Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.

Start by marking “Escaping from Houdini (Stalking Jack the Ripper, #3)” as Want to Read:

Other editions

Enlarge cover

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Open Preview

Escaping from Houdini

(Stalking Jack the Ripper #3)

Kerri Maniscalco (Goodreads Author)

4.05 · Rating details · 16,459 ratings · 3,053 reviews

Audrey Rose Wadsworth and her partner-in-crime-investigation, Thomas Cresswell, are en route to New York to help solve another blood-soaked mystery. Embarking on a week-long voyage across the Atlantic on the opulent RMS Etruria, they’re delighted to discover a traveling troupe of circus performers, fortune tellers, and a certain charismatic young escape artist entertaining ...more

Get A Copy

ebook, 416 pages

Published September 18th 2018 by JIMMY Patterson

More Details... Edit Details

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Reader Q&A

To ask other readers questions about Escaping from Houdini, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas

Queen of Air and Darkness by Cassandra Clare

Can't Wait Books of 2018

1,195 books — 4,752 voters

YA Novels of 2018

1,051 books — 5,518 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

Showing 1-30

Average rating 4.05 ·

Rating details

· 16,459 ratings · 3,053 reviews

More filters

Sort order

Start your review of Escaping from Houdini (Stalking Jack the Ripper, #3)

Jan 14, 2017 Kerri rated it it was amazing · (Review from the author)

UPDATE 10/11/18

internet: cressworth wedding 2019!
me: they've known each other 4 months, AR just turned 17, Papa Wadsworth hasn't approved of them even dating yet, they've liked each other for two months, they've kissed 3 or 4 times, Thomas screwed up twice 2-3 weeks ago in HPD, but if you're suuuuure... #SJTR4 #murderbynumbers #happyfriday!

https://twitter.com/KerriManiscalco/s...

just a little Friday fun. hope you have a wonderful weekend filled with tons of spooky reads!! xoxo

8/9/18 UPDATE:

EFH F ...more

flag 667 likes · Like · see review

Jan 07, 2017 Katerina rated it it was ok

Shelves: historical-fiction, 2018-reads

INCOMING RANT.

You've been warned.

I AM JUST GOING TO PRETEND THAT THIS BOOK NEVER HAPPENED.

I've never been this disappointed or frustrated because of a book. Escaping from Houdini was an insult to my emotions, my sanity, and the very heroes Kerri Maniscalco so lovingly created. It took a tremendous amount of effort to turn the pages, to witness the fall of the characters that always managed to put a smile on my face. My pulse accelerated and I wanted to throw things and ravage and scream and bur ...more

flag 550 likes · Like · see review

Oct 23, 2018 Hailey (Hailey in Bookland) rated it really liked it

Shelves: historical-fiction, mystery-thriller-paranormal, owned

3.5? 3.75? I DON’T KNOW
There were things I loved but also things that I hated, but I enjoyed it? I’ll talk it through more in my October wrap up!

flag 331 likes · Like · see review

Sep 11, 2017 destiny ♡⚔♡ [howling libraries] rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: owned-physical, otp, review-copies, historical, young-adult

#1: Stalking Jack the Ripper ★★★★★
#2: Hunting Prince Dracula ★★★★★
#3: Escaping From Houdini ★★★★★

Let me tell you guys, I have been dying to post this review! It’s been a few months since I read this one, but the publisher did request that I wait to post my thoughts until close to the book’s release, and naturally, I obliged. Now that I can finally gush freely with you all, I have to tell you that I adore this series. It is such a fun roller coaster of emotions and suspense, and I honestly think ...more

flag 319 likes · Like · see review

Apr 12, 2020 jessica rated it really liked it · review of another edition

im so confused as to why this installment has the lowest rating of all the books in the series among my friends (is it because of audrey??), because this has been my favourite one so far! granted, i was very less than impressed with the previous book, which everyone adored, so maybe im the weird one. lol.

i love all things circus and carnival and illusions, so this book is right up my alley. i do wish houdini played a larger part in the plot, but i understand why he didnt. still, i really loved ...more

flag 201 likes · Like · see review

Jan 19, 2018 may ❀ rated it it was ok

Shelves: 400-pgs, bye, historical, meh, series, library, look-at-that-beauty, love-triangle-ugh, mystery

i'm so sleepy but even my state of delirium cannot mask how annoyed i am @ this book

#ThomasEffingDeservesBetter

ill write something more thoughtful in the morning

2.5 stars

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

i find it absolutely incredible that i can look at a cover and thing 'wow i want to marry that someday'

LIKE
MY
VOCABULARY
CANNOT
EVEN
BEGIN
TO
DESCRIBE
HOW
BEAUTIFUL

flag 159 likes · Like · see review

Oct 12, 2018 Riley rated it it was ok

this....ain't it sis

flag 131 likes · Like · see review

Apr 26, 2019 Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: historical, hardback, own

Yeah, well that happened! At least the ending is promising. The next book better knock it out of the park since I preordered a special box!!!

Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾

flag 119 likes · Like · see review

Oct 21, 2018 Tucker (TuckerTheReader) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites-2019, historical-fiction, thriller, romance, mystery, all-time-favs, 5-stars, young-adult, favorites-2018

➵ Stalking Jack the Ripper (#1) - ★★★★★
➵ Hunting Prince Dracula (#2) - ★★★★★
➵ Escaping from Houdini (#3) - ★★★★★
➵ Capturing the Devil (#4) - ★★★★★

------------

[Credit: Kerri Maniscalco]
Raise your hand if you're glad they changed the dress color to blue! 🙋

*********

[9/10/2019] - POP QUIZ! Anybody recognize this voice?

*********

Nope! It's spelled "mephistopheles" I TOLD YOU I SUCK AT SPELLING.

*********

My notes from the second re-read:
1) Thomas is my spirit animal.
2) The first time, the love triangle ...more

flag 117 likes · Like · see review

Apr 16, 2017 Candace Robinson added it

This is such a fun series. I like the gory factors, Cresswell—especially Cresswell, and the cool themes that are intertwined. So when I saw carnival on a ship, I was incredibly ecstatic.

Let me start out by saying the book started off very well—we get some killing right away. But then a mysterious guy with a face mask who is the carnival's leader, Mephistopheles, comes into the picture. This is where our girl, Audrey Rose, starts getting a little ridiculous.

My favorite thing about this series has ...more

flag 117 likes · Like · see review

Sep 27, 2018 Sharon rated it it was ok

Shelves: get-your-shit-together, angsts-and-angsts, annoying-tropes, beautiful-covers, give-me-back-my-heart, ya, eyeroll-moments, ugh, 1-and-a-half-stars, carnival

Aw, man. It sucks when a series that was on its way to becoming one of my favorites disappoints me and now, I don’t know how to feel about it anymore. I’m filled with a lot of feelings – and pretty much none of them good. I’m just going straight to the spoilers, beware:

(view spoiler) ...more

flag 101 likes · Like · see review

Jul 19, 2018 Jasmine from How Useful It Is rated it it was amazing

Shelves: thrillers, young-adult, from-publisher

I started reading Escaping from Houdini on 7/8/18 and finished it on 7/19/18. This book is an excellent read! I find the romance between Thomas and Audrey Rose intoxicating because of their limited time, privacy, and secrecy. I like the sharp tongues exchanges between Audrey and Mephistopheles. I like all the fancy clothes Audrey Rose wears: silks and velvets as well as the decorations to the live shows. I like the mystery to Mephistopheles’ background because he’s always wearing a mask. I like I started reading Escaping from Houdini on 7/8/18 and finished it on 7/19/18. This book is an excellent read! I find the romance between Thomas and Audrey Rose intoxicating because of their limited time, privacy, and secrecy. I like the sharp tongues exchanges between Audrey and Mephistopheles. I like all the fancy clothes Audrey Rose wears: silks and velvets as well as the decorations to the live shows. I like the mystery to Mephistopheles’ background because he’s always wearing a mask. I like the friction between Thomas, Audrey Rose, and Mephistopheles and their endless witticism/sarcasm/banter/charm/well-timed quips. I can’t tell Mephistopheles’ intentions toward Audrey Rose but the air of mystery makes the read interesting. I like how the characters are good at keeping a poker face in tense situations.

This book is told in the first person point of view following Audrey Rose Wadsworth, 17, as she, Thomas Cresswell, and her Uncle Jonathan Wadsworth, whom readers learned from book 1 that he’s an expert in reading crime scenes are boarding a cruise ship called the Etruria heading to New York. There is entertainment on this cruise ship and the newest entertainer to excite everyone on board is Mephistopheles and his Moonlight Carnival crew. Their performance promises the audience of tricks that will both be dazzling and on the brink of danger. Audiences clap wildly from one act to the next with excitement and eagerness until at last, when there’s a knife protruding from the back of their fellow audience that left a puddle of blood on the floor, no one thought twice that it was a real murder but part of an act. Audrey finds herself trapped on a boat at sea with a murderer on the loose. Audrey, her uncle, and Thomas now find themselves with a dead body to examine and it might not be the only one.

