Blog Tour & ARC Review: Stalking Jack the Ripper (Stalking Jack the Ripper #1) by Kerri Maniscalco
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Series: Stalking Jack the Ripper #1
Author: Kerri Maniscalco
Published September 20th 2016 by Jimmy Patterson
Goodreads Synopsis
Presented by James Patterson's new children's imprint, this deliciously creepy horror novel has a storyline inspired by the Ripper murders and an unexpected, blood-chilling conclusion...
Seventeen-year-old Audrey Rose Wadsworth was born a lord's daughter, with a life of wealth and privilege stretched out before her. But between the social teas and silk dress fittings, she leads a forbidden secret life.
Against her stern father's wishes and society's expectations, Audrey often slips away to her uncle's laboratory to study the gruesome practice of forensic medicine. When her work on a string of savagely killed corpses drags Audrey into the investigation of a serial murderer, her search for answers brings her close to her own sheltered world.
The story's shocking twists and turns, augmented with real, sinister period photos, will make this dazzling debut from author Kerri Maniscalco impossible to forget.
Goodreads
Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the author. This in no way impacted on my view.
After my Easter holidays, I went back to uni and knew the next few months would be hectic. It was may last semester, I had one essay and three exams, and then I would graduate. So, like any self respecting student, I decided to find a new tv show to binge. My choice: Ripper Street. In about ten days, I watched all four series of it, and became somewhat obsessed with Jack the Ripper. So imagine my surprise when I got a notification on twitter that I had won a copy of Kerri's upcoming debut, all about Jack the Ripper - it seemed like fate. Because I'm in England, I had to wait a little while for my copy to get here, but once I did, I dropped all my revision (luckily my assignment had already been submitted), and dived right into the book.
Stalking Jack the Ripper is about the unconventional Audrey Rose - a 17 year old, daughter of a lord, who spends most of her time with her uncle in a morgue. She prefers the act of undertaking to being in Society, at teas, balls, etc. When her uncle is approached by the police to investigate a series of gruesome murders, she finds herself drawn into the seedy underbelly of life in Whitechapel in the 1880s.
I adored Audrey Rose. This era in British history is one of my favourite, and YA heroines always fit the bill nicely. Audrey Rose isn't some dowdy, girl from the Ton; no, she is strong, and knows what she wants, and will do anything to get it. Fortunately, her uncle supports her plans, even if her father does not. Her favourite times are spent with her uncle, investigating, and even the presence of the arrogant Thomas Cresswell doesn't dampen her spirit. When it seems that Audrey could be in explicitly linked with the so-called 'Leather Apron', her and Thomas's investigations bring them to danger at every turn.
There wasn't a lot of romance in this book, but the foundations were laid for more to come, and now it has been announced the book is part of a series, I can't wait to see how it develops. Thomas is snarky, and arrogant, but exactly the guy Audrey Rose needs.
There's a lot of twist and turns in the book, and though I felt I kept up with the well, there were still times I was shocked by the revelations. It was a new twist on the already famous Jack the Ripper story, and I need to find more of these type of books - if you can recommend any? Now, I need to try and be patient for the next instalments in this series, but I don't know how well I'll do at that
P.S. if you can't really read scary stories on a night, don't read this. I wasn't overly scared, but there's loads of awesomely gruesome images, and it kept me up at night - but that's more because I couldn't put it down. BTW, if you haven't watch Ripper Street, I'd recommend that too.
Dates Read:
April 29-30, 2016
Rating
5 Stars
Rating
5 Stars
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