Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco

Genre: Mystery, Horror Fiction

Format: Print/Paperback

Pages: 337

Start Date: August 22nd, 2023

End Date: August 30th, 2023

Overall: ★★★(★)

Character Development: ★★★ 

Ending: ★★★★

Recommend: Yes 

 🚨 May Contain Spoilers, Continue at Your Own Risk 🚨

    I wasn’t sure what to expect from this, but, overall, I liked it. I was given this book to borrow from a friend of mine, and the title alone really captured my attention. As I started reading, I found myself really struggling to get into it, though. Maybe I unintentionally categorized this as exceptional before I even started it, and that’s why I thought it was a bit slow in the beginning? It doesn’t really pick up until the last 100 pages….being a bit generous, but the ending helped bump this from 3 stars to 3.5 stars. Ultimately, I think the idea of this book is a lot of fun and I will probably read more from this series. 

The author portrays Audrey Rose as this “feminist before the times” type. Did you find it realistic within the era the book is written or a bit too modern for the times? I actually thought this concept was really done well; the author executed her intentions nicely. I think sometimes authors go overboard with trying to portray feminine strength which makes the female characters come across a little too uppity...making them unlikable. Don’t get me wrong, I am all about woman power, but sometimes the constant need for assertion feels old. 

Thomas and Audrey find themselves entangled in this strangely intense attraction. Did you find yourself needing a Thomas Cresswell in your life? Was his character a bit too arrogant for you? If I was Audrey, Thomas would’ve annoyed me more than seduced me. The hot and cold, on and off, know-it-all emotions are just not for me. Yes, some women love it, I can see the appeal of him for sure. He was just not for me….most of the time. Now the times he was sweet and the tension was at an all time high….Why, yes…

Did it seem like for the era of the story, Audrey had a lot of freedom for supposedly her father wanting to keep her in a cage? This bothered me a bit. The story talks about how Father didn’t want to lose Audrey after already losing her mother, and how she was always sneaking out and making excuses to Father so she could apprentice under Uncle. I get all of that, but it seems like if Father really wanted to keep his daughter “safe”, wouldn’t he have done a better job of keeping track of her? Yes, I know he was drugged basically the entire book, but still. This part probably gave me the biggest eye-roll of the story.

Did you feel like Aunty and Liza contributed to the story, or did you feel as if they were just filler characters? I originally thought their participation in the story was filler, but I think it was after they returned to the country that their contribution came full circle for me. Aunty was irrelevant and annoying. If you were so concerned making sure your niece grew up proper, wouldn’t you be involved more? Wouldn’t you, also, keep better tabs on her? Liza, on the other hand, really helped Audrey find her identity, in my opinion. I feel like she helped show Audrey the balance between wanting the beauty and yet also having brains that Audrey was looking for. 

     The ending wasn’t entire expected, which helped the books likability for me. Given the real Jack the Ripper wasn’t ever caught, I wasn’t sure how the ending was going to go. I feel like the twist of Leather Apron being Nathaniel was unexpected, and I really liked that the author gave him an actual reason for the murders instead of just being blood thirsty and mentally unstable. I also appreciated that by Nathaniel killing himself, it helped Father realize he needed to let Audrey live her life as well. Ultimately, a very nice full circle moment to end the book.