Squishy Minnie Bookstore Squishy Minnie Bookstore
  • Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • Book Clubs
  • Events
  • Storytime
  • Newsletter
  • Contact
  • Shop

Book Review – Hunting Prince Dracula by Kerri Maniscalco

By Fergus on 24/07/2020

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 in a magnificent Romanian castle. The castle and its surrounding areas are rich and alive with a history of scandal, murder and blood, and Audrey and Thomas amuse themselves in the castle’s grand library, its quaint small town and the lessons on postmortems taught by a plethora of esteemed academics. However, the adventure ultimately results in rising levels of paranoia and intrigue as members of the class and the local village end up being discovered dead–dead in the most unusual of circumstances. This then leads Thomas and Audrey on a quest to unearth the truths about the castle, about Thomas’s lineage, and a conspiracy from long-forgotten orders which aim to reclaim and rule the castle, ridding it of the academic school.

I will preface this review by saying that I have very little negative input for this novel as a whole. Having read Stalking Jack the Ripper quite some time ago, I did enjoy the novel as a whole (and have also written a review of it for the site), but Hunting Prince Dracula breaks the sophomore curse like no other book ever has. This novel was the perfect blend of everything an avid horror reader could ever ask for–a strong, witty and intelligent protagonist, a lovable and loyal sidekick, spectacular pacing and descriptions, and a plot twist that I never would have been able to predict. Maniscalco has a spectacular ability to write a first-person character, using eloquent language and structure and tapping into a period of time that readers may otherwise never have gotten a chance to inspect and analyse. The setting of the novel is as haunting as could be–an ancient castle steeped in history, with winding secret tunnels and trapdoors, murderous legends of dangerous animals, and a solid collection of believable and respectable characters, from the teachers at the academy to the servants and guards.

This novel moved me in a way that only a small subset of books ever have–the action scenes had me hanging on the edge of my seat, and though it took me some time to read it–due to school and work commitments–I was actively excited every time I had a chance to delve into its pages. Audrey Rose is a thoroughly likeable protagonist–she is not vain or selfish, she has pursuits of excellence, and she can always think for herself and continues to challenge the ideas of the male students around her by being thoughtful, well-spoken and elegant both inside and out. This book would be relatively bare without her and Thomas’s humorous, but ultimately loving, relationship. I cannot count how many times this pair of individuals made me chuckle with their dialogue, especially in a time when the plot or themes may seem to be too heavy. This novel is full of beautiful and alluring characters, but the beautiful soul that Thomas Creswell embodies never fails to capture my eye and make me smile.

This novel is already my favourite read of 2020, a feat which I never like to impose upon a novel too quickly. The elegant weaving together of the plot, pacing and character development is as seamless as could be, leaving me equally horrified and mesmerised. I cannot wait to dive into ‘Escaping From Houdini’ to explore the next escapade of Audrey Rose and Thomas.

RATINGS:
Plot: 10/10
Writing: 10/10
Characters: 10/10

OVERALL RATING: 10/10

NOTE – Though Hunting Prince Dracula involves the same characters as Stalking Jack the Ripper, it can easily be read as a standalone novel.

book review
Posted in Book Review.
Share

Categories

  • Book of the Week (0)
  • Book Review (54)
  • Books (5)
  • Culture (1)
  • In Store Events (12)
  • Inspiration (0)
  • Instagram (13)
  • Products (0)
  • Racism (0)

Archives

  • October 2020 (1)
  • September 2020 (2)
  • July 2020 (10)
  • June 2020 (1)
  • May 2020 (1)
  • March 2020 (1)
  • February 2020 (6)
  • August 2019 (8)
  • July 2019 (1)
  • March 2019 (6)
  • January 2019 (2)
  • November 2018 (5)
  • August 2018 (2)
  • July 2018 (1)
  • June 2018 (1)
  • May 2018 (1)
  • April 2018 (2)
  • February 2018 (4)
  • November 2017 (15)
  • October 2017 (1)
  • September 2017 (1)
  • August 2017 (2)
  • July 2017 (1)
  • June 2017 (1)
  • May 2017 (1)
  • April 2017 (4)
  • February 2017 (4)
PreviousBook Review – The Conference of the Birds by Ransom Riggs
NextBook Review – Initiate (Palace of Fires #1) by Bill Bennett

Related Posts

  • 31/08/2017

    Take Three Girls – by Cath Crowley, Simmone Howell & Fiona Wood

    Take Three Girls is the collaborative effort of YA writers Cath Crowley, Fiona Wood and Simone Howell. It follows the lives of three boarding school girls as they find themselves under attack from a cyber bullying presence and form an unlikely friendship. `The novel covers all the intricacies of female friendships in a way that [...]
  • 24/07/2020

    Book Review – Angel Mage by Garth Nix

    Angel Mage–written by Australian high fantasy laureate Garth Nix–introduces readers to the city of Ystara, a land in which angels, demons, musketeers and magicians all live among one another. Throughout the land, skilled individuals enchant and produce icons, which have the power to summon specific angels to aid with daily tasks and civil battles with …

  • 24/07/2020

    Book Review – The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee

    The trials and tribulations of an English upper class noble are thrown into increasingly dangerous–but equally hilarious–lengths in American author Mackenzi Lee’s novel ‘The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue’. The story centres around Lord Henry Montague as his affluent father sends him away on a Grand Tour throughout Europe with his sister and close …

  • 25/02/2020

    Book Review – 1984 by George Orwell

    In 1984, one of modern literature’s most celebrated works, readers are introduced to Winston Smith, who lives in a dystopian society in which everything–from actions, movements, careers, and, even in some cases, thoughts–are monitored and recorded tirelessly. In this society, all individuals are governed by organisations who mandate conformity and allegiance, and who will cause …

  • 25/02/2020

    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 …

  • 16/08/2019

    Book Review – Dragonkeeper by Carole Wilkinson

    Dragonkeeper is the first in an enchanting book series created by Carole Wilkinson. The first novel follows Ping, a slave to a ruthless master who begins a strong friendship with a captive dragon. Together, the two of them are able to escape the master and journey to Ocean, a distant land far from the ancient …

  • Terms & Conditions
  • © 2022 All content copyright Booruwa Creative Industries, ABN 44616524120
  • Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • Book Clubs
  • Events
  • Storytime
  • Newsletter
  • Contact
  • Shop