Stalking Jack the Ripper: James Patterson Presents (Stalking Jack the Ripper, 1)

Kerri is the first author I found through James Patterson that had me hooked. What I love about her writing is her characters are strong and actual feel human

Achei esse livro por acaso e li só porque curti a vibe de Sherlock Holmes. Amei tudo, do início ao fim

Ich habe es doch tatsächlich noch im alten Jahr geschafft „Stalking Jack the Ripper“ zu beenden. Es handelt sich hierbei um den Auftakt einer Buchreihe, die es - zumindest nach meinem Wissensstand - leider nicht auf Deutsch gibt. Mich hat die Geschichte aber irgendwie total interessiert, weshalb ich mich dazu entschlossen habe, der englischen Reihe mal eine Chance zu geben. Und soviel vorweg, ich habe meine Entscheidung nicht bereut.Das Buch spielt im England der Vergangenheit und handelt von Audrey Rose, der Tochter eines wohlhabenden Mannes, die versucht sich als Frau gegen gesellschaftliche Normen zu stellen. Ihre größte Leidenschaft ist nämlich die forensische Medizin, also das Obduzieren von Mordopfern und Untersuchen menschlicher Überreste. Die komplette Geschichte handelt davon, dass Audrey Rose mit Hilfe ihres Onkels und einem seiner vorlauten Medizinstudenten versucht, die brutalen Morde eines Serienmörders aufzuklären. Bei dem besagten Mörder handelt es sich um keinen geringeren als den berühmten „Jack the Ripper“🔪Soweit ich das verstanden habe, handelt es sich bei dem Buch um eine Art Neuerzählung der Geschichte rund um diese blutige Mordserie. Die Idee dahinter hat mir von Anfang an sehr gut gefallen, weswegen dieses Buch das Erste geworden ist, dass ich je in einer Fremdsprache gelesen habe. Die Protagonistin fand ich persönlich von der ersten Minute an überaus interessant. Besonders ihr Bemühen, sich in einer von männlichen Vorurteilen und Schubladendenken geprägten Zeit für den Feminismus einzusetzen, hat mir sehr gut gefallen. Sie ist eine äußerst starke und eigensinnige Person, die stets eine schlagfertige Antwort für ihre Mitmenschen und besonders für Thomas Cresswell - den oben genannten Medizinstudenten - auf den Lippen hat. Thomas hingegen konnte ich auch bis zum Ende hin nicht richtig durchschauen. Bei diesem Charakter bin ich gespannt darauf, wie er sich in den Folgebänden entwicklen wird. Die Beiden zusammen sind ein grandioses Team und es hat auf jeden Fall eine Menge Spaß gemacht, sie auf der Suche nach dem mysteriösen Mörder zu begleiten. Die Handlung an sich bleibt bis zum Schluss spannend und mehr als einmal war ich bezüglich des vermeintlichen Täters auf der falschen Fährte. Mit der Auflösung habe ich definitiv nicht gerechnet. Ich war extrem überrascht vom Ausgang der Situation. Besonders schön fand ich auch die im Buch verstreuten Abbildungen und Brieftexte, auch wenn letztere aufgrund der verschnörkelten Schrift nicht immer sehr gut lesbar waren.Leider hatte ich während des Lesens manchmal ein bisschen Probleme mit der in dem Buch verwendeten englischen Sprache. Ich bin mir nicht sicher ob das daran liegt, dass dies mein erstes nicht deutschsprachiges Buch war oder daran, dass es auch noch in einem längst vergangenen Zeitalter (um das Jahr 1880 herum) spielt. Jedenfalls hatte ich hier von Zeit zu Zeit ein paar kleine Verständnisprobleme, die meine Begeisterung über diese Geschichte jedoch nicht sonderlich mindern konnten. Einzig als Anmerkung an euch, dass ihr vielleicht eher zu dem Buch greift, wenn ihr bereits ein paar englische Romane gelesen habt und es nicht direkt als Einsteigerbuch für diese neue Erfahrung auswählt.Ich fand die Grundidee des Buches wirklich unterhaltsam und auch sehr passend umgesetzt.

