Stalking Jack the Ripper (Stalking Jack the Ripper Series #1)
4.4
46
5
1
Hardcover
USD
16.14
$16.14
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780316273497 |
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| Publisher: | Little, Brown and Company |
| Publication date: | 09/20/2016 |
| Series: | Stalking Jack the Ripper Series , #1 |
| Pages: | 336 |
| Sales rank: | 21,773 |
| Product dimensions: | 5.40(w) x 8.10(h) x 1.10(d) |
| Lexile: | HL860L (what's this?) |
| Age Range: | 15 - 17 Years |
About the Author
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Stalking Jack the Ripper
4.4 out of 5
based on
0 ratings.
47 reviews.
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I was intrigued by this storyline from the very beginning. This was a very cleverly written twist on the Jack the Ripper murders. The book moves at an excellent pace, never leaving you bored. I loved the forensic science element and the realism of the post-mortem examinations of bodies. The details really made the time period come alive where this type of science was fairly new and those who practiced it to be looked on from society with an air of suspicion.
I applauded the inclusion of a very strong female character in Audrey Rose. Her tenacity and excitement to expand her mind during a time when girls were groomed only to catch a husband was truly refreshing. I cheered for her from the first to the last!
Thomas Cresswell was a wonderful addition as Audrey's sometimes aggravating but always charming friend, partner and love interest. He never looks down on Audrey Rose whom he affectionately and professionally refers to as "Wadsworth" as anything less than an equal and encourages her to pursue her love of science and himself.
There's great chemistry between both characters and lots of flirting which I personally loved. The only thing I wished this installment had more of was romance. Albeit, it is a story revolving murders but what we do get is nicely balanced.
I cannot wait for more adventures from Audrey Rose and Thomas!
Highly recommended!,
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Intriguing and entertaining
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Original review posted at somethingofthebook.com
Let’s talk about the best part first: THE BANTER! Y’all, I lived for the banter between the mains, Audrey Rose Wadsworth and Thomas Cresswell. It was just so damn good. I am hoping that the delicious banter between these two continues through the rest of the books in the series.
The world building is immersive without being overbearing. I felt like all the characters were well written and believable. I wavered with figuring out the mystery of the story as I usually do, but that was fine. I normally don’t read mysteries for the sake of the mystery. I find that I like mysteries more for the characters. There are always such outlandish characters in mysteries.
All in all, I really enjoyed this book. I gave it 4 stars strictly because I just felt like it didn’t stick with me quite as a book should to garner a 5 star from me. I am definitely going to be continuing this series in the coming year.
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I’ve been wanting to read the Stalking Jack the Ripper (SJtR) series for a while, but $8 for an eBook is more than a little expensive (yes, I said it). But, I finally bit the bullet the other day and bought it.
SJtR was a good story, and well polished. I didn’t find any errors as I was reading, and I enjoyed it, even though it was a bit on the obvious side. I also found it odd that there were, in some ways, two endings to SJtR. There was the ending to this book’s storyline, then the ending to the book itself that set up book 2.
The first ending came as no surprise. Ms. Maniscalco left us enough hints throughout to figure out the big reveal despite her attempts to mislead us. I will say, however, that the Ripper’s complete personality change during that ending seemed out of place. We’re given no reason for its occurrence, and people don’t just change personalities at the drop of a hat. I would have liked some explanation for it.
The second ending is lighthearted. It comes across as a “pick-me-up” after the intensity of the first ending. I like the changes in relationships that it promises, and look forward to seeing what happens in book 2.
The attraction between Audrey Rose and Thomas Cresswell was well written, although perhaps a bit more disregarding of Victorian mores than it should have been. Still, there’s a delicious tension between them that I kept expecting to ignite into something more. Granted, it is a young adult book, so I shouldn’t really have expected much in that direction.
I did, however, greatly appreciate the author’s note at the end regarding the historical and creative liberties taken. It’s always nice to have a glimpse into an author’s mind. The author’s note gives some great explanations and backgrounds to various elements of the story.
Ultimately, while I certainly recommend the story, I’d suggest you check it out at your local library if at all possible. At only 352 pages, I don’t feel the eBook is worth $8. Without the recurring productions costs you have with a printed book, this eBook is significantly overpriced.
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Very Good!
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I love this book so much!
