Stalking Jack the Ripper written by Kerri Maniscalco
Publication Date: September 20th 2016
Genres: Historical Fiction, Young Adult
Series: Stalking Jack the Ripper #1
Format: Audiobook, Hardcover
Pages: 336
Narrated by Nicola Barber
Length: 9 hrs and 26 mins
ISBN: 031627349X
Find on Goodreads 
Seventeen-year-old Audrey Rose Wadsworth was born a lord's daughter, with a life of wealth and privilege stretched out before her. But between the social teas and silk dress fittings, she leads a forbidden secret life.
Against her stern father's wishes and society's expectations, Audrey often slips away to her uncle's laboratory to study the gruesome practice of forensic medicine. When her work on a string of savagely killed corpses drags Audrey into the investigation of a serial murderer, her search for answers brings her close to her own sheltered world.
Happy Tuesday, everyone! I am so excited to join the Stalking Jack the Ripper Read-a-Thon! And as luck would have it, I have author Kerri Maniscalco here sharing her thoughts on the first 4 chapters!
I was initially intrigued by this book when I saw the name: Jack the Ripper. It’s no secret that I am love everything macabre (like I absolutely love true crime scene shows) and of course, Jack the Ripper! So now, I am super excited to read SJTR for the first time during the read-a-thon event!
Chapters 1-4
One of my favorite notes about STALKING JACK THE RIPPER involves the opening chapter. Originally chapter two was how the story kicked off—I’d envisioned this girl disguised as a young man, sitting in school, discovering the first murder in a way where she couldn’t react or risk being discovered by her peers. (During that time in history it was considered blasphemous for a man to be interested in the science of anatomy and carving open human bodies. For a high born young woman, it was even more so.)
When I turned that draft into my agent she asked what I thought about having Audrey Rose start off by being “elbows deep” in a cadaver. Honestly? I LOVED it. I can always tell when something is the right choice for my characters or scene based on how excited I feel about diving back in and exploring the idea. It fit with Audrey’s character and really allowed us a glimpse into her life right before things change.
Thinking about her life-pre Jack the Ripper sparked this new amazing scene in my head. I sat down that afternoon and wrote out what is now the first chapter of SJTR. I couldn’t stop imagining this girl in a delicate Victorian dress, taking such care and precision with her first ever dissection. It felt like such a contradiction and I fell in love with slowly being dropped into Audrey’s world and seeing things unfold through her eyes.
I’d titled the new chapter “Preliminary Incision” and then came across the opening photo that used the same phrasing, and thought it was a sign that THIS was where our story truly began.
Xoxo,
Kerri
The opening scene is just spectacular! Just picture our heroine, Audreyrose dissecting a cadaver? What’s more, she is rooting around the cadavers abdomen! REALLY! This only whetted my appetite! This is also the scene where Audreyrose meets Thomas! I am definitely shipping these two! I can already see the sparks flying!
The first four chapters also introduce the mystery of Jack the Ripper. I love how creepy the world building is. Maniscalco really set up the opening scene as the tone of the whole book – CREEPY!
The first four chapters also introduces the main players in this macabre mystery AND they are really suspicious! I just can’t wait to finish reading this!
October 18th Chapters 1-4 thoughts ~Ava, Zee [YOU ARE HERE!], and Booknut
October 20th Chapters 5-9 thoughts~ Sabrina Tam, Nicole’s Novel Reads
October 22nd Chapters 10-14 thoughts~ Nicole (Little Fantasy Land)
October 24th Chapters 15-19 thoughts ~ Irene
October 26th Chapters 20-24 thoughts~ Sabrina (Library Luv)
October 28th Chapters 25-end~ Jordan, Nisha
Have you read Stalking Jack the Ripper yet? Are you fascinated with Jack the Ripper?
About Kerri Maniscalco
Kerri Maniscalco grew up in a semi-haunted house outside NYC where her fascination with gothic settings began. In her spare time she reads everything she can get her hands on, cooks all kinds of food with her family and friends, and drinks entirely too much tea while discussing life’s finer points with her cats.
STALKING JACK THE RIPPER, a #1 NYT Bestseller, is her debut novel. It incorporates her love of forensic science and unsolved history.
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