Beastly Bones by William Ritter

Beastly Bones by William Ritter
Series: Jackaby #2
Published by Algonquin on September 22nd 2015
Genres: Historical Fiction, Mystery
Goodreads

The highly anticipated follow-up to the “rich world” of the “lighthearted and assured debut,” featuring an “irresistible character” whose first thrilling and original adventure “demands sequels.”

“I’ve found very little about private detective R. F. Jackaby to be standard in the time I’ve known him. Working as his assistant tends to call for a somewhat flexible relationship with reality.”

In 1892, New Fiddleham, New England, things are never quite what they seem, especially when Abigail Rook and her eccentric employer R. F. Jackaby are called upon to investigate the supernatural.

First, a vicious species of shape-shifters disguise themselves as a litter of kittens, and a day later, their owner is found murdered with a single mysterious puncture wound. Then in nearby Gad’s Valley, now home to the exiled New Fiddleham police detective Charlie Cane, dinosaur bones from a recent dig mysteriously go missing, and an unidentifiable beast starts attacking animals and people, leaving their mangled bodies behind. Charlie calls on Abigail for help, and soon Abigail and Jackaby are on the hunt for a thief, a monster, and a murderer.

I received a copy of this book for review from the publisher. This does not influence my thoughts on the book or my review.

-SPOILER FREE FOR THE ENTIRE SERIES-

Ahhh how I love this series! I still firmly believe that Jackaby is a mix between Sherlock and Doctor Who. I can’t find a better comparison, gahhhh this series is awesome!

Okay, I’ll try to be coherent now. If you thought Jackaby was awesome, wait until you read Beastly Bones. My main concern with Jackaby was that the beginning was a bit slow. The great thing about a sequel, however, is that the backstory is already established and now you can savour all the crime-solving feels. In Beastly Bones, Jackaby and Abigail Rook are back for another adventure!

I really enjoyed the plot of Beastly Bones. It was definitely fast-paced and so fun! The mysteries themselves weren’t that easy to solve, and I liked that even when I thought I had everything figured out, there was another twist. I really loved the characters as well. Jackaby is still the right mix of the Tenth Doctor and Sherlock and Abigail is spunky and interesting in her own right. She doesn’t stand at the sidelines nor does she attempt to follow the stereotypical expectations that others expect of her. She’s tough, fights for what matters to her and doesn’t take crap from most people.

The only thing I wasn’t thrilled about was the romance. Not that I hated the love interest or anything, but I wanted it to progress faster! I understand that it’s a historical fiction and perhaps it wouldn’t as realistic for a romance to happen hastily, but damn it, I just wanted to push the characters together and yell KISS. My favourite part about the romance though is that it doesn’t involve Jackaby, as I hate the idea of anything romantically happening that isn’t a Johnlock situation.

Overall, Beastly Bones was a great sequel to a very unique series. I highly recommend this series to both fans of BBC, and to fans of awesome mysteries!