Jackaby series by William Ritter

Jackaby by William Ritter
Series: Jackaby #1
Published on September 16, 2014 by Algonquin Young Readers

Newly arrived in New Fiddleham, New England, 1892, and in need of a job, Abigail Rook meets R. F. Jackaby, an investigator of the unexplained with a keen eye for the extraordinary--including the ability to see supernatural beings. Abigail has a gift for noticing ordinary but important details, which makes her perfect for the position of Jackaby’s assistant. On her first day, Abigail finds herself in the midst of a thrilling case: A serial killer is on the loose. The police are convinced it’s an ordinary villain, but Jackaby is certain it’s a nonhuman creature, whose existence the police--with the exception of a handsome young detective named Charlie Cane--deny.

Doctor Who meets Sherlock in William Ritter’s debut novel, which features a detective of the paranormal as seen through the eyes of his adventurous and intelligent assistant in a tale brimming with cheeky humor and a dose of the macabre.

My overall feeling with this book was "meh", it wasn't a bad book in any way but it also never really blew my mind as I was expecting. I tried to keep away from the hype and not compare it too much with DW and Sherlock (both of which are favorites of mine) but still it took me forever to read this one and I kept being distracted by other books to read or series to watch.

But on to the better stuff. I really enjoyed the narrative overall since I laughed a lot of times while reading and I always enjoy when a story can make me laugh. I was a little afraid of the misture of paranormal with a detective novel and at first I wasn't sure it would work for me, but things ended up falling into place and I got used to the weirdness of this world. What did surprised me was the fact that, so far, my favorite character isn't Jackaby but Abigail.

Beastly Bones by William Ritter
Series: Jackaby #2 
Published on September 22, 2015 by Algonquin Young Readers

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'm pleased to say that I enjoyed Beastly Bones a whole lot more than Jackaby! I think one of the main factors for that was the fact that I was already used to all the weirdness of this world Ritter created, we have all kinds of fantastical creatures and at first it can be a lot to digest but once you get used to it, is a very fun ride. As usual this one made me laugh out loud a lot of times and I read it overnight.

The mystery on this is much more weirder than on the first book, at least it was for me and I really liked to see that we are having an overarching plot - I don't know if this series is supposed to be a trilogy or if doesn't have a set number yet, so it was nice seeing that there is yes a connecting between all these cases and that we will probably be finding out more about it soon. Also the way this one ended was mean, it isn't a cliffhanger exactly but we already have the mystery for next volume set and oh my god I need the next book now!

Abigail remains to be my favorite character of the series, this time around even more so - she is determined to not bow to her time costumes and go after the job that she wants to practice despite what the society says, it was great to see her growth through this book and to see her finding herself. But I did enjoyed Jackaby a whole lot more on this one, he shows a more soft side this time around and we can get to see that he does care about other things than his mysteries.

I recommend this series to everyone that loves fantasy and detective novels that were dying to see something with the two genders together.