Escaping from Houdini by Kerri Maniscalco

Stalking Jack the Ripper #3

Publisher: JIMMY Patterson

Publication Date: September 18th, 2018

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Source: Purchase

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 416

Add it on Goodreads!

Summary (from Goodreads):

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?

So, I'm going to start this review off by saying that I absolutely adore this series with my whole heart. But this one was not my favorite. I feel like this is the book in the series that is suffering from sequel slump.

This book picks up shortly after the end of Hunting Prince Dracula. Audrey Rose, Thomas, and Audrey's Uncle are on the RMS Etruria on their way to America to solve a case. But on their trip, they wind up with a new case to solve as the bodies of young women start turning up during the evening carnival performances. And it looks like someone in the carnival is the killer, but they have to figure out who it is before they arrive in America and the killer gets away.

I am not 100% sure why this book didn't so much do it for me like the other two did.

I feel like Audrey Rose taking Mephistopheles up on his midnight bargain was really out of character for her. The only things that she seemed to truly think through in this book were in dealing with the bodies and sorting through the evidence and clues they found.

I feel like Thomas was just really unimportant in this book? Like, I feel like he didn't offer anything serious in this one? I don't remember the first two books super well, but I don't remember thinking that he was basically just comic relief in them. Because of Audrey Rose's bargain with Mephistopheles, she couldn't really hang out with him all that much and it seemed like when she got a moment with him, Mephistopheles showed up and took her away for something or other.

Now, let's get to the romance. I went into this book thinking that Audrey Rose and Thomas were a ROCK SOLID PAIR. I saw people talking about how there was a love triangle in this book and I was like..

What is your definition of a love triangle, people?!

But holy crap, there was a love triangle in this book. Like, in all reality, I can see why Audrey Rose felt the way she did in this book. But at the same time... No. I feel like she never should have ended up in the situation to begin with because it just seemed so... wrong for her to do. Also, they are perfect together. Like, honestly, Thomas deserves more than this.

Beyond that, some of the thought processes in this book felt repetitive to me. I feel like there were parts where I was confused on what exactly was happening, but that could be because I was reading this book so fast because I wanted to finish one of my spookathon books DURING spookathon.

But on the plus side, Audrey Rose was still her badass, feminist self. I loved seeing her and her cousin Liza interact. I liked seeing her working her magic. Thomas was still his same shamelessly flirty, ridiculous self. The mystery was interesting and it was interesting to see how it all connected in the end.

I liked the carnival aspect of the book. I liked the performers. It took me a bit to warm up to Mephistopheles because he was always in the way of my ship. I feel like based on the name of this book, Houdini should have been a bigger part of the story. Like Stalking Jack the Ripper was about the Ripper murders, Hunting Prince Dracula was a good name for a book that took place in Dracula's castle and was about murders reminiscent of a vampire attack. But Escaping from Houdini just doesn't seem super fitting after finishing the book.

Overall, I did enjoy this book, I loved seeing Audrey Rose and Thomas again and seeing them work their magic to solve a case, but this was definitely my least favorite in the series so far. I will definitely revisit that thought next year when the last book comes out and I do a full reread though! Maybe if I take more time to read it, it will turn out better for me.

Have you read Escaping from Houdini yet? What did you think of it?

Review: Hunting Prince Dracula by Kerri Maniscalco

Hunting Prince Dracula by Kerri Maniscalco

Stalking Jack the Ripper #2

Publisher: Little, Brown & Company

Publication Date: September 19th, 2017

Rating: 4 Stars

Source: Borrowed

Format: Physical ARC

Pages: 448

Add it on Goodreads!

Summary (from Goodreads):

In this hotly anticipated sequel to the haunting #1 bestseller Stalking Jack the Ripper, bizarre murders are discovered in the castle of Prince Vlad the Impaler, otherwise known as Dracula. Could it be a copycat killer...or has the depraved prince been brought back to life?

Following the grief and horror of her discovery of Jack the Ripper's true identity, Audrey Rose Wadsworth has no choice but to flee London and its memories. Together with the arrogant yet charming Thomas Cresswell, she journeys to the dark heart of Romania, home to one of Europe's best schools of forensic medicine...and to another notorious killer, Vlad the Impaler, whose thirst for blood became legend.

