Stefan Petrucha's Ripper is the story of Carver who has always wanted to become a detective. Then Carver is adopted by the mysterious Detective Hawking and is finally given the opportunity to look for his biological father.

I really enjoyed Ripper and found it hard to put this book down until I solved the mystery. There were so many interesting characters that I wanted to get to know even more about. Carver is a young orphan who has dreams of becoming a famous detective. When he is adopted by Detective Hawking he is brought into an exciting world of crime solving. Detective Hawking is a bit odd at first and I didn't like him immediately, but his character grew on me as the plot progressed. I had fun though solving the mystery alongside Carver though. It could get a bit predictable at times but there were still some surprises.

I loved the Pinkerton Agency and it was fun learning about them. I especially liked reading about the technology they had and especially how to get into the agency itself. Another interesting character was Delia who grew up in the same orphanage as Carver. She was also adopted though and goes to work with The New York Times. I kind of wish to have gotten to know her character a bit better because I really enjoyed the relationship she shared with Carver. She was smart and somehow always knew what he was up to.

I loved the opening chapter and it instantly got me hooked on the story. I thought it was so interesting how Petrucha intertwined the Jack the Ripper murders into the story. The letters especially gave the plot a creepy feeling to it. I was completely fascinated by the setting in New York and Petrucha brought me back in time. I also really enjoyed were the short chapters. It helped move the plot along much quicker. I would sit down to read only a couple of chapters but before I knew it I was almost done with the book. Overall I recommend Ripper, it was an exciting and interesting mystery.

Originally posted on thereadinggeek.blogspot.com