A review by bzliz
Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco

adventurous dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

This fictionalization of the infamous Jack the Ripper murders stars Audrey Rose Wadsworth, a young lady yet to make her society debut who prefers apprenticing in autopsies with her uncle to attending teas and such as young ladies of the time “should” do. In doing so she meets Thomas Cresswell, a handsome but arrogant student of her uncle’s who also apprentices for him. The pair immerse themselves deeply in the crimes to help stop the vicious killer and they can’t seem to stay apart from each other. They chase clues and face setbacks together, sharing theories and ensuring her uncle isn’t executed after being falsely accused of the crimes, but perhaps the real killer is still someone close to her. 

The book is well paced and I appreciate that Audrey Rose doesn’t fall too deeply into the “not like other girls” trap. Despite her drive toward macabre science, she still enjoys fine dresses and makeup like her peers, though she does find it hard to relate to their lack of drive toward being more than a future wife. I wish we’d gotten to see more interaction with her cousin Liza; I think she could use a positive female presence on her side given the heavy male influence around her. 

Like many mysteries, the characters don’t get a lot of development. The greatest changes here are shown only in how Audrey Rose and Thomas’s dynamic shifts to be more like partners than adversaries. I hope there’s more personal growth in the next book but I’m not holding my breath for it. 

The ending does go a bit off the rails but in a fun way. The real killer is
Audrey Rose’s brother Nathaniel. She followed much evidence proclaiming her father as the killer but in truth her brother became obsessed with bringing their mother back to life in some kind of Frankenstein style experiment. This is why he was killing and harvesting organs of women who he saw as being worthless to society.
The reveal could have played out longer and the change of heart setting up the next book felt a little heavy handed. 
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