Ich habe ein Englisch Buch lesen müssen für die Schule und das hier von meiner Schwester ausgeborgt. Ohne große Erwartung habe ich begonnen es zu lesen, die guten ersten 100-150 Seiten sind nicht gerade unterhaltsam, aber danach kommt langsam die Spannung zum Vorschein. Wenn man geduldig warten kann und groteske Sachen gerne hat, kann ich dieses Buch nur weiterempfehlen. Da ich die beiden Aspekte jedoch nicht habe, war es anstrengend dieses Buch fertig zu lesen. Zum Glück habe ich wenigstens eine gute Note bekommen, da hat es sich schon fast gelohnt es zu lesen. Viel Spaß beim lesen dieses Buches oder bei einem anderen ^^..

Einfach super. Spannend und Danke Charaktere! Das Ende war atemberaubend und einfach fantastisch. Es war ein Leseerlebnis das einen direkt zum nächsten Hand greifen lässt

Toller und spannender Reihenauftakt mit sympathischen Charakteren. Absolute lesenswert und spannend bis zu letzten Seite.

Vielleicht historisch inkorrekt, dafür aber wundervoll inhaltlich gestaltet. Auch die Bilder und Zeichnungen sind sehr schön und veranschauenlichen die Handlung.Die Geschichte ist super spannend und ich kann immer noch nicht fassen wer Jack the Ripper ist, die Überraschung war für mich riesig.Auch wurde mit Audrey Rose eine starke Hauptperson gefunden und das gefällt mir besonders gut. Sie ekelt sich nicht, sie schneidet! Einfach herrlich, eine starke Frau die ihren eigenen Weg sucht und geht.Thomas ist auch ein sehr spezieller Charakter. Viele halten ihn vielleicht für seltsam mit seiner Art wie eine Maschine zu sein, ich finde ihn super. Er ist mir wirklich sympathisch. Genauso seltsam und unbegabt im Kontakt mit anderen Menschen wie ich. Unter all dem steckt aber trotzdem ein Mensch mit Gefühlen, der nur nicht weiß, wie er damit umgehen soll.Ich hatte nur mit dem Anfang große Schwierigkeiten, ich fand einfach keinen Draht zum Buch. Erst dachte ich es wäre schlecht und hätte es fast aufgegeben, aber dann kam ich in die Handlung rein und konnte nicht mehr aufhören mit lesen. Es ist einfach ein tolles Buch!

I heard nothing but great things about this book and I am glad to have picked it up. It's extraordinary. I haven't read many YA mystery/thrillers because I'm not a big fan of this genre, so I was a bit sceptical about this book but it did not disappoint.My gosh, some parts were so disgusting, gruesome but also fascinating. Some descriptions were so graphic, that I had to put the book down. I'm so weak.I loved the female main character, Audrey Rose. She is such an amazing and inspiring character. She's a badass feminist, half indian, pretty, fierce and simply awesome.And our male main character, Thomas Cresswell. I love that boy so much.I am so excited to pick up the second book!

