William Ritter (1)

I read the first book in the series back when it was first released. I loved it but never got around to finishing the series. That is, until I had finally caught up on review copies for February and found myself looking for something new to read. There are so many books I could have chosen during this time – other series I have been meaning to finish, books that have been languishing on my shelves for over a decade. Yet, the Jackaby series is exactly what I needed at that point in time.

The show more series never takes itself too seriously. It is as raucous and bizarre as the synopsis indicates. At the same time, it is very much a story with heart. Jackaby is more than the odd detective with rare skills. He has a hidden soft side that you don’t really understand until the end of the second novel. Abigail has spunk, which is something you realize almost immediately but which never fails to impress throughout the series. Even better, every once in a while there would be a sentence so in keeping with some of the brouhaha in today’s society that I had to stop and marvel at its perfection. I found myself looking forward to these gems even as they continued to surprise me when I finally ran across one.

I went into reading these novels expecting silly fun with great characters and a good mystery. What I got out of them was so much more than that. They are reminders to love and accept one another in spite of or maybe even because of our differences. They are reminders to keep your mind and your heart open and to never fail to help someone in need. They are affirmations that we are more than the boundaries set by others and that we all deserve the chance to grow and shine. While still quirky and highly entertaining, they are also inspiring. Honestly, you cannot get much better than that. show less

The second Jackaby book has proved to be as charming as the first, if even more verbally anachronistic. Never mind all that. As The Housemate quite rightly pointed out, "It's an alternate universe!" Nowhere in ours do we find cranky toads that spew sulphurous smoke from their eyes, and at no point did Darwin decide to keep secret creatures that morph into the animals they prey on. Or as Abigail Rook herself puts it, "Working as his (Jackaby's) assistant tends to call for a somewhat flexible show more relationship with reality."

In this volume the two leave New Fiddleham to investigate the theft of a fossil and the murder of the wife of the man who discovered it. They join officer Charlie Cane, who has changed his name to Charlie Barker (If you haven't read the first book, you won't understand why this made me hiccup with laughter.) after leaving New Fiddleham under a cloud of suspicion. Abigail is sweet on Charlie, Charlie is sweet on Abigail, everyone thinks they should just get on with it, including Jackaby who is notoriously obtuse about such things. But before they can, events surrounding the fossil discovery heat up. You have a lot of people telling a lot of lies, dueling paleontologists, an intrepid female reporter who also thinks Abigail should put the moves on Charlie, and a whole lot of cryptozoology going down. In short, it's a Jackaby novel.

These stories are like potato chips. I could read one after another and still want more. They're decently written, funny, fast-paced, but they're not just mind candy. There are decent mysteries at the heart of each one. However, in spite of Jackaby being the eponymous hero, these are actually Abigail's stories. She's a true partner to Jackaby, the emotional heart of each book, and in this one in particular, her expertise drives a good bit of the plot.

I've heard a sad rumor that Jackaby #4, The Dire King, is the final book of the series, and I hope that's not the case. The world Ritter has created is such fun, and filled with so many possibilities that I'm sure he could produce many more adventures. Still, never say never, right? I'll keep hoping he changes his mind. Until then, I have two more to read, and you, dear reader, have a delightful mystery series with which to become acquainted. show less

Book one in a terrific YA series that combines a Victorian sensibility and setting to a New England town rife with mysterious deaths, supernatural creatures and other unexplained mayhem. Luckily, paranormal private investigator R. F. Jackaby and his pragmatic new assistant, Miss Abigail Rook, are there to set things right. However, as Miss Rook so deftly observes, Mr. Jackaby is every bit as confounding as the mysteries they are trying to solve. His house, for instance, will have readers in show more awe. There's the former homeowner who cheerfully haunts the residence, the former assistant who's now a duck, and the grassy knoll, complete with pond, that resides in the attic. With gems like these being dropped into the storyline, the mysterious murders are almost secondary.

Recommend this series to readers who are drawn to character-driven plot lines and verbal sparring. Much comparison has been made to a supernatural Sherlock Holmes, but I see a lot of stylistic similarities to Jonathan Stroud's Lockwood and Co. books and would definitely recommend both series to the same reader. Like the Lockwood books, Jackaby's characters reveal more of themselves and their history as the series progresses, and the supernatural elements eventually build toward a larger conspiracy. No romance between the two leads, who learn to respect each other's talents. An historical, supernatural mystery with comic elements, endearing characters, and good pacing, Jackaby just gets better with each book. JF show less

I read the first book in the series back when it was first released. I loved it but never got around to finishing the series. That is, until I had finally caught up on review copies for February and found myself looking for something new to read. There are so many books I could have chosen during this time – other series I have been meaning to finish, books that have been languishing on my shelves for over a decade. Yet, the Jackaby series is exactly what I needed at that point in time.

The show more series never takes itself too seriously. It is as raucous and bizarre as the synopsis indicates. At the same time, it is very much a story with heart. Jackaby is more than the odd detective with rare skills. He has a hidden soft side that you don’t really understand until the end of the second novel. Abigail has spunk, which is something you realize almost immediately but which never fails to impress throughout the series. Even better, every once in a while there would be a sentence so in keeping with some of the brouhaha in today’s society that I had to stop and marvel at its perfection. I found myself looking forward to these gems even as they continued to surprise me when I finally ran across one.

I went into reading these novels expecting silly fun with great characters and a good mystery. What I got out of them was so much more than that. They are reminders to love and accept one another in spite of or maybe even because of our differences. They are reminders to keep your mind and your heart open and to never fail to help someone in need. They are affirmations that we are more than the boundaries set by others and that we all deserve the chance to grow and shine. While still quirky and highly entertaining, they are also inspiring. Honestly, you cannot get much better than that. show less