
The book was all over Instagram and the premise sounded incredibly thrilling. Just the right thing for me. I also ended up doing a buddy read with a friend which made this book even more appealing. But in the end…
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 book begins somewhat good, with the main character Audrey Rose up to her elbows in a cadaver, but it quickly declined from there. The plot was repetitive consisting of a body showing up, Audrey Rose trying to investigate and then getting in trouble with the men – her father, her brother, the new love interest Thomas – in her life. The murders where somewhat more thrilling and at some point I felt myself yearning for another dead body, just so something interesting would happen.
In general, I didn’t like Audrey Rose very much. It seemed to me that the author tried to write a strong-minded young woman ahead of her time that could also be vulnerable and compassionate in the face of so much adversity in a world ruled by oppressing men but ended up with an inconsistent character. It pushes the she-is-not-like-other-girls-trope to the point where it just got irritating and annoying.
The same goes for Thomas. To me he seemed like some kind badly done Sherlock Holmes ripoff. I also didn’t find him very likable. He was rude and condescending and no matter how handsome he apparently was, nobody should have given him a second thought concerning romantic intentions.
Unfortunately, I also could guess the murderer’s identity after about one third of the book. It just seemed painfully obvious to me and might be obvious to everybody who’s ever read a crime novel. It made the books so much more boring and the twist expected.
Not everything was bad though. The writing style was pleasant and easy to read. I got along nicely. I also quite liked the general descriptions, the murder scenes and the surgeries in Audrey Rose’s uncle’s study.
All in all I was rather disappointed. I didn’t like the characters, the murderer’s identity was too obvious for my taste which made the rest of the read rather boring and the whole story felt quite repetitive in general. I don’t think I will continue this series.
Stalking Jack the Ripper | Kerri Maniscalo | Jamie Patterson Publishing | 2017 | 318 pages
sorry you were disappointed with this one! I heard it gets better later on in the series! Great review 🙂
Thank you! 🙂 Also, really? I’ve heard it declines even more with the later books. 🤔
great review. bummer you didnt like it, I have seen similar reviews like yours where they didn’t enjoy the book making me steer clear away from it hahaha
It’s really rather different from reader to reader, I think. My reading buddy really liked it. 😅
Oh, thank goodness, I’m not alone! I 100% agree with all of your review. I predicted “whodunnit” early on and thought surely it wasn’t the case because it seemed a bit obvious. I ended up DNFing it, though, because I just couldn’t stand Aubrey Rose in the least bit. I’m pretty sure I also said Thomas was a poorly done Sherlock Holmes ripoff, so we are soooo on the same wavelength with this book. It seems like we’re in the minority, because so many people seem to enjoy this one, but this is another case where I picked up a book based on hype and walked away disappointed.
Well, I’m happy to know that I’m not alone with my opinion. I was worried I would get lynched for disliking such a popular book. 🙄
I ended up liking Audrey Rose a little more at the end but apparently she gets so much worse in the later books. I don’t know. I don’t really feel like finding out. 🙂
I mean … I’m not saying that’s still not a possibility? I’m just saying, I might be hanging there next to you. xD
[…] remember my first buddy read very vividly. It was “Stalking Jack the Ripper” by Kerri Maniscalco. My buddy and I agreed to do go slow and read until the end of a certain chapter till the end of […]