Jackaby (Jackaby, 1)

The minute I first heard about this book I was intrigued. I'm not sure why I have a fascination with historical mysteries, maybe it ties back to my first reading of Sherlock Holmes, in any case I knew I wanted to read this series. The addition of the supernatural added a touch of creepiness to the already strong air of mystery that the story holds. Abigail makes for a great narrator with her ability to observe the 'ordinary' as Jackaby says. She gives the reader a look at her new employer that makes Jackaby as much of a mystery as the murder they are trying to solve. His unusual ability to see the supernatural allows him to notice things that nobody else does, but at the same time he misses the ordinary, which makes Abigail such a great assistant for him. Add in Jenny Cavanaugh, the ghost who inhabits Jackaby's current residence and her mysterious death and the frog that stinks up the whole house, and throw in a former assistant turned duck and you've got a thoroughly entertaining story that really doesn't read like anything else. It does have a taste of Sherlock Holmes to it combined with Stroud's Lockwood & Co. focus on ghosts and ghouls. There is a tiny bit of bad language and a moderate amount of violence (someone was brutally murdered after all, several someone's actually). I found Jackaby a fascinating case study in the art of the historical fantasy mystery (is there such a genre? If not there should be).

This book was a pleasant surprise. Jackaby by William Ritter is the first in the series by the same name. Set during the Victorian age, I expected a freaky paranormal mystery that would leave me jumping at noises and leaving all the lights on at night. That is not at all what this is! Jackaby is a quirky, paranormal mystery with similar themes and feel to classic Doctor Who and Sherlock Holmes.Abigail Rook is a runaway, looking for adventure. Over the past year, she has explored Europe, and now she has settled into America. Looking for a job leads her to the mysterious paranormal investigator Jackaby. Determined to show her worth, Abigail joins Jackaby as he investigates a recent string of murders. With a keen eye for detail, she quickly becomes an asset rather than a hindrance as Jackaby has found his past assistants. I really like Abigail. The story is told entirely from her point of view, and I loved her narration. It reminded me a lot of Watson’s narrative, which grounded the story making it come to life.Jackaby is fantastic! I love him. He is quirky, like Matt Smith’s doctor quirky, and always one step ahead of everyone else. He sees beyond what most people see. He sees the hidden paranormal that surrounds everyday life. As one of the only people to see these things, Jackaby tasks himself with keeping the paranormal community in check. When something is off about a case or news story, he’s there to investigate it. In this particular case, the murder victims are missing their blood which is suspcious considering their wounds. With the help of his new assistant, he is on the case.I loved the world-building that the author integrates into the story. Jackaby’s unique abilities and Abigail’s sharp eye for detail work together well. While there is no romance between the two, the chemistry is wonderful. I love the dynamic between them and how they play off each other. It’s a believable, working relationship. The addition of the paranormal aspects set during a time when technology was just beginning to emerge is perfection. I really enjoyed how it is incorporated and how the setting plays just as important a role as the characters themselves. Jackaby wouldn’t work in contemporary times.Overall, I really enjoyed Jackaby. Abigail and Jackaby are a cohesive team, working with each other’s strengths. I enjoyed the mystery element as well. It wasn’t too scary, but left me guessing right to the end. If you enjoy paranormal mystery, period pieces, or looking for a fun read, I highly recommend it.

4.5 exhilarating stars!This was a fast and fun read that I would recommend to anyone, but especially fans of Sherlock and Doctor Who. It's like the superfun, written lovechild of these two shows. For once, the promotional materials have not lied to us!This is a book for younger audiences, but that doesn't detract from the obsessive readability of the story. Abigail Rook is a WONDERFUL female protagonist, rebelling against the social norms for women at the time this novel is set. Jackaby is a distracted genius who is also sneakily kind and generous.The conflict and the antagonist are superbly done, and even though I figured out who was doing the killing earlier than the "big reveal," it did NOT spoil it for me, simply because I didn't know why. And the whys of this book are most of the fun.My only criticism for this work could be that the characterization was a bit shallow, but that's almost to be expected in a novel this short and driven by the plot. But there was enough for me to know that I really like these characters, and I can't wait to read more about them. Beastly Bones here I come! Allons-y!TL;DR: Definitely worth your time if you like paranormal adventure with a great female MC and a fantastic male protagonist wherein THERE IS NO ROMANCE BETWEEN THEM.

