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A review by bigtiddygothgf
Capturing the Devil by Kerri Maniscalco
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
this is the fourth and final book in the stalking jack the ripper and follows for the last time audrey and thomas's adventures through love, chicago, and the realization that jack the ripper may not be done with them yet.
this book is split into two parts. part one is set in new york city, where audrey rose and thomas attempt to get married while bits of the murder plot is sprinkled throughout. i actually really loved this section as it was so fun to read about and i loved following the relationship. i actually believe i blew through this part in one sitting, and it's my favorite part of the book.
part two follows audrey rose and thomas in chicago as they hunt down the white city devil. this was the part of the book i had problems with. i think the writing in this section is quite rushed and choppy, which made me sad because i enjoyed the writing of the other books very much. i didn't find the ending with the villain very satisfying and it felt rushed to close. i found this was also the case with the book as a whole. while i thought the ending was cute, we did not get any follow up on characters who had conflicts later in the book such as audrey rose's cousin liza and thomas's sister. i think the author didn't know how to end it so she just did what she could, leaving a lot of open endings that weren't satisfying.
my two major problems with this book were the writing and the pacing. the writing took a decline in this one which made me really sad because it was so good in the other one! the writing turned cringe and very emo tumblr 2016 era. audrey rose would say how deep down she was "a mistress of darkness" (THAT'S AN ACTUAL QUOTE) to the devil and other stuff along those lines that made me cringe and pulled me out of the story. girl, you are a forensic scientist not a fallen angel. the writing sounded like something out of a fantasy novel and not historical fiction. i know it was supposed to cause angst and to be "powerful" one liners but really it gave me the ick lol. my other problem was with the pacing which was so sporadic throughout the book. the first part was pretty consistent but when we got the second part suddenly it was rushed and shallow. i feel like the author could have connected the romance plot and the murder plot and intertwined them together like she did with the other three books instead of making them into different parts. it pulled me out the the story and was not my favorite. it was janky.
a smaller problem i had was the focus on the romance instead of the murder. in these books that author has done a great job of keeping the romance a subplot and the murder as the main plot. that doesn't happen in this book though. the romance is the main plot. now i like romance as much as the next person, but it didn't fit with the other books and seemed to be differently entirely. i missed the more murder focused plots even though i enjoyed the romance. i also was sad to see that audrey rose's character did not get better from escaping houdini, she got worse. i LOVED audrey rose in the first two books but in the last two books i couldn't STAND her. she was whiny and just unlikeable to me which is again, SO SAD. i was sad to see this change with her especially because i loved her so much earlier in the series.
despite my complaints though i think this was a decent book. i think about rating it anything lower than a four star and my heart hurts because i really did love this series. thomas and audrey roses's banter had been my favorite thing and i love them and their lil gothic relationship a lot (also loving how audrey rose's disability did not immobilize her!!). i think realistically this is a three star book for me but in my heart and soul it's a four so-
so sad to have finished this series because it was so good! the balance of history and fiction was done excellently in this series and i hope to find something like it.
this book is split into two parts. part one is set in new york city, where audrey rose and thomas attempt to get married while bits of the murder plot is sprinkled throughout. i actually really loved this section as it was so fun to read about and i loved following the relationship. i actually believe i blew through this part in one sitting, and it's my favorite part of the book.
part two follows audrey rose and thomas in chicago as they hunt down the white city devil. this was the part of the book i had problems with. i think the writing in this section is quite rushed and choppy, which made me sad because i enjoyed the writing of the other books very much. i didn't find the ending with the villain very satisfying and it felt rushed to close. i found this was also the case with the book as a whole. while i thought the ending was cute, we did not get any follow up on characters who had conflicts later in the book such as audrey rose's cousin liza and thomas's sister. i think the author didn't know how to end it so she just did what she could, leaving a lot of open endings that weren't satisfying.
my two major problems with this book were the writing and the pacing. the writing took a decline in this one which made me really sad because it was so good in the other one! the writing turned cringe and very emo tumblr 2016 era. audrey rose would say how deep down she was "a mistress of darkness" (THAT'S AN ACTUAL QUOTE) to the devil and other stuff along those lines that made me cringe and pulled me out of the story. girl, you are a forensic scientist not a fallen angel. the writing sounded like something out of a fantasy novel and not historical fiction. i know it was supposed to cause angst and to be "powerful" one liners but really it gave me the ick lol. my other problem was with the pacing which was so sporadic throughout the book. the first part was pretty consistent but when we got the second part suddenly it was rushed and shallow. i feel like the author could have connected the romance plot and the murder plot and intertwined them together like she did with the other three books instead of making them into different parts. it pulled me out the the story and was not my favorite. it was janky.
a smaller problem i had was the focus on the romance instead of the murder. in these books that author has done a great job of keeping the romance a subplot and the murder as the main plot. that doesn't happen in this book though. the romance is the main plot. now i like romance as much as the next person, but it didn't fit with the other books and seemed to be differently entirely. i missed the more murder focused plots even though i enjoyed the romance. i also was sad to see that audrey rose's character did not get better from escaping houdini, she got worse. i LOVED audrey rose in the first two books but in the last two books i couldn't STAND her. she was whiny and just unlikeable to me which is again, SO SAD. i was sad to see this change with her especially because i loved her so much earlier in the series.
despite my complaints though i think this was a decent book. i think about rating it anything lower than a four star and my heart hurts because i really did love this series. thomas and audrey roses's banter had been my favorite thing and i love them and their lil gothic relationship a lot (also loving how audrey rose's disability did not immobilize her!!). i think realistically this is a three star book for me but in my heart and soul it's a four so-
so sad to have finished this series because it was so good! the balance of history and fiction was done excellently in this series and i hope to find something like it.