Jackaby, the Fourth Novel - The Dire King

I love series books because every time I pick one up, it's like reconnecting with old friends. But the problem with some series, though, is that they come to an end.  It's always bittersweet when a series I likes comes to an end, because I hate knowing that this will be the last opportunity I will get to spend time with my "friends," but at the same time, I would much rather see a series end on a really high note than to have it continue with sub-par stories just for the sake of sales.  This is what I felt when I finally picked up the fourth, and final, Jackaby novel.  Knowing this was the conclusion of this four-book series, I have put off reading it - but at last, I finally took the plunge.

The Dire King finds Jackaby, Abigail, and all of their compatriots dealing with the after-effects of the last book.  The mythical creatures thought to be just stories have been brought to light, the townspeople are in fear, and the police are hunting down anyone suspected of being a creature and arresting them, under the guise of protecting the populace.  Jackaby's home is the only safe-haven, but there is only so much room to host everyone (despite its TARDIS-like interior that boasts a pond with vegetation in the attic).  Abigail's beloved Charlie, who is, himself, a were-creature, is on a mission of his own, so Abigail, with the assistance of Jenny the ghost, is doing everything she can to help everyone - even if that means having to feed the captured evil nixie on a daily basis.  A nixie who still claims that her father, the wannabe Dire King, is coming for her.

Author William Ritter gives readers his best work with this final novel in the Jackaby series.  The story is compelling and action-oriented from the get-go, as alliances are formed, enemy lines are drawn, and the seams between the world as we know it and the unseelie world are suddenly ripped asunder.  The dead are being brought back to life. Hatun has gone missing, possibly kidnapped. The evil nixie has disappeared. An enigmatic twain reveals how his life-partner sacrificed her own life to give life to another - and how that sacrifice has implications on the current events. Charlie's father and sister show up, demanding that he take his rightful place at the head of their clan. And a faithful priest shows up on Jackaby's doorsteps, aging hundreds of years before their very eyes with a very simple warning - the Dire King has the crown; the spear has been destroyed, but it can be remade; protect the shield!

It's Doctor Who meets Lord of the Rings, as Jackaby, Abigail, Charlie, and Jenny, joined by Hudson and a host of others, prepare for the final against the Dire King and his army of unseelie creatures.  Ritter provides plenty of twists and turns, a number of surprises, a few shocks, and a wholly unexpected (but perfect) ending to the tale of Jackaby and Abigail.  And, as with any war, there are some casualties, one hitting particularly close to home.  Hard choices are made, roles are reversed, and all of the old becomes new again.  And just when you think all hope is lost...well, that would be telling, now wouldn't it?  Let's just say that Ritter will bring you to tears - both in sadness and in joy.

I am so saddened to see this series come to a close, but at the same time, I am overjoyed at the wonderful four-part tale that Ritter has given us.  While each book can stand alone, there is an over-arching story that flows smoothly from one to the next, and by the conclusion of this book, he resolves all of the subplots, answers all of the questions, and opens up the potential for a whole new world for his cast of characters.  If you are going to end a series, this is definitely the way to do it!

RATING:  10 new sundries bags out of 10 for telling an amazing story that captivates, tugs at the heartstrings, thrills, and satisfies with every page!

Jackaby, the Third Novel - Ghostly Echoes

It finally dawned on me while I was reading this third book in the Jackaby series what it is about these stories and characters that seem so familiar to me - Jackaby is a supernatural version of Doctor Who! While Doctor Who traverses time and space with his companions helping people along the way, Jackaby and his companion, Abigail Rook, traverse the early American countryside saving people from supernatural terrors.  Like the Doctor's companions, Abigail Rook keeps Jackaby grounded and helps him see things from a more human perspective.  And like the Doctor, Jackaby is a bit of a mystery - he is human in appearance, but he is so much more than that. So, that explains why I love this series so much!

There has been an ongoing subplot throughout these books involving Jenny Cavanaugh, the ghost in whose home Jackaby has made his office and living quarters. Jenny is unable to remember how she died, who killed her, or why she was killed. But in this third novel, Ghostly Echoes, all is finally revealed. Abigail has been working with Jenny to slowly bring her memories back, but an unexpected meeting with a deadly vampire, as well as the deaths of local scientists and their wives, suddenly open the floodgates, and Jenny literally explodes with memories of what happened!

Author William Ritter does an excellent job at building suspense within the story, and he interjects just the right amount of humor to keep the story light (despite its dark, supernatural nature) without making it over-the-top or too comical. His characterization has been exceptional, as all three of the main characters - Jackaby, Abigail Rook, and Jenny Cavanaugh - have all grown considerably in these first three books, the reader finding out more and more about each of them as the series progresses. I would love to have seen more of Charlie (Abigail's werewolf boyfriend), but alas, I guess we can't have everything...