What can I tell you about 294 pages of jumbled up writing. The story was predictably unoriginal. His jacket is a sonic screwdriver and personality of a young Sherlock.He has had companions like the Doctor Who want adventure. He sees things no one's else sees. The book was creative but a mess. He had ideas but nowhere to put them. Nothing supernatural until the last 5 chapters.I read two to three books a week. 300-600 pages. This was a struggle to finish. If you enjoy a light fast read, be my guest. Just do not expect anything great. I gave two stars for the description of the home.

Received from NetGalley for review.’I have ceased concerning myself with how things look to others, Abigail Rook. I suggest you do the same. In my experience, others are generally wrong.’Jackaby is nothing short of incredible, a delicious masterpiece that I devoured at every opportunity. It is set in 1892 in New England and follows Abigail Rook, a tearaway young woman who took her tuition money and ran off to hunt dinosaurs and have an adventure. By complete chance she meets R. F. Jackaby, a very eccentric Sherlock-esque detective and seer, for whom she becomes an investigative assistant. She ends up assisting Jackaby with a very strange murder and soon realises that nothing is as it seems, what we believe to be true and real is not, not even Charlie, the junior detective they meet at the crime scene.I wanted to get my hands on this book the minute I stumbled across it and I was thrilled when NetGalley gave me the opportunity to read it. William Ritter has created a fantastic debut, full of fantasy, adventure and mystery, and I knew from the first line that I would love this book. The opening is brilliant – I was immediately intrigued and at no point did I become disinterested or disappointed. The story and characters are excellently crafted; fantasy and folklore are seamlessly weaved into the book and it is truly magical to read about, the plot is fast paced and keeps you guessing and wanting more, and there is the most amazing plot twist that I didn’t see coming a mile off.Abigail, Jackaby and Charlie are some of the best characters I have ever read. Abigail runs away from her parents, who want her to become a prim and proper housewife and mother, to seek adventure wherever she can, and circumstance brings her across the sea to New England. She is a superbly written character, strong, smart and brave, and I loved her. She is exactly the kind of young woman I want to read about, one who has her feet firmly on the ground while still letting her head and heart wander into the clouds. There is the barest hint of romance – a mutual attraction really – but it is a lovely little aside in the story, hardly noticeable, and Abigail is entirely her own person, not some by-product of a crush going straight to insta-love. Thank you, William Ritter! Jackaby is wonderfully bizarre, everything I want in a scatter brained but incredibly intelligent detective. There is a definite Sherlock Holmes vibe but it works really well and I love how his investigations are of the supernatural, it’s more like reading a fairy tale than a detective story. Charlie managed to become my favourite character, even though he isn’t in the story as much as Abigail and Jackaby. He is, quite simply, adorable – a wonderful, kind hearted and loyal young man, with one hell of a secret.Jackaby is one of the best books I have read this year. The writing is absolutely beautiful, the characters are fantastic and the story is magical. I hope that there will be many more novels in the future from Ritter, who is nothing short of a story telling genius if Jackaby is anything to go by.[...]

