Review: Escaping from Houdini (Stalking Jack the Ripper #3) by Kerri Maniscalco
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Series: Stalking Jack the Ripper #3
Author: Kerri Maniscalco
Published September 18th 2018 by JIMMY Patterson
Goodreads Synopsis
In this third installment in the #1 bestselling Stalking Jack the Ripper series, a luxurious ocean liner becomes a floating prison of scandal, madness, and horror when passengers are murdered one by one…with nowhere to run from the killer. .
Audrey Rose Wadsworth and her partner-in-crime-investigation, Thomas Cresswell, are en route to New York to help solve another blood-soaked mystery. Embarking on a week-long voyage across the Atlantic on the opulent RMS Etruria, they’re delighted to discover a traveling troupe of circus performers, fortune tellers, and a certain charismatic young escape artist entertaining the first-class passengers nightly.
But then, privileged young women begin to go missing without explanation, and a series of brutal slayings shocks the entire ship. The strange and disturbing influence of the Moonlight Carnival pervades the decks as the murders grow ever more freakish, with nowhere to escape except the unforgiving sea. It’s up to Audrey Rose and Thomas to piece together the gruesome investigation as even more passengers die before reaching their destination. But with clues to the next victim pointing to someone she loves, can Audrey Rose unravel the mystery before the killer’s horrifying finale?
Goodreads
Review
I feel so conflicted writing this review. After loving both Stalking Jack the Ripper and Hunting Prince Dracula, I was expecting that this book would be the same, and I would fly through it as soon as I picked it up, and never wanted to put it down. I had such high hopes, and in the end, I was disappointed - so much so that I nearly DNFed the book, and said goodbye to the entire series. Going into the book, we meet Thomas and Audrey Rose aboard the HMS Etruria, crossing the Atlantic on their way to the United States with Audrey Rose's uncle Jonathan, for a new case. On their week long voyage, they are expecting to relax and enjoy their selves, de-stressing after the Romania case. Yeah, like that will ever happen with these two! Rather, young women of the upper classes are going missing, with some even turning up dead in awful scenarios. As such, Audrey Rose and Thomas as drawn into the case, and soon Audrey Rose - as usual - finds herself at risk, as she fits the profile of the victims, down to a T. The Carnival is also in town, with Mephistopheles at the helm, and they slowly draw Audrey Rose in, to the detriment of all.
Now, I haven't ever hidden the fact that I love Audrey Rose. In both of the previous books, she was well rounded, real, and just fantastic. This book was like a complete 180 on her character. She changed so much, that I had to force myself to read the book until the very end, with the wish that she would redeem herself in some way. I've seen other reviewers complain about this same fact, but Thomas was bland and hardly ever in the book. His whole persona was destroyed in this book. If I'm being honest, the introduction of Mephistopheles was the catalyst that caused this book to be so disappointing. He was added as a second love interest for Audrey Rose. Why did we need that?! Audrey Rose & Thomas are engaged - and happy - and the adding for Mephistopheles was just a plot point that neigh on ruined everything. He managed to turn Audrey Rose's head with nothing - there was nothing about his that I could understand that would entice Audrey Rose, but there we go. She became so secretive, and treated Thomas horribly, and I ended up hating her by the end of the book. I'm not even going to talk about Audrey Rose and Thomas' relationship in this book, because to do so would just make me scream, and none of us want that!
The plot in this book was the weakest of all three, but that could be because I don't find the circus or carnival that interesting, though the introduction of Houdini was a nice plot point. It's basically because Mephistopheles was shoved down our throats at every turn that cause me to sort of skim read a lot of the book, even though it took be four days to complete. The final chapters, and epilogue in particular, are the main reason this book is a 4 star read, and the only reason why I've pre-ordered Capturing the Devil is to see if Kerri can reclaim the story back to what I've loved, or whether I should just imagine the series ended at the last page of Hunting Prince Dracula. Let us hope Capturing lives up to my expectations!
Dates Read:
September 20-23, 2018Rating
4 Stars
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