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OH.MY.GOODNESS! What a story! This is one that will keep you up way too late at night. First because you need to see how it ends....and second, because it's creepy enough to make you NEED to finish it...
I love.LOVE this story. And I am not even sure WHY. I am not typically drawn to the murder, creepy, mystery stories...But I am slowly changing my tune. This is a story written for Young Adults so it isn't over-the-top graphic or disturbing, but it IS a story about Jack the Ripper, so keep that in mind before you dive into this story. That being said...
If you love a good mystery and history...I HIGHLY recommend this book.
I purchased a copy of this book. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.
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I started reading Stalking Jack the Ripper on 1/11/18 and finished it on 1/22/18. This book is a terrific read! I love the humor most of all. Audrey Rose’s brother Nathaniel’s “well-placed quib” makes me laugh to no end. I like following Audrey Rose’s thinking process, especially of her competitiveness with Thomas. I also like her strong determination to pursue her interest in forensic science despite the blockage with her father’s disapproval and it being a men’s world. I like Thomas’ puzzle solving skills and his devilish/charming/shameless flirting. I like Audrey Rose and Nathaniel’s brother and sister’s relationship.
This book is told in the first person point of view following Audrey Rose Wadsworth, 17, an aristocrat daughter to the overprotective Lord Edmund Wadsworth. Edmund’s brother is Jonathan, a Professor specializing in medical examining of cadavers. He and his students dissect dead bodies of murder victims and figure out the cause of death. The year was 1888 and schools in this particular profession are for boys. In order for Audrey Rose to follow this profession, she would have to dress as a boy. Furthermore, she will have to lie and make excuses to leave the house if she wants to apprentice in her Uncle’s laboratory because her father doesn’t approve of her passion. Among her classmates, Thomas Cresswell is brilliant and he knows it because he constantly challenging her in the theories of what the murderer did to his victims before they fall into their death. It irritates Audrey Rose that her body reacts to Thomas’ handsome face, but it also brings out her competitiveness to prove his theories wrong. Jack the Ripper has claimed to be the serial killer but finding out the real identity of who Jack is worries Audrey Rose because of the trail leading from the victims to the people she knows. Time is running out while she’s debating whether they are truly capable of murder or if it’s just a coincidence.
This book is very well written and developed. Despite the horror with cutting up cadavers, it’s still tolerable to read. All of the characters are all well liked. The plot is interesting. I like the black and white pictures throughout the book. It helps with imagining the story as I read. I like the shocking reveal and I’m glad to not have guessed who Jack is because the read is much more enjoyable. Thomas’ humor is contagious and I smile at everything he says. I love the ending. One thing I love most in a historical fiction is the sophisticated language. I devour the proper smart conversations. I love those intelligent insults that doesn’t sound like an insult because it’s well worded. I highly recommend everyone to read this book!
xoxo, Jasmine at www.howusefulitis.wordpress.com for more details
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**Review originally posted on My Fangirl Chronicles**
Do you know that elated feeling you get when you absolutely fall in love with the first book in a series and then get all excited because you know there's more books with the same characters you now love? I just finished reading this a few hours ago and that's how I still feel now. I utterly and completely loved everything about this book!
There is such a colorful cast of characters that bring so many different elements to the overall story. My top favorite was definitely Audrey Rose though. I absolutely love, love, love her! She's incredibly smart, brave, stubborn, and a feminist. While working resiliently to discover the identity of Jack the Ripper, she's also resisting and fighting society's traditional and misogynistic views on women. She's fierce and so very brave but is also very feminine, and I really love that about her. I don't see many heroines who are brave but also allowed to be feminine too, so it was awesome to finally get one.
I didn't like Thomas at first, but after a few more chapters in I realized he reminded me a lot of Jace and Will from the Shadowhunter Chronicles and that epiphany made me instantly adore him. He's ridiculously smart, arrogant, and socially awkward because he doesn't exactly know how to get along with most people. Even though he's constantly getting on Audrey Rose's nerves because of his arrogance, he's one of the first (and few) male characters to admire her intellect and believe in her skills, and never viewed her as inferior due to her gender.
Kerri's writing is gorgeous and the narrator did an amazing job bringing her words to life. I adored her portrayals of all the different characters; each one was different and helped me picture the character better and didn't confuse me at all. I hate it when narrators use the same tone or accent for multiple characters because then I get confused as to who is speaking. Kerri's writing is so descriptive and vivid, I actually felt like I was in Victorian London, going through this mystery with all the characters. Their voices felt very genuine, too.
