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The Map
(Jackaby #1.5)
by
Perfect for fans of "Jackaby" who are desperately awaiting the release of its sequel, "Beastly Bones, "this novella-length story follows the rollicking events of Abigail Rook's birthday celebration. Abigail hopes that her birthday will slip by unnoticed and uncelebrated, but her employer, detective of the supernatural R. F. Jackaby, has other plans. Using magical party cra
...more
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ebook, 56 pages
Published
June 15th 2015
by Algonquin Books
(first published June 2015)
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Start your review of The Map (Jackaby, #1.5)

“There is no golden light, Mr. Jackaby. Not for normal people.” Jackaby’s gift as a seer allows him to penetrate magical concealments, make impossible connections, and recognize the auras surrounding objects and people, particularly those with magical significance. I have the rather less unique ability to see the world the way it actually appears.
“No?” Jackaby tilted his head in mock sympathy. “It must be so dismal being you.”
“Only in present company,” I teased back.
----
Aah, I have missed you ...more
“No?” Jackaby tilted his head in mock sympathy. “It must be so dismal being you.”
“Only in present company,” I teased back.
----
Aah, I have missed you ...more

“It’s not about the treasure— it’s about the hunt. - Abigail”
Jackaby and Abigail set off on another (smaller) adventure. It is Abigail's birthday and Jackaby takes her to a mystical market where the two find a map and decide to follow it to the very end. The pair must decipher the map and follow it to the X.
This story is very cute. It's a fast and quick read. Any fan of the series so far will absolutely love this short story.
I suppose since it doesn't spoil anything major from the first book y ...more
Jackaby and Abigail set off on another (smaller) adventure. It is Abigail's birthday and Jackaby takes her to a mystical market where the two find a map and decide to follow it to the very end. The pair must decipher the map and follow it to the X.
This story is very cute. It's a fast and quick read. Any fan of the series so far will absolutely love this short story.
I suppose since it doesn't spoil anything major from the first book y ...more

I am in love with Mr. William Ritter. He is so good at making me laugh. He writes with out hurry. With a wonder and a laugh. The best way to write.
I absolutely love Jackaby. He is sweet and completely clueless to others emotions. I think Abigail and Jackaby are the right sort of team. I wonderful ying to his yang.
In this delightful novella Abigail has turned another year older. Jackaby the ever entertaining employer and friend decided to celebrate Abigail's birthday with an adventure. He takes ...more
I absolutely love Jackaby. He is sweet and completely clueless to others emotions. I think Abigail and Jackaby are the right sort of team. I wonderful ying to his yang.
In this delightful novella Abigail has turned another year older. Jackaby the ever entertaining employer and friend decided to celebrate Abigail's birthday with an adventure. He takes ...more

Jul 30, 2020
Anna lost in stories *A*
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
historical,
paranormal
This was such a lovely little novella :) I adored it with my whole heart :) especially since it’s all about Abigail’s birthday and I read it on my own birthday, which was just such a cute bonus :) you do need to read at least one book in the Jackaby series to fully understand this gem, because we don’t get too much explanations about the world or the characters… it’s just a great little addition to the series with a fun adventure that I won’t spoil you because it’s very short :) if you know the
...more

Feb 26, 2016
Deborah O'Carroll
rated it
it was amazing
Shelves:
2016-reads,
fantasy,
flintlock-fantasy,
novellas,
5-stars-awesome,
celtic,
steampunk,
ya,
epic-character-i-love,
best-of-year
Oh my word, this story! GAH. *huggles it* Okay, so it's a short story/novella type thing, which is free on Kindle, set between Jackaby and Beastly Bones. It's a short, fun read, and has an even different feel than the other two, but I simply LOVED it.
It's Abigail's birthday, and Jackaby takes her on a treasure hunt with an old map and fantastical things ensue. But get this: it's entirely based around trying to find the treasure from the Irish song "Whiskey in the Jar." This kind of totally made ...more
It's Abigail's birthday, and Jackaby takes her on a treasure hunt with an old map and fantastical things ensue. But get this: it's entirely based around trying to find the treasure from the Irish song "Whiskey in the Jar." This kind of totally made ...more

