ARC, 413 pages
Release Date: September 18, 2018Published by: JIMMY Patterson
Read from: September 16-23,2018Source: TxLATW: N/A
For fans of: Mysteries, Mayhem, Romance, Historical Fiction, Series, Suspense, YAIn this third installment in the #1 bestselling Stalking Jack the Ripper series, a luxurious ocean liner becomes a floating prison of scandal, madness, and horror when passengers are murdered one by one…with nowhere to run from the killer.
Audrey Rose Wadsworth and her partner-in-crime-investigation, Thomas Cresswell, are en route to New York to help solve another blood-soaked mystery. Embarking on a week-long voyage across the Atlantic on the opulent RMS Etruria, they’re 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 then, 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 ever more freakish, with nowhere to escape except the unforgiving sea. It’s up to Audrey Rose and Thomas to piece together the gruesome investigation as even 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*
Stalking Jack the Ripper got me really interested in Audrey Rose. Hunting Prince Dracula scared me into hoping Audrey Rose and CO. could stay out of trouble. And now Escaping from Houdini has me glad they didn’t. In this new installment of the Stalking Jack the Ripper series, we meet a new villain and a cast of different characters fans of this series will likely not forget!
“New Year’s afternoon aboard the Etruria began like a fairy tale, which was the first indication a nightmare lurked on the horizon, waiting as most villains do, for an opportunity to strike.“pg. 1
On their way to America, Audrey Rose is expecting Mr. Cresswell and herself to have a great time aboard the ship, RMS Etruria. But on the way there, women go missing and murders begin to happen; with the bodies being found over dinner. Can Audrey and Thomas find the killer before it’s too late and he or she can walk off the ship and escape forever?
“What morbid creatures we were, craving danger and mystery in place of happily ever afters.“pg. 12
So I think I’ve said this with every installment of this series, but this one is my favorite one! lol I LOVED the mystery, intrigue, and just about everything else. But as a character driven reader, the main thing I loved about this was the characters. Audrey Rose and Thomas Cresswell are still one my OTP’s and this book solidifies it. But the other characters that we met in this one were amazing as well. I LOVED learning about Mephistopheles and his circus. He was so maddeningly interesting. Like I didn’t want to know about him, but I did. And I most certainly didn’t want Audrey to worry herself with him. He’s such an interesting character to get to know. (Also Maniscalco, I do not appreciate the scare you gave me. I thought I was going to have to jump in the book and smack Audrey Rose when…. Well you know when…) And then there’s the rest of the circus. I really liked being able to get to know everyone’s back stories and why they decided to do what they did. It was truly a roller coaster from start to finish.
“It seemed no matter where we went, death followed and like greedy misers, we stored data away, profiting in a sense from loss. I’d provide the scientific details and he’s record them- a team in all ways.“pg. 19
And then there was the setting. One of the BEST parts of a book to me is the setting. (Hence how I came up with my blog name!) And Maniscalco truly transported me to the RMS Etruria and the Moonlight Carnival. I can only imagine the terror that the passengers were experiencing, being stuck on a ship in the middle of the ocean with nowhere to run while a murderer was on the loose. Just thinking of that made my skin crawl. I thought of the cruises I had been on and how I had felt so stuck on the “Days at Sea” and I can’t imagine having to be so terrified that someone was chasing after us or something. And with the descriptions of how everyone was dressed, how things smelled, and the food, I felt I was aboard the ship with Audrey Rose and Thomas Cresswell trying to figure the mystery out alongside them.
“You’re all mad,” I muttered under my breath. “Absolutely mad.” “Normal is boring,” Cassie nudged me toward the bad. “Extraordinary is memorable.“pg. 134
As for the mystery, I always know I love them when I get the killer wrong. And this was one of those times. It’s rare that I come to the wrong conclusion, so it’s so refreshing when I do. There’s so much evidence pointing to so many people and it got a bit confusing when trying to narrow it down. Maniscalco made a great mystery because she introduced all the characters, introduced all the evidence, and still had a difficult to solve case.
“Be cautious with who you give your heart to. And be even more wary of those who wish to steal it. “pg. 193
For book two, my only critique was it could have dealt with a bit less fluff, but with this one, there was just the right amount of everything. I loved this book and though I’m not thrilled about waiting for the next one for a year, I’m hoping the last one is still set in America. I can’t wait to see which American killer or person Audrey Rose and Thomas Cresswell will be after next!
Overall, I give this
