Escaping from Houdini by Kerri Maniscalco

 

Escaping from Houdini by Kerri Maniscalco
Series: Stalking Jack the Ripper #3
Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers
First published September 18th, 2018
Genres: YA, Historical Fiction, Mystery
Pages: 416
Format: Paperback
Buy: Book Depository | Amazon

In 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?

To be honest, I was a bit disappointed by the title when it first came out, I’ve always been interested in Dracula and Jack the Ripper, but Houdini? I wasn’t sure if this was gonna be for me. But I actually really enjoyed it! Not as much as the first ones but, still really entertaining, mysterious and moody.

One of the things I most love with this series is how vivid and moody the writing makes it feel. It’s just the perfect balance between gruesome and luxurious. It sounds weird, right? But that’s exactly how it feels for me. It’s just the perfect setting. And this was no different, it was dark and thrilling and I was completely hooked! 

I love the romance in it and how different it is from any other books. Cresswell is the most perfect guy ever. He is just so inspiring and well, perfect! I absolutely love him. He is extremely sweet and caring, and he would do anything for Audrey. He is intelligent, dedicated and well, sexy! He is just goals and he hasn’t disappointed me at all in here. Except, he was mainly out of the book???? Shame…

I also really liked to read more about Audrey’s cousin. She is such a wild spirit and it was really fun to follow her around. I also really ended up liking Houdini much more than I thought and also Mephistopheles. The carnival was really fun and the author really managed to make it exciting and suspenseful with all the magic and creepiness at every corner.

Now for what I wasn’t a fan of… Audrey Rose. I’ve loved her from the very first book, but in this one, I wasn’t a fan of her. Her attitude was so different and she didn’t feel as strong as in the last books. There’s quite some drama here involving her and I guess it might make it more exciting for some, but for me was a letdown. I loved how their relationship was so pure, sophisticated, trustful and brainy and well, this wasn’t at all what I was hoping for. I love Audrey and Cresswell as a team and that didn’t happen. It was just not needed.

I can’t say I didn’t like the book, I really did, and I loved to read about the carnival. It really excited me and made me curious, but I didn’t like how the plot went as much as the previous books, so overall I really liked it and I was totally obsessed reading it, but I’m still a bit disappointed with some parts. But I do have high hopes for the next book!

Have you read this yet? What do you think of it? Let’s discuss it in the comments below!