Jackaby by William Ritter

“Miss Rook, I am not an occultist,” Jackaby said. “I have a gift that allows me to see truth where others see the illusion--and there are many illusions. All the world’s a stage, as they say, and I seem to have the only seat in the house with a view behind the curtain.”

Newly arrived in New Fiddleham, New England, 1892, and in need of a job, Abigail Rook meets R. F. Jackaby, an investigator of the unexplained with a keen eye for the extraordinary--including the ability to see supernatural beings. Abigail has a gift for noticing ordinary but important details, which makes her perfect for the position of Jackaby’s assistant. On her first day, Abigail finds herself in the midst of a thrilling case: A serial killer is on the loose. The police are convinced it’s an ordinary villain, but Jackaby is certain it’s a nonhuman creature, whose existence the police--with the exception of a handsome young detective named Charlie Cane--deny.

High 3.5 Stars

“Hatun sees a different world than you or I, a far more frightening one, full of far more terrible dangers, and still she chooses to be the hero whom that world needs. She has saved this town and its people from countless monsters countless times. That the battles are usually in her head does not lessen the bravery of it. The hardest battles always are.”

This was the 2nd book that I finished for the #ProjectTBR Read-a-Thon. Not very many people talk about this book, but it is said to be a mix of Sherlock and Doctor Who. That plus the gorgeous cover had me interested. This book follows Abigail Rook as she comes to America and searches for a new job. She sees an ad for an assistant to a detective. This detective is Jacakaby and he is not your typical detective. He focuses on crimes of the paranormal world. This book is supposed to take place in 1892 in New Fiddleham (basically a New England town).

The setting of this book was the main flaw for me. The style of dialogue and how Abigail thought did not fit in with the time period, in my opinion. While this is not a huge thing, for me it really hurt the book. And this is not to say the book was not enjoyable, the opposite really. I just think this book would have been even better had the time period matched the writing.

I absolutely loved Jackaby as a character. He reminded me very much of BBC's Sherlock and I loved it. There were so many lines of his that were so ridiculous, but so well done at the same time (I really struggled with coming up with just one quote for this review, so there will be two more at the end of the review). Jackaby's character is paired with Abigail who was a fantastically written character. She was a very strong independent character who was on her own and looking for adventure. She found this adventure with Jackaby. I really enjoyed the progression of the their relationship throughout the book.

The only other “issue” I had with this book, and I use the word issue lightly, is the lack of mystery regarding the murder and Jackaby and Abigail solving work to solve it. Jackaby is a detective and Abigail and him are working to solve a string of murders. However, this did not feel like a mystery book to me. I was not on the edge of my seat reading to find out who the killer was. For me, I was more focused on our characters and learning more about them.

The last thing I want to mention is my appreciation of the lack of romance. There was the suggestion of something between Charlie and Abigail, but it was not at all a major part of the book. I appreciated that we could have the friendship between Abigail and Jackaby without romantic feelings.

For me, this book was all about the characters. I loved them. While the story and the plot was not my favorite, it was the characters that really made me love this book. Charlie and Jenny were two side characters that I really enjoyed and I hope in future books we get to see more of them. And the writing of these characters was great. This book also did not have a chapter 13 which I thought was phenomenal. I loved the line about Jackaby not wanting the contents of chapter 13 to be included. And the end letter that Jackaby wrote to the police was also great.

I don't remember why this book was recommended to me, but it's been languishing in my library stack for at least a couple of months now. I finally got around to reading it - and it's delightful! There are three more books and a novella in this series, and the author has apparently started another fantasy series.

Jackaby is told from the viewpoint of Abigail Rook, an English miss who ran away from home in search of adventure. The book opens on her arrival in America, by way of the Ukraine and Germany. The only work she can find in this new town is as an assistant to Jackaby, a distinctly odd character who claims to see things no one else can. Abigail, however, begins to believe him, and accompanies him to a murder scene, where she spots mundane details that he had overlooked. With Jackaby spotting supernatural things that no one else can, and Abigail taking note of more mundane details that Jackaby misses, the two make a formidable team.

Jackaby, of course, has that infuriating habit of not telling Abigail all the things he knows, which leads to her not mentioning useful details because she didn't know they were useful. I'm hopeful, now that she's earned his trust, that in future books they will communicate better and work together more seamlessly.

The worldbuilding here seems to take “America as a melting pot” into the supernatural world as well, with creatures from various cultures migrating with their humans to America. Jackaby has a rather improbable knowledge of this huge variety of creatures, as well as a library to look up more obscure facts that aren't already in his labyrinth of a mind.

I liked that Abigail wasn't portrayed as stupid; she's a bit ignorant of the supernatural world, but she didn't know it existed until Jackaby, and she's learning quickly. She also can't see it like he can, so she of course misses some things that he thinks are obvious. He could be a little better about remembering that not everyone can see the supernatural, though.

The cover mentions that it's Dr. Who meets Sherlock, and that's a very apt description. Jackaby is VERY Dr. Who like, with the bustling energy and quick mind that comes off as arrogant but is more...oblivious, really. Abigail fills the companion role, along with a certain policeman that I'm hoping shows up in the following books as well. I will have to track those down and find out!

You can find all my reviews at Goddess in the Stacks.

This is the first book I've started since July that I actually finished. Life is a little crazy and I've been very distracted but this book held my attention. It was engaging, funny, a little creepy, and I enjoyed the characters very much.