Escaping From Houdini by Kerri Maniscalco

Escaping From Houdini (Stalking Jack the Ripper, #3)

by Kerri Maniscalco

Audrey Rose Wadsworth and her partner-in-crime-investigation, Thomas Cresswell, are en route to New York to help solve another blood-soaked mystery. Embarking on a week-long voyage across the Atlantic on the opulent RMS Etruria, they're delighted to discover a travelling troupe of circus performers, fortune tellers, and a certain charismatic young escape artist entertaining the first-class passengers nightly.

But then, privileged young women begin to go missing without explanation, and a series of brutal slayings shocks the entire ship. The disturbing influence of the Moonlight Carnival pervades the decks as the murders grow ever more freakish, with nowhere to escape except the unforgiving sea. It's up to Audrey Rose and Thomas to piece together the gruesome investigation as even more passengers die before reaching their destination. But with clues to the next victim pointing to someone she loves, can Audrey Rose unravel the mystery before the killer's horrifying finale?

Reviewed by Chelsea on

2 of 5 stars

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Wow was that ever disappointing.

Besides the boring plot that couldn’t hold my attention, it felt like this was a part of a whole different series. Our awesome crime solving duo was no longer a duo in this book. For some reason a weird love triangle was thrown in and Thomas was pushed out of the story a little. As the best character I was disappointed and frustrated by the lack of his character. I did like Mephistopheles as a character. He was interesting in an otherwise boring plot, but his use as part of the love triangle was boring and unnecessary.

The plot itself, mainly the mystery, was messy. In the first two books I had fun trying to figure out who the murderer was but while I technical guessed very early on in EFH I was always unsure because nothing made any sense. Even at the end when it was revealed it still didn’t make any sense to me. The author created this wonderful and magic atmosphere and didn’t use it to its full potential.

I might give book 4 a chance but I’m not confident it can bring this series back.

** I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review**

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  • Started reading
  • 22 October, 2018: Finished reading
  • 22 October, 2018: Reviewed