Ghostly Echoes by William Ritter Book Review

Ghostly Echoes (Jackaby #3) by William Ritter 

Synopsis 

Jenny Cavanaugh, the ghostly lady of 926 Augur Lane, has enlisted the investigative services of her fellow residents to solve a decade-old murder—her own. Abigail Rook and her eccentric employer, Detective R. F. Jackaby, dive into the cold case, starting with a search for Jenny’s fiancé, who went missing the night she died. But when a new, gruesome murder closely mirrors the events of ten years prior, Abigail and Jackaby realize that Jenny’s case isn’t so cold after all, and her killer may be far more dangerous than they suspected.

Fantasy and folklore mix with mad science as Abigail’s race to unravel the mystery leads her across the cold cobblestones of nineteenth-century New England, down to the mythical underworld, and deep into her colleagues’ grim histories to battle the most deadly foe she has ever faced.

Opinion 

I originally picked up Jackaby when I was in the mood for a fun, easy read, and since I love Sherlock Holmes I thought the choice was a no-brainer. But, OH MY GOODNESS, this series has becomes so much more. This is Sherlock Holmes meets the supernatural in some of the best ways. Abigail, being the prime caring companion of, the almost clueless to the real world, Jackaby. The characters in this book are flawless (okay, obviously no one is perfect, but these characters can frustrate/surprise you in some of the best ways). Jenny Cavanaugh, being the wonderful soul that she is makes you want to route for her throughout this entire book, and I'm so happy that we get the opportunity to learn more about her, her life, and her (former) fiance. 

"My brick. My house. My whole wide world." She slid through the demolished wall. "My turn."

This series just keeps getting better and better. In Ghostly Echoes, Ritter definitely brings more depth into the story, both literally and metaphorically. While you slowly get to learn more and more about the layers of people, timelines, and worlds in the story, you also get dragged into them as well. While learning more about the dark corners of New Fiddleham, Ritter brings in more experiences with the Unseely and Seely, and their roles in the gates between the mythical underworld and the only world that Abigail has ever known. The plot as a whole becomes much more intricate than what we first encountered in books one and two, and I couldn't have asked for a better build up to whatever Ritter has in-store for the final installment. 

I will say, that their were a few spots in the book where the writing was a little rough and I had to reread some parts a time or two before I understood exactly what was going on. Overall, however, I am a huge fan of this series! I'm not really one for anticipating and aggravatingly waiting for books to come out, but I have done just that with this series, I can already tell that the wait for book four, especially since I don't know the title or even the release date, is going to be killer. The series is so action packed, fast paced, and fun that it's hard not to enjoy. One of my favorite things about it so far, is how the stories from the other books as well have been really brought into book three and the way that it's building up to one hell of a finale. And though there's plenty of light hearted humor, there's also that darkness, which makes for such a heartbreaking yet whirl-wind of a book (and series), making it that much better. (4.5/5)

 PS. The Barnes & Noble near me (accidentally?) released it a day early and this is how I felt when I saw it on the shelf: