Book Review: Escaping From Houdini

 Book Review: Escaping From Houdini 

By: Kerri Maniscalco

Escaping From Houdini is the third installment of the Stalking Jack the Ripper series by Kerri Maniscalco. The novel begins with Audrey Rose and Thomas leaving Romania and travelling by ship to America. Little did they know they would be pulled into another series of murders on this week long voyage. When young women start being found murdered and the main suspects being a group of circus performers, the entertainment aboard the ship, Audrey Rose and Thomas start to investigate the events. Both Audrey Rose and Thomas are pulled in different directions in the investigation and their hearts. 

Audrey Rose and Thomas Cresswell are both intriguing characters, Thomas Cresswell has really grown on me since the first book and Audrey Rose has always been a girl after my own heart. The relationship between the two characters are flirtatious and lovable. 

However, i must admit that Escaping From Houdini was my least favourite in the Stalking Jack the Ripper series. I felt the characters had moved away from their development during the last two novels in a direction that didn't make sense. I didn't like Audrey Rose's decisions, while i understood she did the things she did for her cousin they didn't make sense for the overall characters she had been in the previous books. I didn't care for the new character of Mephistopheles, he seemed to be a similar character to Thomas Creswell in Stalking Jack the Ripper but i found him to be unlikeable. 

I did like the location and environment this novel was set in, the eerie sense of being stuck on a boat and murders start happening is captivating. This may sound weird but as someone who enjoys mystery novels and is writng a murder mystery, i enjoyed the way the murders were done. The connection between the tarot cards and killings was interesting. 

Overall, i would give this novel a ⭐⭐⭐ star review. While i didn't enjoy the characters themselves, i liked the location and mystery to this novel. 

Review coming soon: The forth installment of the Stalking Jack the Ripper series, Capturing the Devil.