A spellbinding thriller from the bestselling author of The Einstein Prophecy.A chilling curse is transported from 1880s London to present-day California, awakening a long-dormant fiend.While on routine patrol in the tinder-dry Topanga Canyon, environmental scientist Rafael Salazar expects to find animal poachers, not a dilapidated antique steamer trunk. Inside the peculiar case, he discovers a … peculiar case, he discovers a journal, written by the renowned Robert Louis Stevenson, which divulges ominous particulars about his creation of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. It also promises to reveal a terrible secret—the identity of Jack the Ripper.
Unfortunately, the journal—whose macabre tale unfolds in an alternating narrative with Rafe’s—isn’t the only relic in the trunk, and Rafe isn’t the only one to purloin a souvenir. A mysterious flask containing the last drops of the grisly potion that inspired Jekyll and Hyde and spawned London’s most infamous killer has gone missing. And it has definitely fallen into the wrong hands.
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This novel starts off slow—or at least it seems to because the cover blurb describing the plot really doesn’t do it justice. Robert Masello’s The Jekyll Revelation is really two stories in one told in altering chapters.
The first story, written in the form of Robert Louis Stevenson’s personal journal, is the fictional tale of how he came to write his classic horror novel The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and its tie to the Jack the Ripper murders.
Its companion story takes place in the present. Rafael Salazar, an environmental scientist, discovers an old trunk submerged in a California lake. Inside he finds Stevenson’s journal and other items linked to the White Chapel murders. A key artifact from the trunk is stolen, and in the wrong hands it threatens to relaunch the Ripper’s murderous rampage.
Of the two stories, Stevenson’s journal is the most compelling. Masello’s characterization of the ailing author is rich in detail. The plot takes Stevenson from the Alps to London’s literary scene (including a then-unknown writer named Bram Stoker) to Samoa, where Stevenson spent his last years.
While fiction, Masello’s plot is inspired by historic fact. The Ripper killings began at nearly the same time a theatrical treatment of Jekyll and Hyde came to London. For a while both Stevenson and the actor playing Jekyll/Hyde were considered suspects. Moreover, the journal narration nicely parallels Steveson’s own use of a journal narrative in Jekyll and Hyde.
I was very intrigued by the concept – I really enjoy Robert Louis Stevenson, and Jekyll/Hyde is one of my favorite of his stories. It started well, but devolved rather quickly into a bit of a jumble for me… I found the back-and-forth in time/storyline to be less of a connection between past/future than a confusion.
The contemporary Topanga Canyon/Rafael storyline just did not hold my interest the way the RLS one did. There was nothing wrong with Rafael as a character, I just didn’t ever feel like he connected with the other storyline – his story seemed independent and unrelated for much of the book, then suddenly – BAM! – connection… And even then it felt somewhat tenuous at best. That said, I quite enjoyed the RLS sections of the book, particularly the “back story” leading up to his creation of Jekyll/Hyde. Unfortunately, as a whole this felt like a great idea, unevenly presented, which is unfortunate…
Full review AND author interview: http://blog.jill-elizabeth.com/2016/11/19/book-review-and-interview-the-jekyll-revelation-by-robert-masello/#more-3962
lots of actual facts
If there were 1/2 stars, I would give this book a solid 3 1/2. Masello imagines a good story that revolves around Robert Louis Stevenson and family, his writing of the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and current day eco-environmentalist scientist Rafael Salazar. The book is a unique combination of historical fiction, fan fiction (for those enamored with Jack the Ripper) and horror. Two stories, past and present, are presented in this novel in alternating chapters. It was an interesting read and nice break from the more intense novels I normally peruse.
Although presented by many books sellers as literary fiction – this book certainly misses the mark. It is inventive, nicely penned, easy to read, and well attenuated – but literature it is not. I see this as fodder for a commercial movie if a screen writer and director are creative enough to weave the two stories in parallel. I will admit the book had me reading voraciously until the last part where suddenly both stories were rushed. It was as if author had to make a deadline or else ran out of steam. I felt cheated – the protagonists were well developed and their life events well detailed. Then out of nowhere, a quick and lackluster ending. I was left ‘chomping at the bit’.
However, with its creative plot and well researched history, I do recommend this book for a change of pace, a summer day, or a wintry snuggle by the fire.