Book one in the Devil's Dances trilogy
Plot: When clairvoyant witch Roberta Morgenstern is paired up with newbie Clement Martineau - whose parents are very influential - to solve a puzzling murder case in a life-sized, live-in museum of 1800's London, she doesn't think it'll go too well. And she turns out to be right. Jack the Ripper has come back to life with all the authenticity of the old city, and he turns out to be embarrassingly elusive for modern day's best detectives and intelligent technology.
Comments: Most of the way through this book I kept wondering if I had missed the first book in the series and had somehow gotten ahold of the second. I'm pretty sure I checked out the right one, but it was a little confusing. It seemed like there were a lot of casual references to things I should have already known about, because nothing got very much explanation. I have a feeling that there are other books about Roberta, but if so, I found no mention of them in my ritual examination of the book (check cover for book number, inside jackets for mentions of previous books, etc.).
The story itself was pretty good, if slightly lacking in transitions. I must confess I didn't particularly like Roberta, but I really liked Clement - and since Roberta is the main character, aren't you supposed to like her..? Anyway, Clement was adorably awkward and young, while Roberta was rather cranky and self-pampering. They worked well together, but I think it helped that they never seemed to have to do much work. It was like they strolled through all the danger, and even when they got in trouble, nothing really bad ever happened. It just felt rather tame.
Rating: I rate this book a six out of ten. It was an okay story.
Plot: When clairvoyant witch Roberta Morgenstern is paired up with newbie Clement Martineau - whose parents are very influential - to solve a puzzling murder case in a life-sized, live-in museum of 1800's London, she doesn't think it'll go too well. And she turns out to be right. Jack the Ripper has come back to life with all the authenticity of the old city, and he turns out to be embarrassingly elusive for modern day's best detectives and intelligent technology.
Comments: Most of the way through this book I kept wondering if I had missed the first book in the series and had somehow gotten ahold of the second. I'm pretty sure I checked out the right one, but it was a little confusing. It seemed like there were a lot of casual references to things I should have already known about, because nothing got very much explanation. I have a feeling that there are other books about Roberta, but if so, I found no mention of them in my ritual examination of the book (check cover for book number, inside jackets for mentions of previous books, etc.).
The story itself was pretty good, if slightly lacking in transitions. I must confess I didn't particularly like Roberta, but I really liked Clement - and since Roberta is the main character, aren't you supposed to like her..? Anyway, Clement was adorably awkward and young, while Roberta was rather cranky and self-pampering. They worked well together, but I think it helped that they never seemed to have to do much work. It was like they strolled through all the danger, and even when they got in trouble, nothing really bad ever happened. It just felt rather tame.
Rating: I rate this book a six out of ten. It was an okay story.
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