Nella Londra vittoriana dove il sesso debole ha il ruolo di ornamento, frivola compagnia e tanto gossip, la sua propensione all’arte forense è un’attitudine del tutto inappropriata, da mantenere segreta. Soprattutto se si è figlia di uno dei Lord più influenti della città e si indossa la gonna. Una mente eccelsa e calcolatrice però difficilmente si tiene in gabbia, e Audrey Rose odia le sbarre. All’insaputa di un padre più protettivo del dovuto, la ragazza diletta la sua passione nel laboratorio medico dello zio, dottore forense, principale investigatore sulle vittime di Jack lo squartatore. Su quel tavolo sterile, Audrey guarda le vite di giovani ragazze strappate via dalla furia assassina e combatte i suoi istinti di libertà contraddetti di un animo gentile e devoto alla famiglia. A tenerla costantemente sul chi vive, c’è l’assistente Thomas, affascinante studente di poche ma taglienti parole. Un occhio attento al dettaglio, in grado di dedure anche il meno plausibile, la ragazza ne sarà attratta ed infastidita allo stesso tempo. E noi ne saremo divertiti come non mai.Anche se la nebbia londinese non piace a nessuno, lasciarsi ammaliare da Audrey Rose e Thomas è abbastanza facile, per non dire naturale. Battute taglienti, dialoghi ferrati, un’ironia che è il cavallo di battaglia, faranno cornice ad una storia in cui poliziesco e thriller si mescolano in una miscela adrenalinica. I vicoli di East End rispecchiano la struttura del libro, dove ogni pagina nasconde qualche piccolo indizio al grande mistero. I personaggi poi, sono anche loro tutto un mistero. Thomas è l’irresistibilità in persona: silenzioso quanto basta, giusto il tempo di irritare la protagonista e poi scomparire, lasciando lei e noi senza parole. Della sua storia si sa poco quanto niente, quanto basta per sperare di conoscerlo più a fondo nel libro successivo. Audrey invece, è un libro aperto. Combatte per i suoi diritti, non riesce ad abbassarsi ai livelli di una società retrograda, di cui denuncia proprio la sua arretratezza. Allo stesso tempo però, desidera ardentemente essere accettata per quello che realmente è, e che la rende unica. Ha le sue idee ed è pervasa dal desiderio di urlarle ai quattro venti, di viverle senza alcun segreto. È tuttavia combattuta dalle conseguenze che queste potrebbero avere non tanto sulla sua immagine, quanto su quella del fratello e del padre. I suoi monologhi sono di una dolcezza smisurata.Le cupe atmosfere di Londra; gli assassini efferati del famoso Jake; protagonisti divertenti e sensibili; ambientazioni storiche. Insomma, non si hanno scuse per non iniziare Stalking Jack the Ripper, e non si hanno motivi per non amarlo.

**Originally posted on My Fangirl Chronicles**I saw so many of the bloggers I followed posting about the sequel to this book, Hunting Prince Dracula, and I got curious because of the intriguing title. So I looked up what the first book was and was hooked just by the title, Stalking Jack the Ripper. Prior to reading this, I hadn't really read any books about Jack the Ripper (well, there was one part in one of the Tales from Shadowhunter Academy but that was a novella) so I was further intrigued and decided to borrow the audio book from Overdrive. My friend and I listened to it during one road trip we had and I immediately fell in love with the writing and narrator's voice. We didn't get very far into the book during that trip because I was so busy and exhausted by the end of it, but that little taste I had of Stalking Jack the Ripper already made me crave more.Do you know that elated feeling you get when you absolutely fall in love with the first book in a series and then get all excited because you know there's more books with the same characters you now love? I just finished reading this a few hours ago and that's how I still feel now. I utterly and completely loved everything about this book!There is such a colorful cast of characters that bring so many different elements to the overall story. My top favorite was definitely Audrey Rose though. I absolutely love, love, love her! She's incredibly smart, brave, stubborn, and a feminist. While working resiliently to discover the identity of Jack the Ripper, she's also resisting and fighting society's traditional and misogynistic views on women. She's fierce and so very brave but is also very feminine, and I really love that about her. I don't see many heroines who are brave but also allowed to be feminine too, so it was awesome to finally get one.I didn't like Thomas at first, but after a few more chapters in I realized he reminded me a lot of Jace and Will from the Shadowhunter Chronicles and that epiphany made me instantly adore him. He's ridiculously smart, arrogant, and socially awkward because he doesn't exactly know how to get along with most people. Even though he's constantly getting on Audrey Rose's nerves because of his arrogance, he's one of the first (and few) male characters to admire her intellect and believe in her skills, and never viewed her as inferior due to her gender.Kerri's writing is gorgeous and the narrator did an amazing job bringing her words to life. I adored her portrayals of all the different characters; each one was different and helped me picture the character better and didn't confuse me at all. I hate it when narrators use the same tone or accent for multiple characters because then I get confused as to who is speaking. Kerri's writing is so descriptive and vivid, I actually felt like I was in Victorian London, going through this mystery with all the characters. Their voices felt very genuine, too.While I already knew the general story behind Jack the Ripper and the horrendous murder spree he committed from watching a few documentaries on the History Channel, this was the first work of fiction related to it that I have read. Even though the main objective was to find and stop Jack the Ripper, I love how the story highlighted the investigation and the tragedy of the lives lost in the murders, and did not focus on the Ripper himself like history did. It really made me feel invested in the investigation and empathize with the victims and their families.The only thing that bothered me (and it's a very minor thing compared to everything else that I loved about this book) was all the gore and gruesome descriptions when I first started reading the book. I guess I should've figured considering it was a story involving Jack the Ripper, but the vivid descriptions of all the postmortems, bodies of the murdered women, etc. took me by surprise and I literally felt ill. I was in the car when we first started the book and one of the reasons why I kind of zoned out was because I started to feel nauseous and I wasn't exactly sure whether it was from the car or the narrator on the speakers describing how it felt to dig into a cadaver and search for the liver. So, yeah, a little warning would've been nice. HahaSuspenseful and captivating, Stalking Jack the Ripper had me at the edge of my seat trying to figure out the mystery along with our heroes, squealing over the romantic scenes (can someone say, "new OTP"?), and cringing at the horrific and gruesome descriptions. And I loved every minute of it. All the mystery and suspense had me so enthralled, I could not put the book down! I'm not even kidding, I borrowed the audio book just to listen to it while I showered, cooked, cleaned, etc. so I can say with confidence that I officially have a new favorite series and I cannot recommend it enough! If you love Gothic horrors, mystery, suspense, a fierce and feminine heroine, definitely pick this up ASAP!

