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A review by jenpaul13
Things in Jars by Jess Kidd
4.0
A hidden child whose supposed supernatural powers make her a sought after item for collectors, a female sleuth with a past she'd like to keep buried, and the tattooed ghost haunting her provides entertaining pieces to a grand and Gothic tale in Jess Kidd's Things in Jars.
To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.
Bridie Devine has a unique, secret past and a keen inquiring mind, putting them to use to help investigate and solve crimes. The latest case that has her attention is one where a young girl, kept a secret from the world at large and is rumored to have peculiar, supernatural abilities, has been kidnapped from her wealthy, widowed father. Accompanied by an unlikely group of people to assist her efforts, which includes her seven-foot tall housemaid, the tattooed ghost of well-known boxer, and a skilled though peculiar apothecary, Bridie is determined to save the life of this young girl - especially when she comes across aspects that link back to her former life - from a disastrous fate in a world of secrets and spectacle.
This imaginative and entertaining story blends together a reality of the bleak and dark with the humorous and light as it crafts a tale drawing upon history and embellishing it with the magic and allure of folklore. The overarching narrative contains a large amount of coincidence and/or requires a hefty dose of suspension of disbelief that events unfold in the manner they do; though certain portions of Bridie's past are connected with current events to an unbelievably intricate degree, there are some connections that aren't explored deeply enough to be entirely satisfying. There were mentions of previous cases that Bridie had, to offer a way to establish the characters and the world, though I found that those references were a bit too specifically detailed while remaining vague and it made me feel as if I was missing something vital from a nonexistent previous book that followed Bridie's investigations.
Overall, I'd give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars.
To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.
Bridie Devine has a unique, secret past and a keen inquiring mind, putting them to use to help investigate and solve crimes. The latest case that has her attention is one where a young girl, kept a secret from the world at large and is rumored to have peculiar, supernatural abilities, has been kidnapped from her wealthy, widowed father. Accompanied by an unlikely group of people to assist her efforts, which includes her seven-foot tall housemaid, the tattooed ghost of well-known boxer, and a skilled though peculiar apothecary, Bridie is determined to save the life of this young girl - especially when she comes across aspects that link back to her former life - from a disastrous fate in a world of secrets and spectacle.
This imaginative and entertaining story blends together a reality of the bleak and dark with the humorous and light as it crafts a tale drawing upon history and embellishing it with the magic and allure of folklore. The overarching narrative contains a large amount of coincidence and/or requires a hefty dose of suspension of disbelief that events unfold in the manner they do; though certain portions of Bridie's past are connected with current events to an unbelievably intricate degree, there are some connections that aren't explored deeply enough to be entirely satisfying. There were mentions of previous cases that Bridie had, to offer a way to establish the characters and the world, though I found that those references were a bit too specifically detailed while remaining vague and it made me feel as if I was missing something vital from a nonexistent previous book that followed Bridie's investigations.
Overall, I'd give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars.