Beastly Bones

Many sequels, more specifically second books in series, can have what is called a sophomore slump, where the second book is a let down after the first. I was a little bit concerned about Beastly Bones being a victim of this, but luckily I did not have to worry. This book was full of just as much quirkiness and strangeness as Jackaby. This book picks up right where Jackaby left off, following Abigail and Jackaby on their adventures in New Fiddleham inquiring after paranormal cases. We still get Abigail's witty narrative and information throughout the story.

In this book, we are introduced to even more charming and quirky characters, such as Nellie and Hank, and I loved getting to meet each on of them as Jackaby and Abigail worked to figure out what was going on at the dig site. But what really stood out to me in this book is the introduction of what I assume is the “main” villain. He/She I assume is the the Moriarty of the series. I definitely am eagerly anticipating the next book to find out more about this character and what they are up to. There was so much foreshadowing to this character and how they were involved from the beginning. I really need to know more about them as we go forward .

With Jackaby, one of my main issues was feeling like it did not quite match the time period of the late 1800s. I still felt that way with this installment, however it did not bother me as much as it had in Jackaby. That is probably because this book had less character introductions and instances where we were learning more about Jackaby, Abigail, and Charlie. Instead we got to be put right in the action with only minor character introductions. This installment was definitely more fast paced and action heavy than the first.

Without giving too much away, I also just want to comment on what the “beast” turns out to be. I was not at all expecting that, but it just made so much sense and I loved it.

I received an eARC of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Yeah, I didn't like the first book in the series, but I decided to give this a chance, mostly just to see if it was a dud of a first book or I should never ever read any more of Mr. Ritter's works. Aaaand at this point I feel I will never ever read any more of his works. Yay?

In this one they found some fossils in the countryside, but the lady whose family owns the land also dies. Of course it all sounds super creepy and Abigail Rook also loves them dino bones, so they just need to go there. That is... pretty much it.

I had three huuuge issues with this that made me be unable to enjoy the ride.

1, The characters. Jesus Christ, everyone is so ridiculous, but Abigail, who tells us all in first person is the absolute winner in the category of Why Are You Alive? and it's not even funny. She is supposedly the super smart, super useful assistant of Mr. Jackaby, the one and only magic Sherlock Holmes! (Of course the Bendidick Cucumberpatch one, because he's hawwwt.) At the same time she can't be trusted with any fragile object because she is so clumsy it's a miracle she is even alive. For some reason everyone is amazed by her astonishing intellect and she is still just being carried around during the whole thing and she acts like a child.
Jackaby is quirky and that's all, Abilgail's dude is super dreamy and cute, one of the dino diggers is comically mean to the women, etc. Every character is extremely two dimensional. No depth. Never. Not even a bit.

2, We still get the little mentions of how women are not supposed to be this or that, how at this era women just need to be housewives and how Abigail is extremely special for not being a lady.
But... nothing happens to her. Nothing. She routinely spends the night with unmarried young men as an unmarried young woman without anyone around and nobody cares. Hell, she LIVES alone with Jackaby full time. She travelled to America alone. She does whatever she wants. Then where is the big deal???

3, The pacing was bad. This is a book you can read in an afternoon, 300 pages of easy stuff. New characters are still being introduced at about 60%, we are going nowhere with the story. Setting things up can take long, but not in books this damn short, that have such a simple plot and that are the second in a series, when we already know about the world. Sorry, but this is not how any of this works.

(Probably won't) see you, Mr. Ritter!

Far from suffering “second book syndrome,” BEASTLY BONES was, I thought, superior in nearly every way to its predecessor.

JACKABY was a fun book, but suffered a bit from lack of originality. It read like a mashup of “Sherlock” and “Doctor Who,” with just enough likable characters and original concepts to keep it afloat. BEASTLY BONES takes flight from where JACKABY left off, advancing the world-building and the characterization of existing characters, and introducing several fascinating new players and supernatural beasties.

Characters and events that seem unrelated all tie back together in the end, culminating in a suspenseful, explosive finale that I did not see coming. And have no fear–the lovable character from JACKABY who seemed to have been Put On A Bus at the end is present and accounted for here. This book takes place in his new home.

Unlike many second books of trilogies, BEASTLY BONES refuses to end on a maddening, scream-inducing cliffhanger. It ties up the storyline in a satisfying way, while also effectively setting up the villain and story of the third book.