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A review by delanne
Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco
4.0
This was definitely a surprise for me. When I picked this up I thought it looked like an interesting premise, but not something that was going to blow me away. However, after page 20 I was hooked and finished it all in one sitting!
I loved Audrey Rose - and how fun is that name to say? - and her feminist, women power attitude taking on a Victorian Era English culture. She knows what she wants and she's determined to go for it, no matter how risky or dangerous it gets. There isn’t a single person, man OR woman, she’s going to let stand in her way.
Thomas Cresswell literally brings joy to every scene he's in due to his snarky, flirtatious and borderline Sherlock Holmes-ian deductions. He's everything I want to read about in a Victorian hero and I cannot rave about how much I loved him.
Audrey Rose and Thomas together? Perfect. Literally a fantastically sassy, snarky and caring duo that I can ship to my heart’s content.
The story itself, the mystery of Jack the Ripper, wasn't much a whodunit for me, as a HOW-did-he-do-it. I guessed who it was around halfway through and, apart from one brief moment during the climax of the story where I almost felt myself wavering, I was pretty positive in my guess the rest of the time. Even so, it didn't really take too much enjoyment away for me because I just love reading about Audrey Rose and Thomas.
Maniscalco also had some absolutely beautiful and disgustingly horrifying descriptions of the world and atmosphere throughout the novel. I was not AT ALL expecting the detailed gore factor, even when it hits you in the face from the first sentence, I was always somehow expecting it to plateau in intensity, spoiler - it never did. As someone who isn't particularly disturbed by textual descriptions of such things, it didn't really bother me too much, but it's definitely something to keep in mind if you're squeamish. On the other hand, her description of the circus was just beautiful. So well written and it just made me feel like I was there with Audrey Rose experiencing it all.
This is definitely a series I wasn't expecting to like as much as I do, but I can't wait to pick up the sequel!
I loved Audrey Rose - and how fun is that name to say? - and her feminist, women power attitude taking on a Victorian Era English culture. She knows what she wants and she's determined to go for it, no matter how risky or dangerous it gets. There isn’t a single person, man OR woman, she’s going to let stand in her way.
Thomas Cresswell literally brings joy to every scene he's in due to his snarky, flirtatious and borderline Sherlock Holmes-ian deductions. He's everything I want to read about in a Victorian hero and I cannot rave about how much I loved him.
Audrey Rose and Thomas together? Perfect. Literally a fantastically sassy, snarky and caring duo that I can ship to my heart’s content.
The story itself, the mystery of Jack the Ripper, wasn't much a whodunit for me, as a HOW-did-he-do-it. I guessed who it was around halfway through and, apart from one brief moment during the climax of the story where I almost felt myself wavering, I was pretty positive in my guess the rest of the time. Even so, it didn't really take too much enjoyment away for me because I just love reading about Audrey Rose and Thomas.
Maniscalco also had some absolutely beautiful and disgustingly horrifying descriptions of the world and atmosphere throughout the novel. I was not AT ALL expecting the detailed gore factor, even when it hits you in the face from the first sentence, I was always somehow expecting it to plateau in intensity, spoiler - it never did. As someone who isn't particularly disturbed by textual descriptions of such things, it didn't really bother me too much, but it's definitely something to keep in mind if you're squeamish. On the other hand, her description of the circus was just beautiful. So well written and it just made me feel like I was there with Audrey Rose experiencing it all.
This is definitely a series I wasn't expecting to like as much as I do, but I can't wait to pick up the sequel!