"Morning, sir."
“Obviously,” he replied without turning around. It wasn’t that Jackaby was rude, exactly. Tactless though he was, there was an earnestness to the man. “I should expect you to have long outgrown being impressed by the fact that the sun rises daily in the east, Miss Rook. Really. You can manage more impressive observations than that.” Then again, Jackaby might have just been rude.
Dear Mr Jackaby,
I love you.
Marry me, pretty pretty please.
Yours,
Gio.
P.s. My birthday is on September 3 ...more
“Obviously,” he replied without turning around. It wasn’t that Jackaby was rude, exactly. Tactless though he was, there was an earnestness to the man. “I should expect you to have long outgrown being impressed by the fact that the sun rises daily in the east, Miss Rook. Really. You can manage more impressive observations than that.” Then again, Jackaby might have just been rude.
Dear Mr Jackaby,
I love you.
Marry me, pretty pretty please.
Yours,
Gio.
P.s. My birthday is on September 3 ...more

Rating: 3.5 stars.
Give me a treasure hunt and I will love you forever.
William Ritter kind of did, so... Yes, I love his series!
In this little short story, Jackaby takes Abigail on an adventure to find the Bold Deceiver's treasure and celebrate holiday!
I will say that I was under the impression it lacked the realness of the 1st book, since in this novella there aren't just paranormal creatures but pure magic and gravitating islands and teleporting from one place to another using party crackers.
Bu ...more
Give me a treasure hunt and I will love you forever.
William Ritter kind of did, so... Yes, I love his series!
In this little short story, Jackaby takes Abigail on an adventure to find the Bold Deceiver's treasure and celebrate holiday!
I will say that I was under the impression it lacked the realness of the 1st book, since in this novella there aren't just paranormal creatures but pure magic and gravitating islands and teleporting from one place to another using party crackers.
Bu ...more


In this short story it's Abigail's Birthday and Jacaby has plans for her. She wants adventure so they set off on one. All in all a fun quick read. I enjoy Jackaby's character so much as well as Abigail Rook.
...more

"It's not about the treasure - it's about the hunt." -Abigail Rook
It's no secret that I love novellas and I was excited to learn that there is a novella for the Jackaby series! This was a fun little story featuring Jackaby's idea of a great birthday gift for Abigail Rook - an adventure! The detective duo stumbled onto a treasure map created by the subject of an old pub song and began a treasure hunt. The hunt was full of the strange and mysterious, featuring giant vegetables, magpies, goblins, a ...more
It's no secret that I love novellas and I was excited to learn that there is a novella for the Jackaby series! This was a fun little story featuring Jackaby's idea of a great birthday gift for Abigail Rook - an adventure! The detective duo stumbled onto a treasure map created by the subject of an old pub song and began a treasure hunt. The hunt was full of the strange and mysterious, featuring giant vegetables, magpies, goblins, a ...more

Such a fun filler between Jackaby and Beastly Bones, a wonderful reminder of why I had enjoyed the first book so much. I just loved the references to Whiskey In The Jar and couldn't stop humming or singing it as I read. The story was short, but not too short. Of course, I wish it had been another hundred or so pages longer, but I will get more from these characters soon enough. Rook and Jackaby make a great pair and I am so anxious for more!
...more

I could not have asked for a more brilliant novella. Finally, a short story that actually adds to the series and enhances the character development. It made me adore Jackaby far more than I originally did and it answered some of my question about his supernatural gifts. I honestly loved it more than I can say.
If you a fan of the series, don't overlook it. It's most definitely worth a read. ...more
If you a fan of the series, don't overlook it. It's most definitely worth a read. ...more