From start to finish, I was drawn in and completely enchanted by this book. With such flowing, captivating writing, Jackaby was hugely enjoyable to read and I raced through the book so fast that I kind of wish I had paced myself more to hold onto the experience for a little longer.Though I have nothing against first person narration, it is usually not my favourite type of prose to read in detective stories (there is something about how encompassing third person can be that I’m just drawn to, and second person narration, when done right, can take a story to new heights with its unfamiliarity). However, it truly worked wonderfully in this book: Abigail was both a great narrator of the story and the perfect character to be in this position. The writing style was suitably fitting for the genre and though it did feel like it slowed down in some places, that too felt like good pacing. As well as the prose in general, there were many pieces of dialogue that I loved too.As for the cast… I felt so much love for the main and supporting characters: Abigail and Jenny from their first introductions, and Jackaby more and more as the story progressed. As well as being a great viewpoint character to introduce the supernatural elements to the reader though, Abigail’s personality and disposition made her such an enjoyable character and made for a promising dynamic with the mysterious and distant (but kind-hearted) Jackaby.Though I felt most invested in the wonderful prose and dynamic characters, the mystery had so many layers to it and was very satisfying too. I can’t wait to see what future cases in the series are to be solved by Jackaby, Abigail and the rest of such an enchanting cast.

A fantasy novel set in Victorian times about a girl called Abigale who becomes the assistant of a detective who investigates crime of the supernatural kind.This book is basically the outcome of putting Sherlock, Doctor Who, Grim and possibly Penny Dreadful in a mixing pot. What emerges afterwards is an obscure and fairly original Victorian tale of a detective, who can see magical and mythical creatures and his assistant, who is very observant of the ordinary. The narrator of the story is a strong female character (Abigale Rook) who we know from the start seeks out adventure and doesn’t really play by the books; i.e. dressing like a boy to get a job at an archaeological dig.Ritter has a fantastic writing style that is detailed, witty and gripping.

All i can say is that i have added a new series to my beloved collection.Jackaby is a marvelous combination of Sherlock and Newt.I am looking forward to more crazy adventure with miss Abigail.

Este libro ha sido una muy grata sorpresa, muy divertido y con unos personajes principales interesantes, bien desarrollados y con muy buena química.La protagonista Abigail Rook, es una chica independiente, que no teme a ensuciarse o salir de su área segura con tal de vivir una aventura, tal vez al principio podrá parecer que el personaje tiene mucho de Mary-Sue, pero conforme el libro avanza, fue agradable ver que tiene sus fallas y sus miedos, y que esto es precisamente lo que la hace la perfecta asistente de R.F. Jackaby.El otro protagonista de nuestra historia definitivamente ha entrado a la lista de mis personajes favoritos, un investigador muy inteligente pero con ninguna habilidad social, ve el mundo de una forma distinta, con auras y seres fantásticos pero suele pasar los detalles mas insignificantes (y comunes) por alto. Una de las cosas que más me agrado fue el hecho de que Jackaby sea la fuente de mucho del humor que tiene el libro, ya sea voluntaria o involuntariamente; a pesar de establecer que el mundo suele estar equivocado y que no le importa mucho lo que la gente piense de él, resulta interesante verlo en situaciones donde trata de ser un poco más "normal" al interactuar con la gente (en especial con Abigail)... y falla épicamente.En cuanto al caso (después de todo es un libro de misterio), si bien, el desarrollo es interesante y con asesinatos sangrientos (que hace que el libro tenga un balance muy bueno entre lo divertido y lo horripilante), la verdad resulta un tanto sencillo y fácil deducir la identidad del asesino, así como otros detalles de la trama. Para mi, lo que más me agrado fue precisamente el balance de la trama, y la química de los personajes, en especial Jackaby y Abigail, aunque sea bastante obvio que no pasen a ser más que amigos, debido al hecho de que Abigail parece estar más interesada en el joven policía Charlie Cane.Me gustó mucho este libro, Jackaby tiene muchas de las características de dos de mis personajes favoritos: Sherlock Holmes (en especial de la versión BBC) y El Doctor. Otra cosa que me gustó, fue el hecho de que precisamente el libro me recordó a aquella época de Doctor Who bajo el mando de Russell T. Davies, donde no necesitábamos de una gran trama complicada y oscura para disfrutarlos, donde podíamos disfrutar un episodio simplemente por las interacciones de los protagonistas.