I hate to say it, but William Ritter seems to have hit a sophomore slump with 2015’s Beastly Bones. I loved my experience reading Jackaby last year: it had so much of all the things that I love about books of the type. Much of that remains in book two, Abigail is still independent and self-assured, Jackaby is still his off-kilter self without being off-putting, we still have a live in ghost, and a shape shifter, and a relatively tightly paced mystery. But… book two […]
A Pocket Sized Adventure
Last year I was delighted with Jackaby by William Ritter. It had just the right mix of historical fiction, fantasy, and whodunit to be right up my alley. It’s got a bit of Sherlock mixed with a little Doctor Eleven for a male protagonist and a female protagonist who is smart, wily, and sarcastic in equal measure – and a great example of female agency in print. I immediately added the second book, Beastly Bones, on my to read list for 2016 as well as […]
A study in scarlet evening gowns
I added this book to my list following some CBR recommendations, and picked it up last night when I wanted something new and light. Yup, bought it last night, writing a review this morning. So obviously, this was a quick read, but lots of fun nonetheless. This book was in the YA section, but it was blessedly free of a dystopian future, an epic love story, and whiny teenagers for a change. Obvious things first, Jackaby is basically Sherlock. It’s mentioned in every review or […]
Abigail + Jackaby, a very good team.
I was introduced to this book via Malin’s review last November. She had my attention with sassy female narrator who does not have a romance with the titular Jackaby, investigator in the vein of a Cumberbatchian Sherlock or Matt Smithian Doctor Who. Add to that faerie folk, mythical creatures, the 1890s, and New England and I’m sold. And that cover art ain’t too shabby either. Your basic plot summary is as follows – Abagail Rook, our narrator, has run off with her college tuition to […]