The story in this book centers around a murder in New Fiddleham - a woman found dead in her home, a struggle apparent with clothing torn around the neck and the cause of dead is a single deep laceration to the chest. The deceased was the wife of a scientist working on a project for the city. Jackaby's interest in the case is immediately clear to Abigail - the details are identical to Jenny's murder! Their involvement becomes more imperative when another scientist's body is discovered by two boys, and Jackaby fears his wife may be the next victim!

Jackaby is convinced all of these crimes are linked, and he is determined to save Cordelia Hoole (the late scientist's wife) and find out why these crimes are identical to Jenny's murder. In the meanwhile, Jenny has begun to remember details about her own death, which could help solve the crimes in the present. Unfortunately, everyone has secrets, and those secrets could very well spell trouble for everyone involved. Everything leads to a crossing of realms and a dangerous journey with the Greek ferryman to the land of the dead, where Abigail hopes to find Lawrence Hoole, but instead finds someone else entirely - not the person she was searching for, but definitely the person she needed to find!

Everything is staged for the final battle, with the fate of humankind in the balance. While I can't wait to see what the fourth and final book has in store for Jackaby, Abigail, and Jenny, I am somewhat reluctant to pick up that fourth book, as I know it is the last one, and once read, my times with these characters will have reached an end. Why is it that all good things must come to an end?'

RATING:  10 petrified strings made of sheep's gut out of 10 for drawing me into a world that I never want to leave!

Jackaby, the Second Novel - Beastly Bones

This series has quickly jumped to the top of my "most enjoyable books to read" list.  The Jackaby series is a mix of mystery and supernatural, with some well-written banter and underlying subplots that would work well in a soap opera.  Simply put, the Jackaby books are a near substitute for the Dresden Files, which series has seemingly stayed on hiatus until such time as Jim Butcher can get in the mood to write more!

In Beastly Bones, the second Jackaby novel, author William Ritter delves a little more into the past of our two protagonists - R.F. Jackaby and his assistant, Abigail Rook (from whose perspective the books are told).  Rook finally gets an opportunity to show her knowledge of archaeology when she and Jackaby are asked to assist an old friend (and former love interest of Rook!) with regards to a mysterious death - one that has a strange connection to a seemingly unrelated death right in Jackaby's hometown.

Ritter provides his usual brand of humor and quirkiness as Jackaby follows his own path of investigation upon arrival, and Rook is forced to do everything she can to not only keep up with him, but to soothe the natives who don't understand Jackaby's ways.  Something is attacking the farm animals in Gad's Valley, and someone ... or something ... is stealing bones from a rather odd archaeological find - the skeleton of what at first appears to be a dinosaur.  But the bones were found too close to the surface, and when they uncover bones that would indicate wings, there is question as to whether it is a hoax.  While the two famed archaeologists fight it out, Jackaby and Rook come to a completely different realization - it's not the skeleton of a dinosaur at all - rather, it is a dragon!

As with the first books in this series, nothing is ever quite what it seems.  From the first chapter, when Jackaby and Rook are called in to look at a woman's cat who has inexplicably turned into a fish, to the bones of the "dinosaur," to the unseen creature that keeps attacking the livestock in Gad's Valley - there is always something that is just not right; something that just does not properly fit.  And ultimately (as with any good mystery), the elements eventually tie together and lead to a very explosive finally (in this book, literally!).

Ritter throws in a number of supporting cast, some of whom are extremely likable, some of whom the reader will detest and want to knock onto their kiester.  The big trapper, Hank Hudson, is a Hagrid-type character - lovable, huge, and with a soft spot for Jackaby and Rook.  The reporter, Nellie Fuller, is definitely a go-getter - determined, strong, and unwilling to let any man hold her back.  And then there are the two archaeologists - Owen Horner, who is a bit of a prankster and never takes himself seriously, and Lewis Lamb, who is such a tyrant when it comes to his work that he is seen as a curmudgeon - who are competing for the right to study the bones found in Gad's Valley and making it very difficult for Jackaby and Rook to investigate.

One never knows quite what to expect with a Jackaby adventure, and this book is certainly no different.  There are enough twists and turns to keep the reader on his/her toes, and I, for one, thoroughly enjoyed Rook being reunited with the shape-shifter, Charlie the Cop.  It is interesting to note that despite the time period of the novel (late 19th century), Ritter portrays Rook as a very independent woman capable of her own thoughts, conclusions, and determination, and her impulsive decision near the end of the novel definitely had me cheering!

