go her way in all things, all the time. She's never thwarted and never corrected for what would have been completely scandalous behavior (for the time). The subject material (Jack the Ripper) is quite dark for a period cozy, but it is admittedly well written (apart from some clunky and anachronistic dialogue). The book simply didn't feel like a historical cozy (except for the Jack the Ripper plotline).
General thoughts: the author is adept and writes well and it's an entertaining read but it felt so smug and self satisfied most of the time.
Three and a half stars.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
Felicity Carrol and the Murderous Menace is the second book in a cozy mystery series by Patricia Marcantonio. Released 11th Feb 2020 by Crooked Lane Books, it's 324 pages and available in hardcover and ebook formats.
Despite being the second book in the series, it works well as a standalone. The author is adept at interweaving back-story and previous character development into the narrative fairly seamlessly. It is a period Victorian cozy with a young wealthy brilliant protagonist who flouts social convention throughout the book and never seems to suffer any repercussions for her one woman campaign to recreate the social fabric of England and solve crime at the same time.
I never felt one time during reading that there was any actual danger to Felicity, the plot wouldn't dare not go her way in all things, all the time. She's never thwarted and never corrected for what would have been completely scandalous behavior (for the time). The subject material (Jack the Ripper) is quite dark for a period cozy, but it is admittedly well written (apart from some clunky and anachronistic dialogue). The book simply didn't feel like a historical cozy (except for the Jack the Ripper plotline).
General thoughts: the author is adept and writes well and it's an entertaining read but it felt so smug and self satisfied most of the time.
Three and a half stars.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
cupcakesandsmut's review against another edition
4.0
Thank you netgalley for the chance to review. Felicity Carrol and the murdering menace is set in 1888 shortly after the Jack the ripper murders. Felicity heads to placer, Montana to investigate murders and hopefully to catch Jack the ripper. I enjoyed this book overall. I would recommend to a friend.
bethanyyoung86's review against another edition
3.0
This book was given to me by the author and publisher via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
I enjoyed the second book of this series a lot. In the vein of murder mysteries and Sherlock-esque sleuthing.
It kept me on my toes in reading and it paced well to be a swift read, Felicity is a fun character and I enjoyed the twists and turns that led to the ending.
I enjoyed the second book of this series a lot. In the vein of murder mysteries and Sherlock-esque sleuthing.
It kept me on my toes in reading and it paced well to be a swift read, Felicity is a fun character and I enjoyed the twists and turns that led to the ending.
thesundaywriter's review against another edition
3.0
A pleasant read, but the main character was a tad too perfect and modern for the time period to be believable and the overall tone was inconsistent - two jarring elements which detracted my enjoyment of the story.
joycerl's review against another edition
5.0
This book is a quick good read.I didn’t realize it was the second book in a series till I was halfway through it.It starts off with a mystery and just when I got comfortable with it ,it abruptly ended and took a turn towards the actual main story of the book.Felicity is an heiress with a penchant for modern inventions.She is off to Montana in search of Jack the Ripper in this book.She is well versed in forensics so there is a lot of gory details in this book.I like strong female leads so this book definitely appealed to me.
#felicitycarrolandthemurderousmenace #netgalley
#felicitycarrolandthemurderousmenace #netgalley
tiredmomliving's review against another edition
4.0
I only read a few reviews before I started this book, but based on what I read, I feel I might be an outlier in saying that I enjoyed this second book much more than the first. I read this book to fulfill a reading challenge to read something by a local author (Thanks for representing, Idaho!). I wouldn't have read this one without the challenge based on how I liked the first book, but I would certainly read a third because of the Murderous Menace. The first book was okay, but this one definitely drew me in. Maybe because I knew who the killer was right away in the first one and this one kept me guessing more? I appreciated seeing a more human side to Felicity, and I thought her working through her feelings about her father and her death were well done and appropriate.
nicolepeck's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars. Very intriguing mystery! From the style of the cover, I assumed this was more of a cozy mystery, but it most definitely was not. It's about a very dark subject matter -- chasing Jack the Ripper in Victorian London, England and then to the Wild West of America in Montana. The writing is excellent -- descriptive, great narrative, and full of action. Despite the dark nature/heavy subject matter, with descriptions of the grisly murders of the prostitutes, this book is actually a clean read (no strong language or other violence), other than the descriptions of the killings and conditions of the bodies, as well as references to the prostitutes and scenes in the brothels. With the amount of Ripper details in this book, I suspect the author did extensive research to make this book as authentic to the Ripper crimes and investigations as possible (there is no afterword/acknowledgements in my copy, as I received a digital ARC from the publisher; maybe more afterword will be present in the final publication). It presents a theory as to the solution to the Ripper murders and the fictional scenario of the murderer fleeing to America and continuing the killings there. There are also references to the first book in the series, which I haven't read yet, so while this book stands very well on its own, there are some references to the previous book that might make the reader want to read them in order. I look forward now to reading the first book and to reading further books in this series. Excellent mystery/thriller with a unique female character ahead of her time.
***I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.***
***I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.***
ssejig's review against another edition
3.0
It's the time of Jack the Ripper and, even though the man is mainly working in England, Inspector Jackson Davies has heard of a similar murder in Placer, Montana. So Felicity Carrol, heiress, scientist, and mystery-solver (as we are told in a giant info dump and repeatedly) decides to go to America to see if she can discover anything more about the murder there. And, in fact, she does discover who Jack the Ripper is but she is also injured. She also has a bit of romance with the local sheriff.
This was an okay story and I think that most readers of Sherlock Holmes will not quibble with a woman who knows all and can solve all. It took me a long time to get into this story that I think wouldn't've happened had I read the first book.
This was an okay story and I think that most readers of Sherlock Holmes will not quibble with a woman who knows all and can solve all. It took me a long time to get into this story that I think wouldn't've happened had I read the first book.
frostatmidnite's review against another edition
4.0
A historical murder mystery with a heroine who is very ahead of her times, Felicity Carrol and the Murderous Menace is a fun read. This is the second installment and can be read alone. I plan on reading the first of this series since I liked the writing.