While I already knew the general story behind Jack the Ripper and the horrendous murder spree he committed from watching a few documentaries on the History Channel, this was the first work of fiction related to it that I have read. Even though the main objective was to find and stop Jack the Ripper, I love how the story highlighted the investigation and the tragedy of the lives lost in the murders, and did not focus on the Ripper himself like history did. It really made me feel invested in the investigation and empathize with the victims and their families.
The only thing that bothered me (and it's a very minor thing compared to everything else that I loved about this book) was all the gore and gruesome descriptions when I first started reading the book. I guess I should've figured considering it was a story involving Jack the Ripper, but the vivid descriptions of all the postmortems, bodies of the murdered women, etc. took me by surprise and I literally felt ill. I was in the car when we first started the book and one of the reasons why I kind of zoned out was because I started to feel nauseous and I wasn't exactly sure whether it was from the car or the narrator on the speakers describing how it felt to dig into a cadaver and search for the liver. So, yeah, a little warning would've been nice. Haha
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I have to admit that I started this book with some apprehension and by the end of the second chapter, I expected a mediocre showing but thought I'd carry on a bit more to see how it played out. Before long I found myself binging on the book and not putting it down until it was finished.
I am not much of a murder mystery lover but I do like a good episode of Forensic Files. I also have been obsessed with Victorian England for most of my life. Plus the intriguing case of Jack the Ripper is a sure way to pull me into a storyline.
So why the trepidation for the first few chapters? To be honest, I found the start a bit slow and cliched. That changed for me fairly soon into the story and this would have been a 5-star rating if Kerri Maniscalco had edited the front of the book a wee bit more to eliminate the romance story elements that had me cringing just slightly.
Soon enough that is overridden entirely by the plot. Who is Jack the Ripper? Could he be related to Audrey Rose? Could it be her father even? I soon embarked on the adventure of guessing "who dunnit" and was immensely please with the ending (which confirmed my suspicions). In addition, Audrey Rose is a lovely, fiesty, intelligent heroine and the side characters really fill out the story.
I'll be looking for more from Kerri Maniscalco in the future!
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Stalking Jack The Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco is the first installment in a new historical fiction series centered on a young woman with a fascination in the forensic sciences. Audrey Rose Wadsworth, the daughter of a lord, lives a life of wealth and privilege. However, much to the dismay of her father, she is no ordinary high classed woman. Audrey Rose's interests do not reside with dresses and gossip; her passion lies with the dead. With guidance from her Uncle, Audrey Rose pursues her passion by learning everything there is to know about forensic medicine. She even practices performing autopsies in her Uncle's laboratory. However, her knowledge and experience is put to the test when a string of gruesome murders strike London. With the charming and intuitive Thomas Cresswell by her side, Audrey Rose races to solve these murders and catch the serial killer before he or she strikes again.
As a person with a tendency to gravitate towards the dark and foreboding, anything relating to the Jack The Ripper crimes is a must. So when I first learned about Stalking Jack The Ripper, I immediately bought a copy. However, as I learned more and more about the story, my excitement for the novel grew exponentially. Not only does the novel have a sarcastic yet brilliant love interest, but it also features a young woman fighting against society's expectations. Therefore, as any sane person with an uncontrollable excitement for a novel would do, I consumed it.
One of the many reasons why I loved Stalking Jack The Ripper was that it perfectly intertwined fact and fiction. it incorporated the well known facts of the Jack The Ripper crimes while also fitting fictional elements into the notorious gaps of the legend. In other words, where reality leaves us hanging, Kerri Maniscalco picks us up. Another instance of Maniscalco's magical mending is her incorporation of authentic photographs. These pictures vary from chapter to chapter but they always help enhance the story in some aspect.
To read the rest of my review, visit the blog: A New Look On Books
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Stalking Jack the Ripper is a phenomenal book. Not for the faint of heart, it's filled with gruesome twists and turns that will have readers gasping out loud for years to come.
The novel centers around Audrey Rose Wadsworth, a seventeen-year-old lord's daughter who's fascinated by the forensic field (much to her father's disdain). Sneaking away from the lavish societal expectations of her, she spends her evenings studying in her uncle's laboratory.