Stalking Jack the Ripper is set in 1888 based on the real-life murders of the victims in Whitechapel, UK. This book is a murder mystery with our main character, Audrey Rose, investigating the murders by using forensic science with her uncle and a very lovely arrogant main protagonist Thomas. This novel is a historical YA and probably suitable for 15 and above.The novel itself is packed full of gorey type descriptions and doesn't fall short of any shock factor. If you're a little squeamish then this might not be the book for you. Afterall, these murders really happened and Kerri only presents them as so. It's incredibly well written with beautiful prose and you immediately care for the characters. The novel is uniquely dark and mysterious all with a fantastic "proper" romance between Audrey and Thomas.Thomas Cresswell is one of my new favourite book boyfriends. With the time period, it really depicts the formality of dating and courtship which I found to be an extremely lovely touch. It's lovely to see a real gentleman, even if he does break the rules a little and comes across as arrogant. But his arrogance is so attractive in that he's not ashamed to express how he feels to Audrey. It's super cute.The plot is driven by the continuous murders and the mystery surrounding who Jack really is. At no point did I pin who Jack actually was (Of course, this part is fictional, I believe, as the really JtR is still unknown). The ending and the motive behind the real killer's action were so brilliantly planned out. Kerri couldn't have come up with a more grotesque, wildly imaginative ending. It was truly shocking and I simply had no idea. And also, go Thomas! He's a real hero.The book includes some photographs throughout the novel to show what life was really like during 1800's. They are quite fascinating to look at and I feel they added a realistic edge to this story. There is one picture of a hand towards the end of the book that is downright creepy. Urgh. But still, it was great to see what kind of reality people were facing during that time period. The time period was so fantastically captured, from the clothing, behaviours, courtship. Everything was meticulously planned and it created such authenticity. You really feel the "grunge" of forensic science in this time period. Even though we do see Audrey sterilizing equipment, you can still imagine that lab in the dark with gas lamps and candles, no real hygiene and working with a woman, which is frowned upon. The atmosphere was simply great and I was hooked all of the way through.I read the novel in just over a day. I was so excited that I purchased Hunting Prince Dracula when I was 50 pages from the end. I cannot wait to read the next installment and I hope there are many more adventures of Audrey and Thomas to come.Would recommend to:- Readers over 15.- Those who enjoy horror/thriller and murder mystery.- Those who read YAPros:- Atmosphere and setting is built well and is authentic- The murders aren't witnessed but are talked about in professional detail *squeamish trigger*- Realistic loveable characters- Authentic representation of the "view of women" during those times.- Lovely romantic subplot- Didn't guess who Jack really was.- Inventory of information at the back of the novel- Images of the life back in the 1800's throughoutCons:- There is a period where there aren't any murders and there is more story building with suspicion.- Took forever for the romance between Audrey and Thomas to develop into a kiss.- Can be explicit in terms of discussing the murders and wounds (not that I minded!)Overall, was a fantastic enjoyable read and I am so excited for the next book to fall through my letterbox. Thank you Kerri for such a unique read. I loved it.