I LOVE these books; L O V E them. This was a perfect short story and highly enjoyable. I wish there had been an audio of it [since I totally love the narrator for this series as well], but just reading it was delightful as well. It makes me want to dive right into the next novel even though I do not have time to be starting a new book like that. :-)

It was fun but it feels as if the world inside of this short story is not the same as the world we got to know in Jackaby. In Jackaby, Jackaby makes it clear that he is a man of science but the mode of transportation that they use in this short story reeks of magic. I wished it would have been explained a bit more like a science thing or maybe something from a creature because now, it kinda feels like it doesn't fit with the story we got in Jackaby. Other than that it was fun though.
...more

Fun birthday adventure story with Abigail Rook and Jackaby.

This short story takes place between Jackaby and Beastly Bones and was absolutely delightful. Abigail Rook is hoping that her birthday will escape the notice of her employer, R.F. Jackaby, but he has decided to help her celebrate in a spectacular way. He takes her to a mystical market, where she notices a treasure map but declines it as a present. Of course Jackaby knows better and presents it to her. Using magical party crackers that teleport them to whatever destination they wish, they follow
...more

It is Abigail Rook's birthday, and Jackaby has decided to surprise her with a little adventure - whether Abigail likes it or not!
I've read Jackaby 1-4 already, but didn't realize there was a short story/novella available as well. You can probably read this whenever, but I'd recommend reading it after at least the first book, Jackaby. I believe it was published between the first and second books, so reading it then would make the most sense! It's a cute story and doesn't add anything to the main ...more
I've read Jackaby 1-4 already, but didn't realize there was a short story/novella available as well. You can probably read this whenever, but I'd recommend reading it after at least the first book, Jackaby. I believe it was published between the first and second books, so reading it then would make the most sense! It's a cute story and doesn't add anything to the main ...more

"The air is anathematic, laden with an aura of untold danger." "Untold danger. Charming. That seems to be the unifying theme of today's outing."
Fun, short story in which Jackaby has a special birthday treat for Abigail: a treasure hunt to hidden lands, full of riddles and the aforementioned untold dangers during which they travel by pulling on party crackers (which, by the way, I still find ingenious!). It doesn't really add much to the first book in my opinion, but it does strengthen the fun "p ...more
Fun, short story in which Jackaby has a special birthday treat for Abigail: a treasure hunt to hidden lands, full of riddles and the aforementioned untold dangers during which they travel by pulling on party crackers (which, by the way, I still find ingenious!). It doesn't really add much to the first book in my opinion, but it does strengthen the fun "p ...more

Actually 3.5 stars. I sure do like Jackaby, and this novella was definitely a good fix for that. It's a good mini adventure to get me ready for when Beastly Bones comes out!!
...more

Cute addition to the Jackaby series. Love that it was quite a bit more fantastical than the full novels.

It's been several years since I read the first Jackaby novel, so I was a little apprehensive of continuing the series after so long. I remember that I liked the first book, but had little to no recollection about what the series was actually about. I only remembered that it was like Dr. Who with a twist, which I'm definitely intrigued by enough to keep it on my TBR for such a long time.
I think that reading The Map ended up being a great choice. Although it didn't really provide a lot of backgrou ...more
I think that reading The Map ended up being a great choice. Although it didn't really provide a lot of backgrou ...more

“I suppose one little party cracker won’t be the end of the world…”
Oh, Abigail, how you don’t know him.
This was just a fun, funny, adventurous short story where Jackaby decides to take Abigail Rook on a trip just to celebrate her birthday. As you can imagine, things don’t go well, they get into trouble, they make things worse, only to make things better, and they survive… barely.
I really miss Doctor Who right now.

...more
Oh, Abigail, how you don’t know him.
This was just a fun, funny, adventurous short story where Jackaby decides to take Abigail Rook on a trip just to celebrate her birthday. As you can imagine, things don’t go well, they get into trouble, they make things worse, only to make things better, and they survive… barely.
I really miss Doctor Who right now.

...more
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—
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