Jackaby by William Ritter: Book Review

Hello, everyone! I'm back, and I'm here to review Jackaby by William Ritter. This story is a mix of Sherlock Holmes and Lost Girl for children. In a small town called Fiddleham, Abigail Rook arrives looking for work and finds Jackaby, a rather eclectic detective who solves crimes... of the paranormal nature. Let's get onto the review!

I will say that I've been wanting to read this book for a while. The cover and the preface really drew me in. A mystery with the paranormal? Count me in! Now, was I happy with the experience? That's another story - kind of.

I was very happy with my experience. Well, minus the fact that the sequel doesn't come out until September. It was an enjoyable quick read that had interesting lore and brought me out of a depressive slump that finals has put me in. But I'm not sure how emmersive this book is. I never felt like I was a part of the story. It felt like watching a television show while doing my homework. I was paying attention, but I wasn't actively participating.

That's not to say the book is bad. In fact, I really like the book, enough where I was upset that I couldn't get a hold of a sequel. Let me give you a few reasons why you should give this book a shot.

The book is very quotable. For such a short book, or at least it is in my eyes, it says a lot of relateable things. I found myself highlighting quotes so that I could tweet them later, if my laziness doesn't prevail.

There's also some really cool mythical aspects. It was cool to see some that I recognized but hadn't seen much in other works, unless you count Lost Girl. The also didn't appear in a way that I expected and gave me hope for what I would see in the next novel.

Let's talk about characters. The story is narrated like the Sherlock Holmes in that the partner tells the story, not the detective. So we hear everything from Ms. Rook's point of view. I really connect with her and she breaks the mold considering the era she is in. She still has some room to grow, but I guess that will come in handy in later books.

Then there's our title character, Jackaby. He's coo coo for coa coa puffs. He is very much like Sherlock. He's antisocial, abrasive, and a know-it-all. But there is a major difference. Jackaby can see the supernatural, and while that helps with investigations, it makes other people see him as just being crazy. Sherlock is at least respected and sometimes called upon by police. In this novel, everyone who hasn't been affected by the supernatural just think he's crazy, which he still may be. The jury is still out.

But the jury is back on the rating of the book. I'm giving this book a solid three and a half ducks out of five.

That's it for this post! Comment down below on good books you thought could be better. Subscribe to the blog by adding your email to the subscribe box down below and off to the right. Add me to your circles by clicking the Google+ button off to the right. Follow me on twitter @KK_Donna_Blog for ridiculousness about my life and up to date information on the blog. Follow the tumblr dedicated to the blog, which you can find here. Read on, lovelies! I'll see y'all next post!