The Name of the Star (Shades of London #1) by Maureen Johnson

Publication: October 2, 2012

Publisher: Speak / Penguin

Source: Bought

Jack the Ripper is back, and he's coming for Rory next.... Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London to start a new life at boarding school just as a series of brutal murders mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper killing spree of more than a century ago has broken out across the city. The police are left with few leads and no witnesses. Except one. Rory spotted the man believed to be the prime suspect. But she is the only one who saw him - the only one who can see him. And now Rory has become his next target...unless she can tap her previously unknown abilities to turn the tables.

Rory is for the first time in her life own her own at a private boarding school in London. A long way from her home in Louisiana. She wants to experience something different, but I’m pretty sure nearly choking to death and developing the ability to see ghosts was not included in her plans. After she accidentally places herself in the path of a sick and twisted killer, she must learn how to stay one step ahead of him.

I loved the interactions Rory had with her roommates Jazza and Boo. There was a nice a mount of humor peppered throughout the story. Rory was smart and funny. There wasn’t any of that mean girls, high school drama happening in this story which I really appreciated.  

I love a good murder mystery and this book had been on my TBR list for a while. That has always been a fascinating case to me. Jack the Ripper. How he was able to commit several murders and was never caught. I think the Jack the Ripper case is something that even 50 years from now people will still find interesting. The premise of this book sounded really intriguing to me when I first heard it and I thought the author was creating a unique spin on the whole Jack the Ripper phenomenon.

There are ghosts, fun roommates, cute boys, kissing, weird secret police, and of course a killer. I wasn’t always on the edge of my seat while reading this book, but it did keep my interest. Once I got past the half-way mark things started picking up a little, and all I wanted to do was keep reading page after page until I finished the whole book and it was well past midnight. And that’s exactly what I did. The ending left me curious about what was to come in book two, The Madness Underneath, which is already out.

RATING: 3½ out of 5.

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Now You See Me by S.J. Bolton

Synopsis:

One night after interviewing a reluctant witness at a London apartment complex, Lacey Flint, a young detective constable, stumbles onto a woman brutally stabbed just moments before in the building’s darkened parking lot. Within twenty-four hours a reporter receives an anonymous letter that points out alarming similarities between the murder and Jack the Ripper’s first murder—a letter that calls out Lacey by name. If it’s real, and they have a killer bent on re-creating London’s bloody past, history shows they have just five days until the next attempt.

No one believes the connections are anything more than a sadistic killer’s game, not even Lacey, whom the killer seems to be taunting specifically. However, as they investigate the details of the case start reminding her more and more of a part of her past she’d rather keep hidden. And the only way to do that is to catch the killer herself.

Fast paced and completely riveting, S. J. Bolton’s Now You See Me is a modern gothic novel that is nothing less than a masterpiece of suspense fiction.

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“From the very beginning, this case had been about me. At some level, I’d always known that.” -S.J. Bolton, Now You See Me

After reading Now You See Me, I don’t think I can ever listen to Julie Andrews sing “My Favorite Things” in The Sound of Music the same way ever again. It may seem like an odd statement to make, but if you have read this novel, then you will understand why I said that. If not, then read it! J

I have been saying this quite often lately, but I enjoyed this book a lot more than I thought I normally would.

The premise of this book was really tempting for me. I don’t read them as much as I would like, but murder mysteries, especially serial killing mystery books have always been fascinating and fun to read.

This story starts off with a scene that quickly grabbed my attention and all I wanted to do was keep reading to find out what was going to happen next. Which is what I did in between work and horrible toothaches/headaches that would not let up last week!

Everything pretty much takes place in London. Some of the terms/language used took a bit to get used to, but I managed fine.

Detective Lacey Flint, accidentally stumbles upon a woman bleeding to death on her car one afternoon. From that point on Lacey is in the middle of this investigation rather she likes it or not. As the investigation digs deeper into who could be behind it, the murders become grislier and even Lacey is not safe.

Lacey is has baggage, but she is also gutsy, determined, and knows her stuff. I pretty much liked her from the get go.

Her relationship with Senior Officer, Mark Joesbury is rocky, to say the least. He is a bit suspicious of her from the start and immediately suspects that she is in on the ripper-liker murders.

There is a light dusting of romance with these two; Lacey and Mark sort of dance around their true feelings. It is hinted that there might be more. I am hoping there is a little more to go on in the following Lacy Flint novels. 

In a way S.J. Bolton’s book reminded me of an Agatha Christie novel because she always would surprise the reader with an ending you did not see coming. That is how I felt reading Now You See Me. When the first twist hit, I stopped and had to go “Wait, what just happened???” And just when I thought I might know where things were going and I had it figured out, I was thrown for another loop, and then another, and towards the end another twist! Rarely has a book surprised me that often. Normally I am not a fan of police procedural mysteries. I always thought they would be too textbook like and not enjoyable. This is not the case. Turns out I was wrong. I enjoyed this one a lot. The author describes the world around Lacey in such great detail, it felt like I was in London with her. Who knows, maybe I won’t be so hesitant to try other police procedural mystery books from now on. If you are a fan of Psychological Thrillers and Murder Mysteries, then give Now You See Me a try, especially since it is on sale for a limited time at $2.99!

Rating: 5 out of 5.

**I received this book from Minotaur Books/St. Martin’s Press in exchange for nothing except my honest opinion. **

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