Yesterday I completed Maniscalco's Capturing the Devil, which is the last book of her Jack the Ripper series. I started this series in 2021 for a literary project when I was in college. I have to say, ending this dark yet intriguing series is bittersweet for me because throughout the books, I've experienced, learned, and felt so much. The highlights I would say drove the stories were the actual history (Victorian era, Jack the Ripper and his victims, Houdini, Dracula, H.H Holmes, etc.) which served as a base for the plot, the characters in terms of how real they felt, and the adventure where the characters traveled to different parts of the world (London, Romania, New York, Chicago) to solve murders that seem to happen as well as connect themselves to the killings of Jack the Ripper.
There was many characters I liked, but my two favorite is obviously the two main ones, Audrey Rose Wadsworth and Thomas Cresswell. I loved Audrey for her strength, confidence, and determination as a brilliant female forensic scientist. She has overcome many obstacles in her career, more so in the second book where her gender was always considered in the forensic field. If anything, the challenges that she faced only made her stronger and more resilient as a character. I love Thomas for his unique intelligence, support and loyalty to Audrey, and goofiness. His deductive reasoning where he tries to think like the killer in order to put the scattered puzzle piece together makes him a great asset in the story and a wonderful duo for Audrey. He cares and supports Audrey and never gives up on their relationship despite the many challenges they faced. He is always on her side and is the one man in the story who sees her as his equal rather than the traditional women that Victorian society expects her to be. However, my favorite characteristics about Thomas is his goofiness where he always seems to purposely annoy Audrey earning his occasional nickname from Audrey as a "scoundrel." The pair make a perfect duo for solving crime and a great ideal couple as well.
What I love most about the series was how the fictional plot blended well with the historical references. The author would use the point of view of the main character, Audrey to explain what life in the Victorian era was, especially as a women. She made Audrey's character seem more like the women of today's era through her rebellion of Victorian societal expectations and want for female equality. I guess that is what makes Audrey seem more like an actual person than a fictional character. And the incorporation of historical figures ( Harry Houdini, and H.H Holmes) as characters made the story all the more compelling. My favorite character incorporated would be Harry Houdini since his character is supposed to show the start of his career before he became the famous Houdini.
I believe the author's purpose in writing this series had to be because of her fascination with the history of the Jack the Ripper murders. She even expresses how interested she was in researching about the serial killer in her Author's Note. The way she placed images of historical forensic tools, and artifacts and using the history as a base for her plot shows her passion in writing the series. I just like to know how she came up with such unique characters such as Audrey and Thomas, especially Thomas. I wonder what historical figures they are based on. Could it be a Victorian detective? A detective of the current times? Someone she perhaps personally knows?
I wonder…
If anyone of you has read the series or is currently reading the series, what are your thoughts?
by Blossoming_tulip99