While the conclusion is satisfying, it still leaves some unanswered questions, which, along with the underlying sub-plots concerning the mysterious man in black and the unanswered questions of the past of Jenny, the resident ghost at Jackaby's house, leave one wanting for the next book in the series (and thankfully, I already have it in hand, so I don't have to wait long to read it and find out what happens next!).  This is most certainly a series I would recommend to anyone who enjoys a good read, regardless of what genre you like.

RATING:  10 rare Stymphalian birds out of 10 for filling the gap left by the lack of Dresden Files books with well-written, smile-bringing stories of mystery and supernatural.

Jackaby, the First Novel

"R.F. Jackby Investigative Services.  Assistant Wanted. Must be literate and possess a keen intellect and open mind.  Strong stomach preferred.  Inquire at 926 Augur Lane.  Do not stare at the frog."

The tagline on the back of the book had me hooked. That, and the tagline on the front that compared the book with "Sherlock Holmes crossed with Buffy the Vampire Slayer." I love a good mystery, and I'm a sucker for the supernatural element, so combine the two, and you can pretty much guarantee I'll give it a try.  I'm certainly glad I did!

I've been extremely fortunate recently with the number of new series I've tried out.  The Lilly Long mysteries.  The Change of Fortune mysteries.  And now the Jackaby mysteries.  Interestingly enough, all three are set in the late 19th or early 20th centuries, leaving me to wonder if perhaps we have become so modern with our technology and ability to find things and learn information about people that a mystery is much better when it is set prior to any of that. Whatever the case, I thoroughly enjoyed Jackaby, and I'd have to add just one thing to the front cover tagline - "Sherlock Holmes crossed with Buffy the Vampire Slayer with a bit of Doctor Who thrown in for fun!"

While the title may be Jackaby, the main character is actually Abigail Rook, a young English woman from a well-to-do British family. Only, she is less than satisfied with her mother's desire for her to attend balls and seek out an upper class husband; she would much rather be off with her father on archaeological adventures. The only problem is, while he supports her desire for higher education, he refuses to allow her to join his expeditions. Determined to make her own adventure, Abigail absconds with the funds her parents left her for her higher education and spends a year with a paleontologist, only to find that months and months of digging is not all it's cracked up to be.  With little money left, she sets sail for America and ends up in New Fiddleton, New England.

And that's where her true desires for adventure come true - - only not in any way she could have ever expected.

Jackaby is a quirky, distracted private detective that "sees" things in the world that others don't.  Things that every day men and women would probably not want to see if they could.  At first, Abigail thinks he may be just a bit off his rocker - - but when she follows him to a crime scene and sees how quickly he is able to discern things the police do not...sees how he is able to calm a disturbed witness's complaints of cries that no one else hears...and sees how much he truly cares about helping others with little thought to himself - - well, she knows she has to work for him.

Then, of course, there's the ghost that lives in his house and the duck named Douglas that lives in the pond that is impossibly in the third floor of the house - - a duck who used to be human when he first began working for Jackaby, but who now prefers his life as a duck. And we can't forget Hatun, the seer (of sorts) who lives in the forest outside of town, just on the other side of the bridge, under which lives a troll.

Jackaby is a whirlwind tale that takes its reader on a roller coaster ride from the very first page until the very last.  The reader sometimes feels just as overwhelmed, in awe, and as excited as Abigail does as she learns something new every time she turns around.  Jackaby is an oddity, and like Doctor Who, he seems to do his best when he has a companion (or in this case, an assistant detective) who helps keep him grounded.  Also like Doctor Who, while he never comes right out and says it, he  values his companion (assistant detective) and will do anything to protect them from harm (although sometimes, harm finds them anyway).

The mystery itself in this first novel involves a murderer who kills his victims, rips open their chest and soaks up their blood.  Jackaby quickly discerns that this first murder is not truly the first, but rather the latest in a series of murders in surrounding towns and cities.  The victim was a reporter who happened to discover the link between the murders, so the murderer killed him.  And then kills his neighbor.  And then kills the old woman upstairs (who also happens to be a banshee, but we won't go into that here).  And while Jackaby and Abigail are at first considered suspects, they are soon released when the rather unbelieving, terse inspector of police realizes the only way he's going to catch this killer is by trusting in the most unconventional methods of all - those of R.F. Jackaby.

This is another definite must read for fans of the mystery genre, the supernatural genre, and the "just plain good ol' storytelling" genre!  I can't recommend this book highly enough!

RATING:  10 black leather notebooks out of 10 for a rip-roaring good mystery with a cross-genre tale of murder, supernatural, and suspense!