When a horrid serial killer begins to run rampant throughout England, Audrey's studies take on a new dark reality.
I highly recommend this book! Kerri's writing is stunning and the period photographs throughout the novel amp up the creepy-factor. Definitely recommend to anyone who loves true crime shows.
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As you might surmise from the name of the publisher, this is "presented" by the megawatt author James Patterson himself and, if I do say so, this is a good 'un. Audrey Rose Wadsworth loves to spend time in her uncle's lab learning medical stuff but gets drawn into a serious criminal investigation, that of the gory deaths of some women of ill repute. With the assistance of Thomas Cresswell, apprentice to her uncle, Audrey Rose really wants to get justice for these poor women as well as bring a killer to justice but the stakes get even higher when the long arm of the law reaches out to someone close to her.
I like the Victorian era, young adult mysteries and the Jack the Ripper case (plus I love the cover) so trying this was a no brainer for me. Mounting clues and hair-raising theories lead to a horrifying discovery but, throughout it all, Audrey Rose maintains her intelligent, thoughtful focus even if she can't be completely objective. The next case for this young lady and the charming if annoying Thomas, Hunting Prince Dracula, involves another string of killings while Audrey Rose studies forensic medicine in Romania and I can hardly wait to dive in.
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Jack the Ripper will most likely always be a mystery to us, and this book filled in the gaps of what we don't know quite well. There was a lot going on within this story, and hardly a dull moment. I was surprised at how much enjoyed it. Stalking Jack the Ripper was a little Sherlock Holmes-ish with some girl power. I'm really looking forward to reading the next book!
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This book was a mixed bag for me. I really wanted this to be a five-star read, but it just didn’t quite do it for me. The protagonist, Audrey Rose Wadsworth, seemed difficult to connect to. On the one hand, she was a paradigm for early women’s rights and an example of how a woman’s intellect could match a man’s, even when it came to studying medical science and cadavers. However, she was also annoyingly brash and obtuse on many occasions, and the romantic angle only added to this and led to a good deal of eye rolling during my reading.
The mystery itself was, in some ways, not as unique as I had hoped. The identity of the killer became fairly clear despite scattered red herrings due to process of elimination and clues dropped here and there. Part of the ending did offer a nice twist, though. This is definitely not a novel for the overly squeamish, as it contains details that one would expect from a story about Jack the Ripper. A few illustrations enhanced the reading experience and further developed the mixture of history and fiction.
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This review is originally posted on my blog (https://bookwormsnook.wordpress.com/2...)
Hey, guys! So I recently read the book Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco I really loved this book so let us get this review started!!
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.
Now let’s get on to this review, shall we? I was one day early last month browsing audible and I found jack the ripper on the site. And I had been wanting to read the book since I saw it on other bookstagramers accounts. I had an extra credit so I thought why not. Boy, i should have gotten this book sooner.
This book is a great historical read that takes us back to London during the reign of Jack the Ripper. Audrey Rose is a get female character. She is a very strong person, strong in character and well just everything. Yes, she is human but is facing with things like she was I as a reader and fellow female was so thrilled and honored to be of the same stock as Audrey.
Now because of these points and just honestly the amazing writing style and mystery I have to give this book a 5-star rating. Now I can admit that I did guess who the killer was but the one thing I could not figure out was why. This book will keep you on your toes. And if you don’t want to get the physical copy, go and get the audible one. You will fall in love with the talented Nicola Barber.
So I guess what I am saying is you need to go and get a copy of this book and possible pre-order this book and if you do it now…you can go on to spellboundbookshop.com you can leave a note and you can get it signed. Now … who doesn’t want a signed book? I know I do.
Until next time I hope you check this book out.
E.
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In 1888 London, Audrey Rose Wadsworth defies her father and society, and secretly tutors under her uncle doing autopsies. Through her studies she comes face-to-face with the victims of Jack the Ripper. She feels compelled to figure out who the Ripper is and bring him to justice, but the investigation may lead to dark secrets better kept hidden.
This debut novel by Maniscalco and the first YA novel in James Patterson's "Jimmy" imprint, fell flat for me.
The premise caught my interest, and the first chapters were a nice set up, but the pace soon slowed. The title is a bit misleading, as most of the "stalking" is done through forensic investigation and autopsies. The middle sags, and the climax picks up with more action, though the true identity of Jack the Ripper was a bit predictable.
