Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco

58 reviews

anoveldestination's review against another edition

adventurous dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

I have a love/hate relationship with this book. There were things I absolutely loved about this book, like our two main characters and the setting of the book. However, there were other things I really didn't like. I loved Kerri Maniscalco's writing style in the Kingdom of the Wicked series, but here I thought the feminist themes were over the top and preachy. As much as I hate the phrase "show, don't tell," I think this book could've done with more showing and less telling with its themes and character growth. I don't think many of the realizations our characters come to in the book are earned. 

I was also disappointed with the murder mystery plot. The ending felt both predictable and like there weren't enough clues for it. It felt like the murderer was chosen not because of the clues in the novel pointing toward them but because of the impact it would have on the main character. 

While I have several problems with the plot and character arcs in the book, I enjoyed reading the book. I loved Thomas Cresswell and his banter and chemistry with Audrey Rose. I still think their attraction and love for each other come out of nowhere, but I enjoy reading their scenes. I just think his and Audrey's motivation for liking each other isn't explained well. 

My love for Thomas and Audrey and the great worldbuilding is why I'll be continuing with the series. However, I'm hoping the mystery and writing style improve in the latter books. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, and Murder

Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Death of parent

Minor: Addiction and Drug abuse

shelfdelight's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Alcohol

nikolas_kolinski's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

• Stalking Jack The Ripper - review

The literary work has great potential and, if only the plot had been better developed and the authoress had a more experienced pen, it could have been the perfect example of a modern gothic novel. 

The characters are pleasant and well characterized and the reader can easily identify him/herself with them within the story, but the absence of numerous suspects within the  story, makes it easy to guess the identity of the murderer (

the only real suspects are Audrey Rose's father, William Blackburn and Nathaniel, but while some of these have guilty of 'immoral' behaviour or are portrayed as negative characters, Nathaniel seems the only one who is always perfectly innocent, which is why he attracted my suspicions)

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Nineteenth-century London is an excellent setting, effectively serving as a backdrop for the characters' events, but the author's addition of more modern elements may not always be appreciated. 

In: "Stalking Jack the Ripper", Kerri Maniscalco proves to be a skilled author, although her writing is amateurish and sometimes simplistic.
The idea behind the narrative is creative and original and the characterization of the characters is well structured.

I promise. I’ll be as silent as the dead.”
“Ah,” Uncle said, putting a hat on and tugging it low, “the dead speak to those who listen. Be quieter than even them.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Medical content, and Murder

Moderate: Drug abuse, Sexism, Forced institutionalization, Blood, and Death of parent

Minor: Grief

fbzreadswhatever's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny informative inspiring mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Drug use, Mental illness, and Forced institutionalization

melis_246's review

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

0.75

The ending was shit

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Misogyny, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cursing, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Stalking, and Abandonment

There was no rep

bookstarbri's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

So I wanted to love this more than I did. It was really slow at some parts for my taste. And I think I expected more murder mystery than it was. That was obviously a big component, but I guess I expected more spectacle and drama around the murder mystery? The forensics side was cool too, but at times I found myself wanting less of the internal monologues and more action. But that ending was WILD and I loved the red herrings we got as well. I loved the the characters so much! I especially adored Audrey Rose who was brilliant from the first page. I'm super excited for book 2 and the rest of the series!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Blood, Medical content, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and Medical trauma

Minor: Cannibalism

bubothereader's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I’m not normally a huge historical fiction fan, but @kerrimaniscalco knows how to write one that I want to read.  
The intrigue, the plot, the gasps. I read about 300 pages in one night up until 3:30 a.m. because I didn’t want to put it down. 

The characters are top notch, her foreshadowing is superb, without being heavy-handed—I didn’t know what would happen, but when the reveal occurred I saw all the dominoes fall into place. Such an Agatha Christie move!! 
The atmosphere was bone-chilling. I’d get scared and put the book down, shake it out, then pick it right back up. 
The writing was a great style for Victorian England as well. Very believable. 
The romance was something I shipped and felt natural. No insta-love. Very well-paced. Plus, i appreciate that Audrey Rose didn’t lose her head about him either—she questioned him and his motives. A reasonable approach to a relationship. 

This is a 5-star read for me. I’ve not felt this jazzed about a book in a few months. Will pick up the sequel next year!

TW: the book is fairly gory, deals with murder, shows autopsies, and has some gaslighting moments. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Confinement, Drug use, Hate crime, and Forced institutionalization

midnightgremlin's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, and Murder

jenny_librarian's review

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

3.5

I’ve never been a huge fan of James Patterson novels, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that a book under his imprint didn’t blow me away.

It might be a reading slump, but I didn’t really connect with any of the characters. It was all right, but not enough for me to want to pick up book 2. Which is kind of a – bad – feat in itself, since I’m pretty much always down for anything that includes vampire lore.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Suicide, Blood, Medical content, and Murder

Moderate: Misogyny

Minor: Grief

zaza_2000's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Murder

Moderate: Mental illness and Grief