This is listed as Young Reader book, 12 and up. I don't necessarily agree that it needs to be locked into the YA genre. The writing is mature with no dumbing down of the wording and while the Abigail is supposed to be young, it does not come across in the pages.
Before you start reading, take a close look at this fantastic cover. So many layers, intertwined pictures and different textures - it's gorgeous and inviting.
This novel is very similar to a Sherlock Holmes mystery in nature, with a sensible sidekick, but with trolls, gnomes and banshees instead of the usual serial killer. A realistically based story, with just enough fantasy involved to make it off-kilter and interesting.
I really enjoyed reading it, had no trouble as an adult staying interested in it and give it a definite thumbs up!
Read the first SEVEN chapters by clicking HERE!
Jackaby
William Ritter
Algonquin Young Readers
September 16, 2014
“Miss Rook, I am not an occultist,” Jackaby said. “I have a gift that allows me to see truth where others see the illusion—and there are many illusions. All the world’s a stage, as they say, and I seem to have the only seat in the house with a view behind the curtain.”
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.