But her life's dream is soon tainted by blood-soaked discoveries in the halls of the school's forbidding castle, and Audrey Rose is compelled to investigate the strangely familiar murders. What she finds brings all her terrifying fears to life once again.

A few weeks after the revelation of the identity of Jack the Ripper in London, Audrey Rose and Thomas are on their way to Romania to study forensics at the Academy of Forensic Medicine and Science. Audrey Rose has been struggling since the conclusion of the Ripper case. Her imagination is getting the best of her, making her believe that she is seeing things.

Before they even arrive at the academy, a body has turned up and superstitious locals are attributing it  to the Immortal Prince, Vlad Dracula. A second victim is slain outside of Audrey Rose's compartment on the train to Romania. So obviously Audrey Rose and Thomas have a new case to crack.

Audrey Rose is just as amazing as she was in Stalking Jack the Ripper. I love that she doesn't have to worry QUITE as much about rules and restrictions in this book. She still does have to deal with gender related issues, though. She has to prove to her classmates and instructors at the academy that she belongs and that she is just as capable as any man there.

I just love her so much. She doesn't take shit from anyone. She pushes herself hard to succeed, despite anything that may get in her way. I love how she deals with everything that she has to go through in this book. She is just such a badass, I want to be her.

Thomas Cresswell is his same self. He is such a shameless flirt. I would love to see him in a setting where there are no rules and restrictions because I want to see Thomas Cresswell at his full ridiculous potential. He is perfect and I love him.

I absolutely adore Audrey Rose and Thomas together. Audrey Rose is so levelheaded and Thomas is just ridiculous all the time. They have a bit of a bump in the road in their relationship in this book and I love seeing how they get through it. THEY'RE SO PERFECT TOGETHER.

If I was going to complain about this book at all, I would say that I felt like the beginning was kind of slow. 

The mystery in this book was also awesome. Obviously Vlad the Impaler didn't come back from the dead to stake people through the heart and suck their blood, but I liked how the suspicion jumped around so much in this book. I thought I had it at one point and I was wrong. I didn't see it coming at all when it was all revealed!! I loved where it all went in the end.

Overall, this was an EXCELLENT sequel to Stalking Jack the Ripper. The characters and romance are just as amazing as I remember them being. This new case is just as interesting and twisty as the first one and I am SUPER excited to see where the 3rd case will go!

If you liked the first book or you like gothic mysteries with badass characters and a swoon-worthy romance, I highly recommend you read this series! It would be the perfect series to read this fall!!

Have you read Stalking Jack the Ripper and/or Hunting Prince Dracula yet?

Waiting on Wednesday: Hunting Prince Dracula by Kerri Maniscalco

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week I'm waiting for...

Hunting Prince Dracula by Kerri Maniscalco

Stalking Jack the Ripper #2

Publisher: Little, Brown & Company

Publication Date: September 19th, 2017

Pages: 432

Add it on Goodreads!

Summary (from Goodreads):

In this hotly anticipated sequel to the haunting #1 bestseller Stalking Jack the Ripper, bizarre murders are discovered in the castle of Prince Vlad the Impaler, otherwise known as Dracula. Could it be a copycat killer...or has the depraved prince been brought back to life?

Following the grief and horror of her discovery of Jack the Ripper's true identity, Audrey Rose Wadsworth has no choice but to flee London and its memories. Together with the arrogant yet charming Thomas Cresswell, she journeys to the dark heart of Romania, home to one of Europe's best schools of forensic medicine...and to another notorious killer, Vlad the Impaler, whose thirst for blood became legend.

But her life's dream is soon tainted by blood-soaked discoveries in the halls of the school's forbidding castle, and Audrey Rose is compelled to investigate the strangely familiar murders. What she finds brings all her terrifying fears to life once again.

I adored Stalking Jack the Ripper so much! I can't wait to get my hands on a copy of this one! I hope it's just as gruesome and amazing as book one was! I'm excited to see Audrey Rose and Thomas take on Vlad the Impaler!!

What book are you looking forward to most this week?

A Glimpse Back in Time (#5): Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco

A Glimpse Back in Time is a feature where I talk about the interesting history behind the books that I read! If you want to see previous posts for this feature, look here!

Today I'm going to talk about Stalking Jack the Ripper and discuss the infamous serial killer that inspired the book!

If you want to know what I thought of this book, check out my review!

CONTENT WARNING: 

***I used photos of the victims and a crime scene photo in this post and they are rather graphic and clearly deceased. I also have a bit of a description of what was done to each body. If this is not something that you wish to see, turn back now.***

Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco

Publisher: Jimmy Patterson

Publication Date: September 20th, 2016

Goodreads

Buy Links:

Amazon   |   Barnes & Noble   |  Indiebound

Summary (from Goodreads):

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.

By now everyone should have heard of Jack the Ripper. He was the infamous serial killer that went on a short murder spree in London's East end during the fall of 1888. There are five murders that are most commonly attributed to the Ripper, but 11 murders that happened from 1888 to 1892. All of them collectively are known as the Whitechapel murders.

The five victims that are blamed on Jack the Ripper are:

Mary Nichols

Annie Chapman

Elizabeth Stride

Catherine Eddowes

Mary Kelly

Mary Nichols was the first victim, discovered by two carters on their way to work in the early hours of August 31st. As the streets and alleys were dark, they thought that she was just drunk and left her there, agreeing to alert the first policeman they saw on their way to work.

They didn't notice that her throat had been cut so ferociously that she had nearly been decapitated. Upon closer inspection of the body at the mortuary, it was noted that she had also been disembowelled.

Several men from the nearby horse slaughter yard that watched the investigation were questioned as suspects, but they were eventually cleared. Her murder was also suspected to possibly be the work of the gang who likely killed the first two Whitechapel murder victims.

Annie Chapman, the second Ripper victim, was murdered on September 8th, 1888. She was discovered a little bit before six am, but had previously been seen alive shortly before that talking to a man who was described as foreign looking and wearing a deerstalking hat.

She was also found with her throat slashed. Her hands were raised as if she were trying to reach for her throat. The post mortem found that she had been disembowelled as well, and the killer had taken off with her womb.

Elizabeth Stride was discovered around one am in Dutfield Yard on September 30th, 1888. Her body was a little bit different than the previous ones found because the first two women had their skirts hoisted up around their waists, but Elizabeth's were in place, as if she were laid gently down.

The last person to see her alive was a young Hungarian Jewish boy who claimed to have seen her with a man who threw her to the ground where she quietly screamed three times. He thought it was just a domestic dispute and crossed the strew to remain uninvolved, but was then followed by a second man that was apparently sent by the first man. The young boy lost him and the second man was somehow cleared as a suspect despite hanging out at a crime scene and following the boy who likely witnessed the beginning of the third Ripper murder.

Catherine Eddowes was also murdered on September 30th, 1888. While police were discovering Elizabeth Stride's body, Catherine Eddowes was just being released from the police station after being taken in there to sober up around 8:30 pm.

About 15 minutes before she was estimated to have been killed, she was last seen with her hand on a man's chest by three Jewish men. Only one noticed anything significant about the man and it's likely he saw Jack the Ripper. As with all the previous victims, her throat was slashed. And her skirts were lifted up around her waist.

The last definite victim of Jack the Ripper, and also the youngest at age 25, was Mary Kelly. She was discovered murdered around 10:45 am on November 9th, 1888. Her body had been skinned, her face mutilated beyond recognition, and her internal organs were removed and strewn about the bed. She was scarcely recognizable as human. There was a bloody pile of human flesh on her bedside table. Her breasts were also removed.

Most of these women were much older than Mary Kelly, usually around 40 years old. They all seemed to have been known to drink and be prostitutes.

There were many suspects investigated in the murders of these women, but ultimately none of them were decided to have been the Ripper. The police didn't seem to really have any solid evidence against any of them. Some of the more outrageous suspects were Lewis Carol and Prince Albert Edward Victor. 

Modern research seems to favor Thomas Cutbush. Files about him say that the newspaper at the time claimed that he had caught a venereal disease from a prostitute that resulted in delusions that caused him to kill prostitutes. Actually his mental illness was hereditary. His records say that he was not suicidal, but he was a danger to others. Over the years that he was in the asylum his mental health severely disintegrated until he died in 1903.

There were three suspects that police liked better than Cutbush, but they were wrong about many things about these people and ultimately they were cleared. They were:

M. J. Druitt

Michael Ostrog

Aaron Kosminski

I could go on forever about this! I've only used one source for this post, but it is full of excellent information. About the news coverage, about the whereabouts of each of the victims before their murders, about each of the different suspects, about the letters, just everything!

