Publisher: Algonquin
Page Count: 299

Something very simple drew me towards this book – the cover! I swear, this entire series is so freaking beautiful and I love the colors, the person in profile with another one in movement. It’s a reoccurring theme for all the books and I cannot wait to have them all on my shelf (and yes, book two is already waiting to be devoured next). But aside from its beauty, Jackaby is a mix of Elementary, Doctor Who and Teen Wolf set in the 19th century and I couldn’t be here more for it.

Jackaby was a fun book to read. I am not the biggest fan of detective stories usually, because for some reason I find most of them too predictable, but I didn’t mind it too much here. I saw this book more as a way of getting to know the characters and setting the scene and parameters than an intriguing and unsolvable case study. Jackaby seems like Eleven (from Doctor Who not Stranger Things) meets Sherlock with his funny, child-like quirks yet his complete misunderstanding of basic human interactions sometimes. At the same time Abigail Rook makes for a formidable and independent Watson-like associate. I loved that she didn’t buy into the stigma of how women were supposed to be at the time and the way she knew how to use that knowledge to her advantage. The two immediately clicked as a team and offered some hilarious conversations. My heart was captured by the one and only Detective Charlie Cane though. I think I may have found my latest literary crush and hope he will continue to be a fixture in books to come as well.

“Monsters are easy, Miss Rook. They’re monsters. But a monster in a suit? That’s basically just a wicked man, and a wicked man is a more dangerous thing by far.”

Again, the actual case wasn’t all too interesting for me. I was far more intrigued by the variety of supernatural creatures that were introduced, opening up a whole universe of possibilities for future stories. My inner know-it-all rejoiced whenever I guessed the type of supernatural being correctly and was equally amazed when I heard about something I didn’t know much or anything about before.

Overall, I really liked the book and am looking forward to what the future holds for Jackaby and Rook and all the other characters! I can’t wait to see where some relationships will be taken in the upcoming installments and am sure that there is far more supernatural stuff to discover.

Fazit: 4/5 stars! A fun, if a little bit predictable, read.

Have you read Jackaby? Do you think it would be an interesting story for you? Let’s talk!