Two things about me...one you probably already know. First, I LOVE Victorian London...I swear my spirit was there in a previous life. Second...I am OBSESSED with all things Jack the Ripper. The theories, the what ifs, and the whys...I'm just obsessed with it all. I will literally read anything involving Jack. So if you have recommendations...comment away because I would love to read them!
Stalking Jack the Ripper is the first novel written by Kerri Maniscalco and I look forward to many more from her. It is also the first novel chosen by James Patterson to be part of his Young Adult publishing group. If you ask me, it was an excellent first pick.
Maniscalco lures you in from the very first page because she opens on someone cutting open a cadaver...well helloooo...right up my alley. We learn that the person doing the cutting is Audrey Rose Wadsworth and the doctor overseeing her work is her uncle. Dr. Wadsworth is a teacher at the medical institute for boys and he agrees to allow Audrey Rose to attend his classes as long as she looks the part of a boy and doesn't speak. However, it is in her first class that she meets Thomas. Thomas makes her heart beat fast and her palms sweat, but he's also an intelligent, arrogant ass so she's conflicted...also...it's love at first meeting :) They just don't know it yet. I honestly would love it if Maniscalco makes this into a Thomas/Audrey Rose series. Anyway...
Dr. Wadsworth actually has the bodies of Jack the Ripper's first victim in his 'morgue'...his basement which doubles as his lab. He's helping to consult with Scotland Yard in hopes of providing information that would be useful in catching the killer. I'll spare you the details on the victims...if you've ever read about Jack, you already know about them...and if you haven't well then google. Do a bit of research before you jump into this book. I can say though, Maniscalco did her homework. She wanted to be accurate with the forensics and methods of the time period and that was refreshing. I'm glad she made sure it was consistent. So...with Dr. Wadsworth having the bodies and helping consult, Audrey Rose and Thomas becomes his apprentices. They begin, especially Thomas and Audrey Rose, to see if they can figure out who the killer is. Now, early on in the book, I had my suspicion on the identity of who Jack was...at least for this book...and I thought that would lower my rating on the book if I turned out to be correct. However, while I was correct, it didn't lower my rating because of the motive. The plot twist thrown in there as to WHY the killer did what he did kept my rating at 5 stars.
The list of suspects that Audrey Rose and Thomas come up with is quite lengthy honestly...and all seem to somehow be connected to the Wadsworth name. Audrey Rose suspects her father, her uncle, and even Thomas. She knows, though, her uncle didn't do this even though he turns out to be Scotland Yard's prime suspect. However, if you've read anything about the Ripper case, they had so many motherfuckers in jail for the crime...they honestly had no clue. I never once suspected it was her uncle, and Audrey Rose and Thomas are able to exonerate him and get him out of Bedlam. I'm going to be honest, I did kinda suspect Thomas for a split second. I didn't want to suspect him and eventually the suspicion went away completely...somehow I just knew it wasn't him. And I honestly never even suspected her dad. He's a jackass because of his grief of his wife passing away years prior, but he's also too much of a germaphobe to commit murder...especially the gruesome murders of the Ripper. His wife died of sickness, thus the germaphobe part. His attitude toward his own brother, and even his children is legit proof of why you should complete the grieving process and move on. You can't continue to hold on to the death of a loved one...you'll never be at peace. I'm not going to tell you who my suspect was...because as I've already said, I was right. :)
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was fast paced, interesting characters, forensically accurate, details were correct...and it had an awesome plot twist as to Jack's motive...it deals with organ transplants...just to give you a hint. It was a refreshing theory that I had not yet heard of so that really drew me in. You really must read this if you like murder, Jack the Ripper, plot twists, Victorian London, strong willed young women who don't give a fuck what society thinks, and just good young adult books. I'm now a fan of Kerri Maniscalco and I can't wait to see what she comes up with next. I was very impressed with the concept of this book and it was incredibly engaging.
5 Stars and 2 Thumbs Up
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