Stalking Jack the Ripper
By: Kerri Maniscalco
Published: 2016
# of pages: 337 (Kindle edition)
Series: Stalking Jack the Ripper (#1)
Goodreads description:
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.
My review: I was excited by the description of this book and while it was slightly disappointing, it was still a fun read. I had to keep telling myself that it was young adult and I’d probably enjoy it more as a teenager. There’s young adult novels that are written to be just as enjoyable for adults as teens and then there’s young adult novels that are geared solely for young adults. And this book falls in the latter category.
Audrey Rose is an aspiring forensic technician in 1880s London. She apprentices for her uncle and nothing makes her happier than cutting into the cold flesh of corpses. The problem is that her father doesn’t know she’s chosen an inappropriate career for a lady of that time. Her secret life suddenly becomes harder to hide when one of the bodies she helps dissect turns out to be a murder victim of a killer who soon became known as Jack the Ripper. Audrey Rose feels a kinship with the female victims and takes it upon herself to solve the mystery of the murderer’s identity. Add in a handsome, mysterious young man named Thomas and things get even more complicated.
I figured out the mystery fairly early in the book, which I’m sure didn’t help with my opinion. Audrey Rose is an interesting character, but whether purposefully or just because of poor writing, she’s very flighty and doesn’t come across as talented and intelligent as she should have been. Thomas on the other hand… I’ll admit, I have a little crush on him. If I do read the next book in the series it will solely be because of Thomas.
Overall I recommend this book to young adults who are able to handle reading about some blood and gore (nothing too detailed). The concept of a novel about Jack the Ripper is intriguing and I wouldn’t mind trying to find another one that’s better written.
Why I gave this book 3/5 stars: Cool concept for a young adult (or adult) novel, steamy male protagonist, main character was meh.
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