Stalking Jack the Ripper (Stalking Jack the Ripper, #1)

by Kerri Maniscalco

[zooloo1983]

Wow, do I love this book or do I love this book! I have heard about this book from the bloggersphere and had to check it out. I mean it is about JACK THE RIPPER – Sold!

I loved that not only is this a “story” of Jack the Ripper but told from a 17-year-old girl, Audrey Rose Wadsworth, a Lord’s daughter and one whose life is of privilege and one where she has to act like a lady! So elbow deep in a cadaver is not the life she should be leading! She should not be falling for the arrogant Thomas Cresswell and who acts so improper! I loved it and him!

At the end of the audiobook, I listened to the author’s note, in it she tells you the bits she created and tweaked for entertainment and the elements she kept true to real life, not just the poor women who lost their lives but the instruments used as part of the autopsies.

Nicola Barber’s voice is beyond epic! I loved listening to her voice! She got Audrey Rose’s innocence, petulance, anger and inner turmoil to absolute perfection! When she voiced Thomas, Nathaniel, or any of the men, it was hard to imagine that it was still Ms Barber! She was that good! She breathed each and every character to life.


Obviously being about Jack the Ripper, we are taken back to the Victorian times, the corsets, the dresses and the murders. You could smell the blood in the autopsy room the writing was that vivid. The conclusion of this story was a heartbreaking one, (obviously not the real one) because the reasoning behind “Leather Apron” were ones you didn’t want to comprehend and accept as reality.

I loved Audrey Rose! You had to keep reminding yourself that she was only 17 and that she had to be a proper lady. She constantly went against the grain of what was proper and did not have any interest in balls and dresses, she wouldn’t even dress in the colour codes that the women all agreed on. She definitely made me smile and was feisty to boot!

You can tell that a wealth of research has gone into this book and it has brought this awful piece of history back to life again. The imagery, the dresses, the streets, the noises all made you feel like you were transported back into time, throwing you into the thick of the action. I want more!

The fear, however, was palpable as we stalk the streets for the murderer. I was on tenterhooks waiting for the next victim to be discovered and I was fearing for Audrey Rose! I didn’t want to lose this woman! Plus I do not think Thomas would be too happy!

Straight after I finished this, I used my credit to buy the next book in the series, and can you imagine my excitement when I saw who was narrating it…yes, that’s right Nicola Barber! Whoop Whoop! Now we are hunting Dracula! Let us hope it goes better than last time, I am off to sharpen my stakes!