January 3, 2017

Audio Book Review: Jackaby #1 by William Ritter





Title: Jackaby
Author: William Ritter
Narrator: Nicola Barber

Newly arrived in New Fiddleham, New England, 1890, and in need of a job, Abigail Rook meets R. F. Jackaby, an investigator of the unexplained with a keen eye for the extraordinary - including the ability to see supernatural beings. Abigail has a gift for noticing ordinary but important details, which makes her perfect for the position of Jackaby’s assistant.

On her first day, Abigail finds herself in the midst of a thrilling case: A serial killer is on the loose. The police are convinced it’s an ordinary villain, but Jackaby is certain the foul deeds are the work of the kind of creature whose very existence the local police seem adamant to deny.

While Abigail finds herself drawn to Jackaby’s keen intelligence and his sensitivity to phenomena others barely perceive, her feelings are confused by the presence of Charlie, a handsome young policeman willing to help Jackaby and Abigail on the case. But is Charlie’s offer a sincere desire to be of service, or is some darker motive at work.


To the point review: 
LOVED Abigail and loved the twists and turns.

Let me explain:
I had read a lot of reviews on this book and heard very good things about it, so I was very interested in it.  I like mysteries, but I worried because it sounded a little Sherlock Holmes-like, and I'm not a huge fan.  Instead I found a really fun book and a character I really liked.  Honestly it was the character of Abigail that kept me interested.  I loved how smart and gun-ho she was! She just jumped straight into work with Jackaby and ran with it! I loved that.  I also loved that she had ditched the university, took the money and ran away from home.  You gotta love a girl with that kind of spunk! 

About the mystery - I had to admit that I had a chunk of it figured out pretty quickly, but I kept listening because I wanted to know if I was right, and I wanted to see what happened with Abigail.  There were a few things thrown in that I was like "whoa didn't see that coming!", so yes I had something figured out, but that was only one part.  

The cast of characters - they were all fun and unique.  I loved them all.  Jackaby made me a laugh a ton.  And how out spoken Abigail was made me laugh as well.  She had a way of sayings things to people that just cracked me up!  Plus the side characters that live with Jackaby were also fun as well as the characters involved in the mystery.  This was definitely a strength of the book.  

Thoughts on the audio book: I have to admit - I almost had to stop listening to this one but only when the narrator read Jackaby.  I loved how she read Abigail, but how she read Jackaby totally annoyed me.  She was would Abigail's last name - Rook - with a really really hard "K" sound and it just started to annoy me! It's really because of this that I will continue with the series in book form only.  

Best for:  People who like a mystery - historical mysteries the most.  
Best for ages: Around 12 and up. 
Best stick-with-you image: In the woods towards the end of the book.  Can't say anymore or I'll spoil the book! It was just a super tense scene! 

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