But I'm getting cross-eyed from reading all of it, so I will leave you with a link so that you may research some more if you wish.

Source:

The Whitechapel Murders History Resource by Richard Jones

I got ALL of my pictures and information from this website. Seriously, if you're curious about anything about Jack the Ripper, look at this website!

Have you read Stalking Jack the Ripper? Do you plan to? Any thoughts on old Saucy Jack?

Blog Tour Review: Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco

Today we are kicking off the Stalking Jack the Ripper blog tour hosted by the Knights of Whitechapel! This is definitely a book that you're going to want to buy ASAP when it comes out on September 20th and I am here to tell you exactly why!

Untitled Trilogy #1

Publisher: Jimmy Patterson

Publication Date: September 20th, 2016

Rating: 4 Stars

Source: ARC Trade

Pages: 336

Add it on Goodreads!

Buy Links:

Amazon   |   Barnes & Noble   |  Indiebound

Summary (from Goodreads):

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.

If you're looking for a great dark, kinda creepy read for October this year, you need to pick this book up on September 20th when it comes out!

Stalking Jack the Ripper is a story about a girl from an aristocratic family living in 1888 London. Whlie most girls her age are doing things appropriate for young ladies at that time like attending fancy tea parties and gossiping, Audrey Rose Wadsworth is cutting open dead bodies and trying to solve a series of brutal murders.

When the serial killer known as Jack the Ripper is hunting down prostitutes in London's East End, Aurdrey Rose is apprenticing under her Uncle Jonathan, a scientist/doctor/coroner combination. She gets a front row ticket to study the gruesome corpses of the Ripper's victims. Along with her Uncle's other apprentice, Thomas Cresswell, Audrey Rose is determined to figure out who the Ripper is before he hurts anymore women.

Audrey Rose might be one of my favorite female protagonists that I've read about this year. She is so kickass and she's a feminist! She receives a lot of crap for her interest in working with the dead because it is an inappropriate interest for a young lady, but she doesn't ever seem to miss an opportunity to let these people know that she is every bit as capable as a man to do anything she desires. She's also incredibly smart and brave to be working on these cases when they're a crazed killer on the loose hunting women. She's just so strong and inspiring. <3

Thomas Cresswell is another wonderful character. He is so interesting because he's so hot/cold sometimes. He has the uncanny ability to just turn off his feelings and emotions at will, which is super handy in the type of work that he is in and wishes to remain in. He's also so shamelessly flirty and full of himself, I kind of love it.

The relationship that Audrey Rose and Thomas have is awesome. It's one of those relationships that seem to develop through teasing. Like they always seem to be flirting with each other from day one and one day it just starts being real. The banter they had was fantastic!

I loved how dark this book was. How you get the detailed descriptions of what the bodies looked like after the murders and the descriptions of what it's like to feel around inside a dead body. I liked all that! It reminded me of my Advanced Biology class in high school when we got to go to a college cadaver lab. But this book was far more exciting. 

The mystery was thrilling and while I did have the culprit pinned before Audrey Rose did, I did NOT see coming what the killer's motivation would be for killing all those women!

Okay, so, I can't really think of anything about this book that I didn't like. I thought it was interesting from start to finish and I'm excited to see what kinds of adventures Audrey Rose and Thomas will go on in the future. I have one thing that came to mind that I wondered about while I was reading it that kind of bugged me, but try as I might, I can't get it into words that I'm happy with sharing so I'll just keep it to myself and see if anyone else wonders about the same thing.

Overall, I was super impressed with this book! I loved the darkness of it, I loved the characters, I love how nicely things wrapped up while also leaving it open for future adventures. I would highly suggest you get this one on September 20th when it comes out! It will be a perfect spooky October read!

About the Author

Kerri Maniscalco grew up in a semi-haunted house outside NYC where her fascination with gothic settings began. In her spare time she reads everything she can get her hands on, cooks all kinds of food with her family and friends, and drinks entirely too much tea while discussing life’s finer points with her cats. Stalking Jack the Ripper is her debut novel. It incorporates her love of forensic science and unsolved history, and is the first in a new series of gothic thrillers.

It will be available everywhere September 20, 2016.

Author Links:

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