Friday 12 March 2021

Book Review | Felicity Carrol and the Murderous Menace by Patricia Marcantonio

 
Publication Date: February 10th 2020 by Crooked Lane Books
Format: Netgalley ARC
Target Audience: Adult

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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 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.

Rating

My Thoughts

"No constructive rules of Victorian society here. Just a killer."
 
Another Netgalley ARC read, just another ten more to go! This was a really fun, fast-paced Victorian mystery that had a lot of good things going for it. It's the second book in the Felicity Carrol Mystery series and follows Felicity as she tracks down the elusive Jack the Ripper to Montana and begins to investigate eerily similar murders to those committed in London. 
 
I was at a slight disadvantage having not read the first book but honestly, I still managed to get by fairly well considering. There are a fair few references to the first book, events that happened with her father as well as her relationship with a Scotland Yard detective but overall I felt that this could definitely be read on it's own if you wished to do so. I will say that it's made me more inclined to go back and pick up the first book now as I'm interested to see how Felicity's journey begins. 
 
Felicity is a very gutsy, fearless but extremely caring heroine who's hunt for the killer made for an exciting and twisty murder mystery. She's a very loyal friend, choosing to travel to track down a murderer on behalf of her friend and once she'd set her mind to it, nothing could deter her. She's also pretty headstrong and independent as well, at times discarding the law and the consequences of her actions in pursuit of justice. She felt extremely modern at times with her personality which some people have mentioned took them out of the story but personally I liked how ahead of her time she was.
 
The plot was what intrigued me the most initially, a continuation of the infamous Jack the Ripper case with a female amateur detective on the trail. Marcantonio managed to create a well crafted extension of the murders and shifted the setting from Whitechapel to Montana with ease. The original case was well researched and strong links could be made between both sets of killings, I really believed that the killer was striking again in a new town. Her writing was strong with just a few instances where I felt like I was being told and not shown. 
 
Overall, I really liked the spin on the classic case and the ending was a decent suprise as the culprit was a character that I hadn't even really considered. The author did a terrific job of giving little hints but managed to make the mystery conclude in a way that felt suitable but would also shock the reader. I also liked that there were hints of romance between Felicity and another character but it never overshadowed the main plot. I had a fun time with this book and would definitely be interested in picking up future installments, Felicity is capable of solving anything thrown her way.
 
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