Review: Ripper by Amy Carol Reeves

 

The story of Jack the Ripper has titillated, thrilled and terrified people for over 100 years.  How could such a horrible murderer start up, terrorize a city, and then quit?  What happened to him?  Why could the police never catch him?  Ripper by Amy Carol Reeves offers a unique twist on the story of one of history's most notorious serial killers.

Here is the summary from the Flux (the publishers) website:  

In 1888, following her mother’s sudden death, seventeen-year-old Arabella Sharp goes to live with her grandmother in a posh London neighborhood. At her grandmother’s request, Abbie volunteers at Whitechapel Hospital, where she discovers a passion for helping the unfortunate women and children there.
But within days, female patients begin turning up brutally murdered at the hands of Jack the Ripper. Even more horrifying, Abbie starts having strange visions that lead her straight to the Ripper’s next massacres. As her apparent psychic connection with the twisted killer grows stronger, Abbie is drawn into a deadly mystery involving the murders, her mother’s shadowed past, and a secret brotherhood of immortals—who’ll stop at nothing to lure Abbie into its “humanitarian” aims.

I really enjoyed reading this book.  I really liked how strong and caring a person Abbie was without coming across as better than someone, preachy or a wild child.  Yes, she was forced into volunteering at the hospital, but it was her choice to keep going back.  It was her choice to befriend the various ladies and help in the nursery on her own time.  Ultimately, it lead her to decide to pursue medicine as a career.  Good for her!

I thought the psychic connection was a pretty neat twist, because you could not only experience the murders but it gave them a whole new level of horror.  Why was Jack murdering the women?  Why was Jack "allowing" Abbie to see him do it (without actually seeing him)?  When was he going to come for her?  Why hadn't he come for her?

Once we finally got to the meat of the story (which I won't give away), the reasoning for and the reasoning why the killings stopped made sense.  I was honestly scared for Abbie and her friends at this point.

The book then ended, but it left the door open for more books to come.  I really hope that there is a sequel coming---I want to know what happened to Abbie---did she go to medical school, will they meet up with Jack again, are they safe, which boy will she end up with (though I'm pretty sure I know the answer to that one), what will Grandmother say?

All in all, this was an enjoyable read.  I like historical fiction and murder mysteries.  Combine the two, and I'm set!

 I read this book as part of the 2012 Debut Author Challenge hosted by Kristi, The Story Siren.  I downloaded a copy for free via Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.