Escaping From Houdini (Stalking Jack the Ripper Book #3) by Kerri Maniscalco

Good Reads Review: Escaping from Houdini (Stalking Jack the Ripper #3)

Kerri Maniscalco has done it again. In the first two books in her Stalking Jack the Ripper series, the plot was focused more on the mystery with Jack the Ripper and then with Prince Dracula, instead of the friendship and budding romance between Audrey Rose Wadsworth and Thomas Cresswell. The way Ms. Maniscalco crafts her story, full of imagery, makes the reader able to immerse themselves into the worlds that are created. From the streets of London, to the dark castle of Vlad the Impaler in Romania, and this time on a ship sailing to America. The fantastic and mystical Midnight Carnival is the focal point, with a legend that we are familiar with , Houdini, and a mystery that we have come to expect from Ms. Maniscalco....murder.

Now for the downside......AAARRRGGGHHH!!! I love and I hate when an author throws in a twist that we are not expecting. I got so used to the witty banter and budding romance between Ms. Wadsworth and Mr. Cresswell, that in this book I was shocked that she went off the beaten path. I was aggravated with Audrey Rose because of the cheap parlor tricks that Mephistopheles used to reel her in and make her doubt her feelings for Thomas. You could feel the pain that her choices were making, that were hurting those she loved, but at the same time you were proud of her for being so intelligent and strong to stand by her choice in order to try and solve who was murdering the passengers aboard the RMS Etruria. The pain she caused Thomas and the pain and regret she was feeling because of that made me cry. I honestly could feel it. And I wanted to yell at her...to yell at Mephistopheles for playing her, and to yell at Thomas to use his powers of deduction to figure out the truth. But I LOVE Ms. Maniscalco for keeping me guessing.