Heiress and amateur detective Felicity Carrol makes a perilous journey to apprehend a notorious murderer who has terrorized England–and now continues his vicious killing spree across the pond.Felicity Carrol would rather be doing just about anything other than attending balls or seeking a husband. What she really wants to do is continue her work using the latest forensic methods and her … her photographic memory to help London police bring murderers to justice, so when her friend, Scotland Yard Inspector Jackson Davies, weak from injury, discovers a murder in a wild mining town in Montana that echoes the terrible crimes in England, Felicity decides to go herself.
In Placer, Montana, her first obstacle is handsome lawman Thomas Pike, who uses his intuition as much as his Colt in keeping law and order in this unruly town. When the murderer strikes again, Felicity begins to suspect Davies is correct: Jack the Ripper has come to America. Felicity sets out to find the killer in a town chock full of secrets, shadows, and suspects, but as the body count rises, this intrepid sleuth faces her most dangerous adversary yet–and discovers that not all killers are as they seem.
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Oh Felicity what spunk you have! Her passion for justice and ‘solving the unsolvable’ is where she finds fulfillment and instead of following the status quo of young ladies in Victorian society she forges her own path. A wealthy heiress, rather then try to attract a husband, chooses to use her financial resources help those in need and fight for justice – this sets her apart from the crowd. From the get go I loved her strength, tenacity and intelligence. When this murder mystery leaves the shores of England for a wild mining town in Montana and bodies begin to pile up – Felicity is on the case. Is there a possibility that Jack the Ripper has made his way to America? This page turner will keep you guessing and looking forward to the next adventure.
A big thank you to Crooked Lane Books for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
#NetGalley #FelicityCarrolAndTheMurderousMenace #Goodreads
** This review can also be found on NetGalley, Goodreads and Amazon
In her second outing, a very wealthy Felicity Carrol continues giving Scotland Yard assistance in solving crimes that have stumped their detectives. When a madman begins his killing spree, Felicity wants in on the action even if it means traveling to the wilds of Montana.
This is a well-written book with an interesting strong woman as its main character. The plot of the book is multi-faceted and may have the reader turning pages into the late hours of the night. Marcantonio also gives us an interesting take on who Jack the Ripper might have been.
The reader of this book must suspend belief. For instance, at the drop of a hat, Felicity moves to Montana with her maid to find the madman whose killing spree started in London and moved to Montana. The reader must also look the other way when the Montana sheriff allows her to get involved in the solving of said crime. Then there is the problem with a supposedly very intelligent woman dashing alone into danger without a concern for her own safety much less those close to her (taking your maid with is hardly taking precautions). And don’t get me started on the timeline that the author glosses over.
Assuming you can suspend belief for the duration of the book, this is a good, fast read. If you haven’t read the first book in the series, don’t worry because the author has done a fine job of giving you enough information about Felicity and the secondary characters that you are not left guessing who these people are and what their relationship is to each other.
My thanks to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for an eARC.
serial-killer, suspense, women-sleuths, law-enforcement, England, Montana, murder-investigation
What an intriguing twist on the old cold case!
Scientifically inclined and having a medical degree, heiress Felicity Carrol had been assisting Scotland Yard Inspector Jackson Davies with the dead end case of the WhiteChapel murders. He became so obsessed with finding the killer that his health gave out just when he acquired an interesting newspaper article from America indicating a murder in Montana with a nearly identical MO.
A tad obsessed herself, Felicity sees to it that her friend has the best medical care, packs what’s needed, takes her friend and companion with her and heads off to Montana. There she meets with the sheriff and seems to be just in time for the next murder! She drives him nuts on several levels with her scientific equipment and ideas but less regard for legality of proof. Then there are more murders and public fear. Great characters and world building, descriptions are a mite graphic in some instances, and a few of the experiments are quite fictional, but so is the novel. I loved it!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley. Thank you!
Felicity Carrol and the Murderous Menace is the second book in the Felicity Carrol Mystery series.
Felicity has worked with Inspector Davies in the past and is surprised that she hasn’t heard from in a while. When she gets a message from his mother asking her to come immediately to there flat. She finds Davies seriously ill, having spent excessive hours in pursuit of Jack the Ripper. As she is about to leave, Davies hands Felicity an article from the New York Times, that a colleague had given him, describing deaths much like those attributed to Jack The Ripper. These new deaths are in the small mining town of Placer, Montana. She wishes that she and Davies could go there to pursue the killer, but she knows that Davies is in no condition to make the trip.
Instead, Felicity and her former nanny, Helen are heading for the wild west of Placer, Montana. Upon arriving in Placer, one of the first persons she meets is Sheriff Pike. Felicity has chosen as her cover-story, that she is a writer and is there to gather information on the deaths for her book. Shortly after arriving another prostitute is killed and she can convince Pike to let her view the crime-scene and inspect the body. With her medical knowledge she can convince Pike that she can be a valuable assistant to his investigations. Before long another two mutilated bodies are added to the investigation. Before long she begins to wonder if she will ever be able to find the killer.
The story is well-written and very interesting. The book contains a cast of well-developed and interesting characters. I feel that the author may have taken some liberties with time-period, but at the same time helped with the telling of the story.
I will be looking forward to the next book in this exciting historical mystery.
An interesting premise. Jack the Ripper turns up in a mining town in Montana after his murderous spree in London. Felicity Carrol, a young woman left ridiculously wealthy by her cold, remote father, is asked by her ailing friend, Inspector Davies of Scotland Yard, to investigate.
I wanted to like this more, but the writing lacked depth and was choppy. I also did not connect with any of the characters. While I did guess the killer’s identity, the story itself was just OK. This is the second in series (and I admit that I did not read the first but was still able to follow this one with no difficulty), but I don’t have any motivation to continue with it. To be honest, I’ve read better, and there’s just so far an interesting premise can take you without great writing to back it up.
Thanks to #NetGalley and #CrookedLaneBooks for providing me the ARC. The opinions are strictly my own.