ARC Review: Stalking Jack the Ripper
1:08:00 PM
Genre: Historical fiction, Mystery, Horror, Victorian Steampunk
Pub date: Sept. 20, 2016 by Jimmy Patterson Books
Rating: ★★★★1/2 4.5/5 Stars
I received this advanced copy from Jimmy Patterson Books in exchange for my honest review.
Summary (From Goodreads): 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.
I can't begin to express my love for period drama, especially
when it's the Victorian era. Toss in my one of my top favorite genres (horror)
and absolutely tangible and electrifying romance, topped off with the world's
most famous cold case... And you've got Stalking Jack the Ripper.
The story is rife with tangible details and a unique voice.
The characters were absolutely delightful and never fell flat. I likened myself
to Audrey Rose quite often because I can relate to enjoying things like makeup
and cute clothes, while simultaneously having an insatiable curiosity for the
strange, morbid, and unusual.
The story starts off with a bang and doesn't stop until the
very end. If you can't stomach gore or vivid descriptions of blood and macabre
situations involving autopsies, medical jargon, and mutilated corpses.… this
might not be the book for you. While it is never of intensely morbid or
shocking intent, it can still get pretty intense. The very first scene of the
book where we meet our heroine Audrey Rose involves our leading lady getting
elbow-deep into a cadaver to pluck out vital organs and deduce cause of death.
From there, with the help of her beloved brother covering for her as she goes
behind her germaphobic father's back, Audrey defies the strict rules of society
to apprentice under her uncle and learn the medical sciences behind autopsy
inspection, trading her embroidery needle and hoop for a suture kit and
scalpel. In a time where disease and infection are deadly and women are
shackled to strict societal rules and roles, it's exhilarating to read a
heroine that embraces both her feminine side and her more rebellious and
curious scientific side.
A popular trope seems to be that young women can be either
strong and sharp, or elegant and dainty, but never both. I love that Kerri
shattered those expectations in full by creating a character so well-balanced
when it came to her scientific interests and unladylike actions, as well as her
inclination toward her high class upbringing and participation in tea parties
and dress shopping. Because of this we see a slightly uncommon female heroine,
who is all the more realistic and relatable as a result. The blunt snarkiness
and outright sarcasm of Thomas Cresswell was refreshing and oh-so-adorable
watching our two heroes bicker and banter. You could tell their feelings for
one another were palpable, and watching their romance develop unbeknownst to
them was a classic Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett case of
will-they-or-won't-they.
The plot was a steady climb to an astonishing peak, with
plenty of twists and turns along the way. The further into the plot you get,
the more involved you become with the characters, the more intrigued you are by
the mystery, and the more eager you are to discover who the killer is. Plenty of
red herrings and unexpected twists keep you on your toes and every theory you
have will be turned on its head at one point or another. You won't know who to
trust, you'll be questioning your own instincts, and you won't even be halfway
through yet. The world of Victorian England is so easy to fall into whether
you're new to the era or a longtime reader of historical fiction. I'm so
pleasantly surprised that a novel this well-developed is a debut.
This won't be the last of Stalking Jack that you'll hear from me! As a Knight of Whitechapel, the SJTR street team, I'll be posting a special feature on September 10th as part of the blog tour!
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