Stalking Jack the Ripper Series // Why I’m Now Trash for Kerri Maniscalco

This series reminded me why I’m a reader.

That’s super dramatic, I know, but I genuinely sobbed at the end. I read the last line of the dedications and clutched the book to my chest in a huge hug and literally shed tears.

There’s nothing quite like it – being so moved and attached to a story that you just don’t want to let it go. Thinking of the characters and the story even when you’re not reading. This feeling is why I feel so blessed to be someone who likes to read, and why I wouldn’t trade this hobby for the entire world.

Anyways, I decided to post this today in celebrating of Maniscalco’s sophomore series debut being released tomorrow: Kingdom of the Wicked!

Something also SUPER cool that’s happening: I’m going to be part of a virtual meet & greet w/ Kerri Maniscalco for her launch of Kingdom of the Wicked tomorrow! I was one of the first ten people to register for her launch event, and therefore was invited to the meet & greet! If this isn’t fate (and the universe telling me that Kerri Maniscalco is now my new favorite author) then I truly don’t know what is.

Anyways, in lieu of a “traditional” review of this series, I figured I’d do a “Top 10 Reasons Why I Adore This Series” post instead. How does that sound??

**There will probably be some spoilers for this series below, so if you haven’t read it and don’t want to be spoiled for small plot details, proceed with care!**

*Coughs* ahem….

Top Ten Reasons Why I’m Trash for the SJRT Series

1. This book scared the shit out of me while also reminding me how cruel this world can be, but, ya know, in a good way.

I don’t read a lot of non-fiction, so when I encounter gore and violence, it’s usually within the context of a fantasy setting. This was one of the first more contemporary books I’ve read (as in, this world as the setting) that featured such gore and violence, and I, surprisingly, loved it. The graphic descriptions and gory details scared the crap out of me while also holding my full and undivided attention all the way through.

2. It’s one long, continuous journey that spreads across multiple continents.

I love it when I can clearly tell how the books in a series connect, and this series did it perfectly. From the winding corners of London, to the creepy basements of Romania, and all the way across the Atlantic to the freshly bloodied streets of Chicago, we follow one over-arching story line, and that’s to find *and kill?* Jack the Ripper.

3. Audrey Rose knew what she needed to do, and boy, did she do it.

There was no whining for this heroine. If a spooky cave needed to be searched, she grabbed her dress hem and explored it. If a cadaver needed to be inspected, she rolled up her sleeves and dug into it. If a needly ~and adorable~ love interest needed reassurance, she gave it. I loved how strong-headed and willing to get the job done she is.

4. Our side characters are able to learn, grow, and evolve with our main ones.

While at first there are some frustrating side characters that (predictably) do everything to stand in our heroines way, nobody is stuck in their archetype for too long. Her overprotective father learns to let his daughter forge her own path. Her society-focused aunt learns that not everything has to be perfect in the publics eye for it to be worthwhile. Her bold and brash cousin reaches out and grabs what she wants, and encourages Audrey Rose to do the same. I ended up adoring them all, which was a big surprise given where they started.

5. The way that Maniscalco doesn’t let Audrey Rose forget about her grief.

I think it would’ve been oh-so easy for Audrey Rose to forget about her loss and move on to bigger and more pressing matters, and for a quick sec, I thought she had. But Maniscalco later comes back to the larger topic of grief and PTSD and we see Audrey Rose struggle to overcome this, which gave the book a sense of humanity and struggle. We all could use literary representation of our feelings, and it’s refreshing to find a character who’s impacted by the events in her past in such a hard way.

6. The 19th century period drama and overall setting were the perfect choice for this series.

I ADORED this setting and am so happy that Maniscalco chose to place this story back in the 1800’s. While it boils my blood to watch women face such mind-blowing sexism, I think it made the best setting for Audrey Rose, a young forensic scientist, to explore her career (which is dominated by men) and learn to fight for what matters most to her, society be damned.

7. Maniscalco kept me on my toes and constantly guessing over who the culprits might be.

Along with following an over-arching plot across all four books, each book also features it’s own little mini-murder-mystery/goose chase, which made for fast-paced stories and heart-pounding conclusions. I truly never knew until the last 50 pages of each book who the murderer was going to be. She dropped just enough clues that everyone was under suspicion, and I enjoyed feeling my heart race as I neared the end of each book and knew we were getting close to a huge reveal.

8. The altered history aspect of it all.

What’s crazy about all of this is that it actually happened. Well, not in entirety. But both of the big murderers were actual people who committed similar (if not identical) crimes to those of the book. It’s clear that Kerri did SO much research and cared a lot of about telling these stories, and she did it through the lens of two forensic scientists trying to puzzle it all out. It added so much to the creepy-crawly level of spook I felt.

9.The supportive, superior love of my life that is Thomas Cresswell, long may he reign.

Thomas Cresswell is THE love interest of the year for me, hands down. I adored him. I adored how much he adored Audrey Rose, and how his love, guidance and support were all so incredibly genuine. He respected her (despite the fact that many men of that time saw women as inferior and something to be controlled) and always encouraged her towards her dreams, despite the danger they posed for them both. I can’t think of another love story that was as pure and absolute as this one was.

10. It ended.

This series didn’t drag out endlessly. Despite being a quartet, Maniscalco didn’t unnecessarily pull these characters through more than the series demanded (I mean, you could argue Escaping from Houdini was unnecessary, but that’s a discussion for another day). While I was sad to see my babies drift from the “Currently Reading” shelf to the “Read” one, I had a hearty feeling of completeness and knew it was time for the story to end.

If you can’t tell, I loved this series. It’s sitting on my shelves waiting to be reread, and I have a feeling it won’t be too long until I just can’t stay away. It’s now one of my favorites of all time, and I can’t believe that I missed out on the hype all those years ago when the first book released.

If you’ve been debating picking this one up, I highly, highly encourage it. Even if you don’t love the first few chapters, the story is fast-paced enough that soon you can’t help but be sucked into it.

I am beyond excited for Kingdom of the Wicked to release tomorrow, and will be devouring it immediately. Hear that, Amazon delivery man? Please, have mercy!

Have you read any of the books in the Stalking Jack the Ripper series? What did you think? Will you be reading Kingdom of the Wicked tomorrow?

Thanks so much, my dear readers, and be well! ♥