Alone and newly arrived in New Fiddleham. 1892, Abigail Rook finds work as the assistant to R. F. Jackaby, an investigator of the unexplained with the ability to see supernatural beings. On her first day, Abigail finds herself in the midst of a thrilling case: A serial killer is on the loose in New Fiddleham. 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 - with the exception of a handsome young detective named Charlie Cane - seem adamant to deny.
I found this a little slow to get into at first but it grew on me and I liked it in the end. Jackaby solving the murder was enjoyable, there was a touch of humor and an assortment of mystical creatures. The first half of the book was mainly setting up the backgrounds for the main characters and their world, which is to be expected in a first of series. The second half of the book was the action and mystery solving. I liked all the main characters, especially Jr Detective Cain and Abigail Rook and look forward to reading them again in the next book. I wished we could have seen more of what was going on in Jackaby's head, as most of the time Abigail (the POV) was left in the dark. But I'm sure the next book will be more mysterious, action packed and enjoyable, as this the first book laid down all the ground work for what could be a brilliant long lived paranormal Sherlock Homes type series.
