About the Book:
Title: Escaping From Houdini
Author: Kerri Maniscalco
Release Date: September 18, 2018
Series: Stalking Jack the Ripper #3
Genre: Historical
Pages: 448
My Rating: 4/5 ⭐️
Summary:
Embarking on a week-long voyage across the Atlantic on the opulent RMS Etruria, Audrey Rose Wadsworth and her partner-in-crime-investigation, Thomas Cresswell, are 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 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 more and more bizarre. It's up to Audrey Rose and Thomas to piece together the gruesome investigation before 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?
My Thoughts:
It's very hard to describe how I feel about this book. On one hand I did enjoyed it, however there were a few things that I didn't care for. I feel like the third book lacked a certain element that made the first and second book amazing. The third book takes place on the RMS Etruria, as they travel across the Atlantic Ocean, from England to America. Their voyage also includes a traveling carnival, The Moonlight Carnival, as the main entertainment throughout the journey. It's all fun and games, until the first act results in the first of many deaths to come. I loved the idea of the traveling carnival aboard the ship, it was mysterious and magical that was an interesting twist to what I originally thought the story was.
Now, I will admit, there weren't that many clues about who the murderer was in this book. The clues were there, but I they were a little too subtle, which left a few of them going over my head. There wasn't anything that really pin-pointing the real killer. With so many people suspected of being the killer, it was not easy to tell as the person of interest continued to change. I did like that fact that this book didn't have just one killer, there were two, the main killer for this story and the secret second killer, which is a cliffhanger that leads into the fourth and final book in this series. I enjoyed the mystery aspect of the story, it wasn't as prominent as it had been in the first two books, I still enjoyed it nonetheless!
I loved how strong-willed Audrey Rose is throughout the series so far as she tries to solve the murders, however we do see a different side to her, a more personal side, as she tries to figure out what she wants in life. I know she’s trying to figure it out, but something about her was very indecisive and it felt like she couldn’t make up her mind, which is different than the confident and determined girl I'd seen previously. She constantly questioned her choice as if she was always making a mistake, which didn't make much sense. In addition, there is a love triangle I wasn’t a big fan either. However, I did get to see a new side to Thomas because of this little incident. His witty remarks and the slight jealousy allowed me to understand Thomas more and see behind the cool and collected mask that he likes to wear. Overall, it was an enjoyable read and I can’t wait to see how the series ends!
If you're interested in checking out Kerri's pages, the links are down below along with places where you can get the book.
Make sure to check out my other reviews for the Stalking Jack the Ripper series
Thank you all so much for reading. I hope you enjoyed my review/suggestion. Until next time!
Nice review! This is one of my favourite series. <3
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