When this book wasn't busy leading me around a spooky paranormal mystery, it was instead busy making me laugh. Like a Benedict Cumberbatch kind of crush that you kind of have to watch Sherlock to understand. But damn if I don't have a giant crush on him. He's entirely odd, presented as lanky with unruly hair, never portrayed as a potential love interest. Oh wow, how could I not love him? Jackaby is a clever, astute and eccentric detective of the paranormal. '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.'Įnter Mr Jackaby. The story begins where a failed attempt to do her own thing against her parents wishes leaves her too ashamed to return home, so she instead jumps aboard a ship bound for New England and unwittingly triggers an adventure she never bargained for. She is that likable balance somewhere between totally badass and endearingly klutzy. The protagonist and narrator - Abigail Rook - is a delightful heroine who is both a 'strong woman' and a multilayered and extremely lovable individual, brimming with personality. And most of all: it is just so damn charming. It has all the atmosphere of a creepy Victorian mystery, all the humourous banter of BBC Sherlock it has complex characters and wonderful writing. This book is so many things and all of them are good. I said in a status update that this book is basically BBC Sherlock with a paranormal twist and now, having finished the book, I stand by that description entirely.

Jackaby’s voice was softer still: “Death.” “What is it?” My question came as a whisper, my eyes straining to see the invisible. Genre-defying historical paranormal mystery with a touch of humour, anyone?

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.ĭoctor Who meets Sherlock in William Ritter’s debut novel, which features a detective of the paranormal as seen through the eyes of his adventurous and intelligent assistant in a tale brimming with cheeky humor and a dose of the macabre. On her first day, Abigail finds herself in the midst of a thrilling case: A serial killer is on the loose. Abigail has a gift for noticing ordinary but important details, which makes her perfect for the position of Jackaby’s assistant. Jackaby, an investigator of the unexplained with a keen eye for the extraordinary-including the ability to see supernatural beings. Newly arrived in New Fiddleham, New England, 1892, and in need of a job, Abigail Rook meets R. 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.” “I have a gift that allows me to see truth where others see the illusion-and there are many illusions. “Miss Rook, I am not an occultist,” Jackaby said.

Jackaby by William Ritter