This is in fact a good thing as Jackaby stands on his own, someone who is more perceptive to human emotions (as when he gives Abigail some love advice) and less deliberately off-putting (Jackaby truly does have allies: “I’m a likable man…lots of people are friends with me,” an observation that’s true from what the reader can see). Whatever the comparisons may be between Benedict Cumberbatch’s Holmes and Ritter’s Jackaby, they are more dissimilar than similar. Ritter seems more assured here having found Jackaby’s groove.

She is a quintessential everywoman standing as a foil to the quirky and idiosyncratic Jackaby. Rook is eager to please her employer yet modest and humble with her success.

Rowling’s beloved groundskeeper, Hagrid), Jenny the house ghost, and even Douglas the duck. Jackaby and Rook’s knowledge of paleontology, anatomy, zoology, and cryptozoology are called upon as they try to find out what deadly beast is stalking the countryside-and who is really responsible for orchestrating a series of crimes that reach deadly heights…perhaps the mysterious, deathly-pale man Abigail keeps seeing?Īnalysis: Ritter finds a strong protagonist in Abigail Rook and genuinely likable supporting characters in Jackaby, Cane, Hudson the sportsman (clearly calling upon J. The woman who was murdered died near a site of a paleontological dig where dinosaur bones are being uncovered-and stolen. Jackaby and Rook go there to join up with a former member of the police force, Charlie Cane (a werewolf love interest of Abigail’s), who has recently been exiled to Gad’s Valley. Later, the duo learn from assistant police commissioner Marlowe that this woman has been found dead with an unusual puncture mark on her neck similar to one found on a woman who has just died in the nearby village of Gad’s Valley in the countryside. When the novel opens, Rook and Jackaby are called to the scene of a lady who has purchased shapeshifting cats. Abigail acts as Jackaby’s assistant, helping with paperwork and, increasingly, the investigative and deductive process. Plot Summary: The year is 1892, and the place is the New England city of New Fiddleham. Abigail Rook, a young British woman, has been living with her employer, the eccentric R. Beastly Bones (Jackaby #2) by William Ritter In Short: Beastly Bones, Ritter’s follow-up to 2014’s Jackaby is a lively, action-packed, and entertaining mystery-paranormal novel that will find many fans of all ages who love Sherlock, Doctor Who, Supernatural, and Harry Potter. This did not in any way affect my review.) (First thank you to the publisher, Algonquin, for providing me with an advanced review copy.

William ritter jackaby series