Because Audrey Rose wants to practice man's work in the late 1800's, I was expecting a bit of feminism in the book. Obviously, this character was breaking through barriers. The amount of it, though, seemed unnecessary as the character reminds us in almost every scene that she is capable though she is a woman. It also, at times, seemed that Audrey was using feminist arguments just as a means to do whatever she wanted, which was often foolish and dangerous.
There's a romance between Audrey Rose and her classmate, Thomas, that's more love-at-first-sight than depth of feeling.
There were a couple of times I almost stopped reading, but I kept going because of Thomas, though it wasn't necessarily that I liked his character. The more we see of him, the more he reminded me of Sherlock Holmes; from his way of deducing to his arrogance, right down to the dog named Toby that he borrows and he declares is smarter than half of Scotland Yard (a close paraphrase from the stories by Arthur Conan Doyle). The likeness and references were so obvious to me that I thought it was have been intentional and I wanted to see where it went. It didn't go anywhere. Even in her Author's Notes, Maniscalco makes no mention of Doyle or Holmes, which seems odd since the character felt heavily borrowed from Holmes.
I can't say that I enjoyed much about this novel. I was able to finish, but just barely and only out of curiosity surrounding Thomas.
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I had heard such great reviews of this book and have been wanting to pick it up for a while. i’m glad I finally did! I really enjoyed this story and even though I gave it a 4 out of 5 on goodreads, I’d say it’s more a 4.25. In case you don’t know, there’s a young woman apprenticing with her uncle in mortuary sciences. You get to see the trouble our main character goes through because during that time period it was not the type of thing a “proper” lady would do. This is a story about her journey to help find out who the real Jack the Ripper was (with a few companions). At times I got a really big Sherlock feel. Not saying it’s a bad thing! I loved that aspect of it. I also had the audiobook version and would switch back and forth between physically reading the book and listening to it. This book is set in the late 1800’s and I found that the narrator for the audiobook was the perfect voice for this character. I really enjoyed most of the characters in this book including the two main characters. The plot was also good in my opinion. Then again I don’t know much about the Jack the Ripper murders. there’s an author’s note at the end of the book explaining the things in the story that she kept accurate and which characters she made up for the story. There were definitely things that happened in the book that i didn’t see coming. I also really enjoyed the writing style of this book and felt it was fairly accurate to the time period the author was writing in. All in all, I really enjoyed this book and can’t wait for her book Hunting Price Dracula which features at least a couple of the characters found in this book.
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The book read at a good speed but the climax was very steep. Not what I expected but over all a decent read.
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I read this book while on breaks at work. A fun, exciting, and at time funny story. You won't expect the ending!
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For being so graphic in the depictions of violence, this was surprisingly boring. The relationship was also strangely built. The girl was way too obviously blind.
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I love this book .can't wait for the next one. It's a really good read. The history Jack the Ripper always fascinated me.so to read a book that has the history and a new take on it. Is what got me to buy it. I love the main characters Audrey rose and Thomas. They are funny and cute together. While reading the book I was hoping they would have a romance. But I won't say any more on that. You will just have to read the book. The story camper see you put you in that time frame so it feels like you're the one that's running down the street trying to figure out who Jack the Ripper and who his next victim is. The hold time I was trying to figure out who the killer is the story is well written that it draws you into it. I can't wait to read the next book. So if you like mystery romance history. You will like reading this series
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pooled ink Reviews:
This book absolutely had me interested from the moment I read the title. What had me a bit hesitant to read this book however was the forensic science aspect. Truly the detail and continual reference to human anatomy and the clues that can be found in corpses was one of the most winning and impressive aspects of this book, but as I’m squeamish I admit that it is this same delving into gore that had me occasionally skimming or detaching from the book. If you’re not squeamish like me though then you really ought to give this book a try because gore aside it was very good.
STALKING JACK THE RIPPER sends chills down your spine and ignites intrigue in your smile as it delivers determined forensic sleuths, gruesome murders, a whiff of romance, and autopsies aplenty. Taking one of the most infamous serial killers in history and dogging his steps with a fresh twist, Maniscalco writes a story that is equally thrilling and horrifying.
Read my FULL review on my Wordpress blog: Pooled Ink
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