It's August of 1888, just three weeks before Jack the Ripper will begin his grisly spree in the London slum of Whitechapel, and another serial murderer is stalking the gas-lit streets of New York. With taunting messages in backwards Latin left at the crime scenes and even more inexplicable clues like the fingerprints that appear to have been burned into one victim's throat, his handiwork bears all the hallmarks of a demonic possession.
But consulting detective Harrison Fearing Pell is convinced her quarry is a man of flesh and blood. Encouraged by her uncle, Arthur Conan Doyle, Harry hopes to make her reputation by solving the bizarre case before the man the press has dubbed Mr. Hyde strikes again.
From the squalor of the Five Points to the high-class gambling dens of the Tenderloin and the glittering mansions of Fifth Avenue, Harry and her best friend, John Weston, follow the trail of a remorseless killer, uncovering a few embarrassing secrets of New York's richest High Society families along the way. Are the murders a case of black magic—or simple blackmail? And will the trail lead them closer to home than they ever imagined?
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My Review: (Thanks to NetGalley)
My biggest problem with this book, and the reason I only gave it 3 stars was the fact that it wasn't made clear if there was or was not a supernatural element. It was heavily implied but then constantly refuted, BUT if you read the blurb for the second book at the end of the first it basically says that the supernatural IS real. ???
That aside, it was a pleasant read. When the bad guy at the end was revealed it made sense, there had been hints throughout that became apparent when you looked back. I like books that do that instead of pulling an implausible answer out of left field.
The characters were good, but I wanted to smack Harry for not seeing what was right in her face i.e. John! While Arthur Conan Doyle is mentioned and shares a few telegrams, he doesn't actual appear in the book which was a bit misleading.
Other bits of the blurb were also a bit misleading, Harrison (or Harry) is not a consulting detective, her older sister is, she just pretended to be her sister for a client. Also the burning finger prints were a big hint towards the 'supernatural' and mentioned a couple of times, but they were never explained. And at the end there was a mention towards Jack the Ripper (re: blurb), which seemed like it should have been a whole other book but instead was mentioned in an epilogue of sorts.
All these niggles aside there was a good flow, and the actual story was enjoyable. I cant blame the author for the blurb inconsistency because they have no influence over that. I will be keeping an eye out for the second one in this series.
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