ABOUT
Title: Escaping from Houdini
Author: Kerri Maniscalco
Series: Stalking Jack the Ripper #3
Publisher: James Patterson Presents
Release Date: September 18th 2018
Synopsis:
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?
I received an advanced copy thanks to the ever lovely Patty of SimplyPattyM
Well that was a lot.
I don't really know how to feel about it???
Escaping from Houdini picks up where Hunting Prince Dracula left off. Thomas Creswell and Audrey Rose Wadsworth, along with Audrey's uncle and Thomas' guardian, are headed to the United States aboard a cruise ship known as the Etruria. On this cruise ship, there is the mysterious Moonlight Carnival meant to tantalize and entertain the guests aboard the ship. However, women are turning up dead night after night during the carnival acts or otherwise aboard the ship and it's up to our illustrious cast to solve the murders before someone close to Audrey gets hurt and the murderer can escape.
The first two books had a lot to do with solving the crime of who killed these people, and I thoroughly enjoyed it along with the charm that came from Thomas Creswell and the mild history lessons that came along with the story. However, I feel like with this one, there was less history and less emphasis on the mystery. I was so distracted by the crap going on with Audrey Rose and Mephistopheles (the ringmaster) that I didn't feel like I got enough information about the mystery until the very end.
This was me during most of the book:
Also, me @ audrey rose
Legit like a large chunk of this book just felt like the character drama of Audrey Rose's conflict of her meeting this enchanting new young man just as she's committed herself to Thomas. She makes some decisions that I don't necessarily agree with and I feel like some of the misunderstandings wouldn't have happened if she'd simply communicated. Thomas is too good. And he's forever just a charming lad. I love him so much.
I did like that I didn't really figure out who the killer was until the very end, when it is revealed. As a person who consumes a lot of crime media and stuff, some plots are kind of tropes and also kind of predicatable. However, as with the last STJR book, I didn't really manage to figure it out. There's a lot of symbolism going on with tarot cards and cartomancy and as a dabbler in tarot cards, that was kind of fun. It really just reaffirmed my need to get my hands on a traditional Rider Waite deck.
If you hadn't heard already, the ending of Escaping from Houdini is different from the ARC. Apparently, the setting has changed? So I don't know how much from the ARC is going to stay in the finished copy. I look forward to reading the end of the finished copy and seeing what's in store for Thomas and Audrey.
Overall, Escaping From Houdini, while I felt like it lacked in the murder mystery department in comparison with the other books, was probably a stumble of a book in the relationship between Thomas and Audrey that was maybe necessary? Who knows. Out of the three books, Hunting Prince Dracula is probably my favourite so far. Still, I look forward to seeing what the next book brings and seeing more of Thomas and Audrey!
Happy Reading!
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