Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco

15 reviews

c_e_w's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Grief, Torture, Alcohol, Blood, Drug abuse, Medical content, Violence, Misogyny, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Addiction, Animal death, and Vomit

wrensreadingroom's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Gore, Medical trauma, Murder, Classism, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Confinement, Mental illness, Violence, Vomit, Body horror, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Stalking, Suicide, Terminal illness, Alcohol, Medical content, Blood, Cannibalism, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

bzliz's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

3.25

This fictionalization of the infamous Jack the Ripper murders stars Audrey Rose Wadsworth, a young lady yet to make her society debut who prefers apprenticing in autopsies with her uncle to attending teas and such as young ladies of the time “should” do. In doing so she meets Thomas Cresswell, a handsome but arrogant student of her uncle’s who also apprentices for him. The pair immerse themselves deeply in the crimes to help stop the vicious killer and they can’t seem to stay apart from each other. They chase clues and face setbacks together, sharing theories and ensuring her uncle isn’t executed after being falsely accused of the crimes, but perhaps the real killer is still someone close to her. 

The book is well paced and I appreciate that Audrey Rose doesn’t fall too deeply into the “not like other girls” trap. Despite her drive toward macabre science, she still enjoys fine dresses and makeup like her peers, though she does find it hard to relate to their lack of drive toward being more than a future wife. I wish we’d gotten to see more interaction with her cousin Liza; I think she could use a positive female presence on her side given the heavy male influence around her. 

Like many mysteries, the characters don’t get a lot of development. The greatest changes here are shown only in how Audrey Rose and Thomas’s dynamic shifts to be more like partners than adversaries. I hope there’s more personal growth in the next book but I’m not holding my breath for it. 

The ending does go a bit off the rails but in a fun way. The real killer is

Spoiler

Audrey Rose’s brother Nathaniel. She followed much evidence proclaiming her father as the killer but in truth her brother became obsessed with bringing their mother back to life in some kind of Frankenstein style experiment. This is why he was killing and harvesting organs of women who he saw as being worthless to society.

The reveal could have played out longer and the change of heart setting up the next book felt a little heavy handed. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death of parent, Murder, Blood, Gore, Sexism, and Death

Minor: Addiction, Drug abuse, Cannibalism, Vomit, and Alcohol

oh_roudha_reads's review against another edition

dark emotional funny informative mysterious sad fast-paced

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

4.75

The book was good however, I think that some parts were dragged out and unnecessary. Also the ending was really unexpected like I got click-baited 🤨

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Animal cruelty, Gore, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Animal death, and Death of parent

Moderate: Alcohol, Blood, Grief, Medical content, and Sexism

Minor: Stalking and Vomit

jia_pet's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Gore, and Murder

Moderate: Medical content, Stalking, Drug use, Drug abuse, Death, Terminal illness, Blood, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Alcoholism, and Alcohol

abcdefgerda's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Violence, Medical content, Addiction, Cannibalism, Blood, Gore, Death, Murder, Genocide, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Death of parent, Medical trauma, Drug abuse, Cannibalism, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Sexism, Mental illness, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Blood, and Addiction

ivy123's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

I am so happy to start the year off reading something I really enjoyed.

Stalking Jack the Ripper sees our main character Audrey Rose investigating the Jack the Ripper murders alongside her uncle and a quick-witted companion Thomas. This was an interesting fictionalization of the murders in a way I had not seen before and I loved the banter between Audrey and Thomas.  The historical photographs copied onto certain chapters were an entertaining touch making the world feel even more real. I also loved Audrey's determination to study forensics and anatomy against the wishes of others and her flaws making her a believable character. I did not exactly see the twist coming at the end of who Jack the Ripper was but it also did not seem so surprising when revealed.

At the same time although I loved this novel I can see where others are coming from in their critiques. Audrey does appear the Watson to Thomas's Holmes and the I am not like other girls trope was screaming at you from the page from the moment you set out. However, these things did not really bother me as I was entertained the whole way through. I also did not set out thinking this would be 100% accurate to it's real-life counterpart and Kerri Maniscalco is honest that creative liberties were taken with the facts to fit the story. This was ok as well since I did not go in looking for a historical book.

Overall a great debut novel and I can not wait to start the next in the series.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Blood, Murder, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Terminal illness, Body horror, Classism, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Death, Death of parent, Gore, and Violence

Minor: Alcohol

fremzz's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Gore, Medical content, Death, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Drug abuse and Drug use

Minor: Alcohol, Animal death, and Torture

Slight spoilers for first and second book The drug use/abuse is referring to her father's use of opium and Thomas’s smoking (although I’ve read he stops in the second book)

rose_88's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

Second time reading this book, and it’s just as amazing the second time.  I loved the dynamic between Audrey Rose and Thomas, as well as how the author was able to make their interactions to not be filled with sexism like many others during the time period.

Spoiler

I loved how Audrey Rose reacted to “the men in her life trying to chain her”, first with her Father keeping her in the house, then with Nathaniel when her Father was absent, even Blackburn when the only reason he wanted her help was the try and win her affections and marry her.

I loved how she constantly talked back to men trying to put her down because of her gender, and how she did it both politely and rudely at times.

Spoiler

I really enjoyed how the author foreshadowed Nathaniel as  Jack the Ripper, as this was a reread I already knew but while reading i noticed so many things I had missed, like how nervous he got anything the police were near, as well as how much he hated Audrey Rose’s involvement when things got more complicated and more murders occurred.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Medical content, Medical trauma, Blood, Misogyny, Sexism, and Violence

Moderate: Addiction, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Drug use

cepbreed's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

All around I don’t know what to think of this book. I definitely expected more, but it wasn’t flat. Decent characters and effort put into the mystery aspect but the twist reveal didn’t do it for me. The description of the victims and especially that last scene in the laboratory have really followed me. The gore isn’t needless but it’s a LOT and I appreciate that for a book I got into expecting a lot of romance and only a bit of filler on the murders end. I didn’t know too much besides the bare bones details on the Jack the Ripper case so when I saw what the author had written in the acknowledgments I was really surprised. It makes me so happy to see so much thought put into the real life details. It’s even more commendable on a case so old and in a book that involves so many fictional people/elements.

Song: 

• Alleyways - The Neighbourhood 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Stalking, Death of parent, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Addiction, Alcohol, Death, Drug abuse, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Grief, Murder, Physical abuse, and Sexism