‘Escaping From Houdini’ once again chronicles the trials and tribulations of Audrey Rose Wadsworth and Thomas Creswell, who, after the events of ‘Hunting Prince Dracula’ arrive on board the RMS Etruria to make their journey to America. However, what initially begins as an opportunity to relax and unwind from the dreadful events at their castle in Romani soon devolves into a manhunt for a mysterious killer who is directly tied t the Moonlight Carnival, an alluring troupe of actors each with their own agendas. As the days until their arrival on American shores dwindles insidiously, Audrey and Thomas desperately struggle to uncover the culprit of the dastardly murders, all while trying to contain their growing infatuation with one another and the threat of other individuals to the bond that is evolving from one that is strictly platonic.
Anyone who has read my past reviews on ‘Hunting Prince Dracula‘ and ‘Stalking Jack the Ripper‘ will be well aware that this series is one of my favourites of all time. ‘Hunting Prince Dracula’ still remains as my favourite novel of 2020, and I simply feel that both novels were perfectly composed of a satisfying blend of horror, humour and heart. But, if I’m being perfectly honest, this third installment in the series is simply far too derivative of the original two novels, and offers little more than a distraction rather than an engrossing read.I was actually very eager to begin this novel, as I frequently have been interested in novels that center around carnivals and circuses (read ‘Freeks’ by Amanda Hocking or ‘The Carnivorous Carnival’ by Lemony Snicket) but the novel fell flat also found that the eponymous character, Harry Houdini, was thoroughly dislikeable, and the way he seemed to continuously prey on Audrey only added to my sense of distaste. The only redeeming feature for the novel was Maniscalco’s undeniable wit and verbose talent when constructing written language, something which I hope that this series never loses.i also found that the revelation at the end of this novel about the killer’s true identity was in no way surprising, nor was it captivating, and if a reader fails to have this moment when the culprit is finally discovered in a mystery novel, I can safely say that an author has failed in their writing to create the atmosphere needed for a good whodunnit. I never thought that I would be able to critique a Kerri Maniscalco novel so blatantly, but this novel really disappointed me, and made me cautious about the next novel in the series, which I will pick up soon with hopes that it will whet my appetite better than this entry in the series.
Eliza Henry Jones’ P is for Pearl is a sweet piece of summer escapism. Set in a quiet beach town in Tasmania, complete with romance and hints of mystery, it’s an easy way to pass the time over the summer holidays, sitting out in the sun with a drink in hand. The reader is dropped [...]
Hunting Prince Dracula is a wonderfully haunting and cleverly crafted mystery novel from Kerri Maniscalco, author of Stalking Jack the Ripper. The novel, which involves the same characters from the aforementioned story, instead follows Audrey Rose Wadsworth and her close companion Thomas Creswell as they travel to Romania to enrol in a forensics course held …
A Map of Days continues Ransom Rigg’s macabre and masterful Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children book series, with the aforementioned novel being the fourth in the series. The novel follows our protagonist Jacob once again, who is sent on a murderous road trip in order to complete his late grandfather’s work and rescue a …
Released to the public on September 3rd of 2018, Violet Grace’s novel The Girl Who Fell tells the tale of Francesca ‘Chess’ Raven, an adolescent girl living with a woman named Gladys after the death of her parents. Chess Raven is a hacker, and becomes swept away in a grand and interesting adventure after the …
Stalking Jack the Ripper is a gripping, fast-paced novel written by first-time author Kerri Maniscalco. The novel follows Audrey Rose Wadsworth, a young woman apprenticing with her Uncle in a mortuary deep within the alleyways and public houses in 1800s London. Wadsworth is soon caught up in a dangerous set of mass murderers as a …
The Wishing Spell follows twin siblings Alex and Conner Bailey, who grew up with fairy tales read to them by their grandmother. But when Alex and Conner are magically transported inside their grandmother’s fairy tale treasury, they will be thrust into a world where all their fairy tale characters are extremely real. The two will …
Book Review – Escaping Houdini by Kerri Maniscalco
Anyone who has read my past reviews on ‘Hunting Prince Dracula‘ and ‘Stalking Jack the Ripper‘ will be well aware that this series is one of my favourites of all time. ‘Hunting Prince Dracula’ still remains as my favourite novel of 2020, and I simply feel that both novels were perfectly composed of a satisfying blend of horror, humour and heart. But, if I’m being perfectly honest, this third installment in the series is simply far too derivative of the original two novels, and offers little more than a distraction rather than an engrossing read.I was actually very eager to begin this novel, as I frequently have been interested in novels that center around carnivals and circuses (read ‘Freeks’ by Amanda Hocking or ‘The Carnivorous Carnival’ by Lemony Snicket) but the novel fell flat also found that the eponymous character, Harry Houdini, was thoroughly dislikeable, and the way he seemed to continuously prey on Audrey only added to my sense of distaste. The only redeeming feature for the novel was Maniscalco’s undeniable wit and verbose talent when constructing written language, something which I hope that this series never loses.i also found that the revelation at the end of this novel about the killer’s true identity was in no way surprising, nor was it captivating, and if a reader fails to have this moment when the culprit is finally discovered in a mystery novel, I can safely say that an author has failed in their writing to create the atmosphere needed for a good whodunnit. I never thought that I would be able to critique a Kerri Maniscalco novel so blatantly, but this novel really disappointed me, and made me cautious about the next novel in the series, which I will pick up soon with hopes that it will whet my appetite better than this entry in the series.
RATINGS:
Writing: 10/10
Characters: 7/10
Plot: 4/10
OVERALL RATING: 6/10
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Book Review – Hunting Prince Dracula by Kerri Maniscalco
Hunting Prince Dracula is a wonderfully haunting and cleverly crafted mystery novel from Kerri Maniscalco, author of Stalking Jack the Ripper. The novel, which involves the same characters from the aforementioned story, instead follows Audrey Rose Wadsworth and her close companion Thomas Creswell as they travel to Romania to enrol in a forensics course held …
Book Review – A Map of Days by Ransom Riggs
A Map of Days continues Ransom Rigg’s macabre and masterful Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children book series, with the aforementioned novel being the fourth in the series. The novel follows our protagonist Jacob once again, who is sent on a murderous road trip in order to complete his late grandfather’s work and rescue a …
Book Review – The Girl Who Fell by Violet Grace
Released to the public on September 3rd of 2018, Violet Grace’s novel The Girl Who Fell tells the tale of Francesca ‘Chess’ Raven, an adolescent girl living with a woman named Gladys after the death of her parents. Chess Raven is a hacker, and becomes swept away in a grand and interesting adventure after the …
Book Review – Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerry Maniscalco
Stalking Jack the Ripper is a gripping, fast-paced novel written by first-time author Kerri Maniscalco. The novel follows Audrey Rose Wadsworth, a young woman apprenticing with her Uncle in a mortuary deep within the alleyways and public houses in 1800s London. Wadsworth is soon caught up in a dangerous set of mass murderers as a …
Book Review – The Wishing Spell by Chris Colfer
The Wishing Spell follows twin siblings Alex and Conner Bailey, who grew up with fairy tales read to them by their grandmother. But when Alex and Conner are magically transported inside their grandmother’s fairy tale treasury, they will be thrust into a world where all their fairy tale characters are extremely real. The two will …