Escaping from Houdini is truly mesmerizing. I love the topic of magic performances and how it all takes place on a cruise. As much as I love following Thomas and Audrey Rose breaking curfews and sneaking out on secret adventures, I do love the change in this book with Thomas having a competitor. It’s interesting how Thomas is still consider a “friend” after all of those stolen moments. I like Mrs. Harvey in this book more than in the previous books. I like the pictures before each chapter, especially the late 19th century circus performers because it gives readers an idea of what’s to come and their costumes are really out there! I love books with epilogues. I couldn’t guess who the murderer is but I did flipped back to read again to see if there were clues I might have missed. This book is a must read and the series shouldn’t be missed. I highly recommend everyone to read it!

Pro: fast paced, page turner, suspense, mystery, cruise, circus, diversity, humor/banter

xoxo, Jasmine at www.howusefulitis.wordpress.com for more details ...more

flag 96 likes · Like · see review

Mar 19, 2020 Cristina Monica rated it did not like it

Shelves: did-not-finish

The first book was okay, the second one great, and this one insufferable.

After finishing the second book, I thought, ''Oh wow, Thomas Cresswell is really growing on me. He may not always be perfect, and sometimes he's quite annoying, but he really does care about Audrey Rose.''

And about Audrey, I thought, ''She's so brave and unique. Sometimes she should stand up for herself a little more but she is still strong and someone worth being the heroine of a series.''

Now, I don't know. I just don't k ...more

flag 91 likes · Like · see review

Jul 25, 2019 Kat Valentine rated it it was amazing

What a fantastic read!!! I simply adore this series from kerri maniscalco!!! She is a amazing storyteller and her books are so very entertaining. I loved the theme of this book and enjoyed all the magic and mayhem. And the use of tarot cards by the murder was genius. Her characters are fabulous as well and I adored mephistopheles he is so mysterious and charming reminding me of a true rogue!!! And Audrey rose and Thomas are a awesome couple,I can't wait for more of their interactions,things are ...more

flag 88 likes · Like · see review

Jan 19, 2018 Nastassja rated it it was ok

Shelves: 2018, four-books-in-a-series, intiguing-concept, special-snowflake, anticipated-releases, 1st-pov, excellent-writing, almost-liked-it, alternative-history, dark

**Full review now posted on my blog**

You don't need to be a detective to see how immature and disappointing this book is. One of the greatest failures of the year.

*Mild spoilers below*

Look at the gif above, this is a real life case when I want to go drinking for a week to forget all about this book. This is the moment I was dreading since book 2 came out and I had my doubts regarding it, and this is the case when I intentionally overrated this series by giving book 2 - 3.5 stars and book 3 - 2.5, when really they deserved at least half a star less. Why have I done it? Because I adored book 1, which you can see in my absolutely insane fangirl review. I don't know why I am still doing it, but I think it's time to add some snark to the whole story. So be done with introspection, Nastassja, and let's start the snarky party.

Why Escaping from Houdini is a fiend pretending to be worthy of its predecessor? I can give you some reasons.

>> The plot is absolutely erratic and messy. If you want to find a thread of deductive thinking here in the best Sherlock Holmes tradition - which this series originally was successfully accomplishing - you are for a great deal of disappointment. The whole time I was reading this book, I couldn't fathom why the mystery was so unimportant that it was almost fully replaced by teenage angst and inner cringy heroine's monologue. It felt like all Audrey Rose cared about is romance: give her a daisy and she will pluck petals all day long, asking the flower to foretell her if 'he loves her or not'. Pathetic and boring. Why when a lot of people where dying on that fucking ship, in most terrific and gruesome ways, characters didn't particularly care and kept living their lives as if nothing was happening. Have you seen or read "Murder on the Orient express"? Do you remember in what state of fear and desperation characters were when murder happened on a train in a closed space in the middle of nowhere? There's a brutal killer on a loose and all you do is keep say, Show must go on?

This is so wrong on so many levels.

If I were not lazy, I'd quote the whole book and give you prove as why the detective part of the book is fake. But then I will have to do the same with characters and the romance.
Oh boy, this book does feel like an evil changeling.

What happened to Audrey Rose? - Changeling!
What happened to Thomas Cresswell? - Changeling!
What happened to their sexy banters and smart dialogues? - Fairy fucking Changelings!!

Audrey Rose was immature and stupid. All her talk of science is bullshit; all she really cared about - new boy in ~~circus~~ town (I'll get to it yet).
What happened to Thomas Cresswell?! Ah yeah, feminist heroine's spineless sidekick. Shoot him and spare us the embarrassment of pretending we still love him.

Get used to disappointment

Ow, and now is my favorite reason to hate this book. Drummmmmmmmmmm-ta-da ---> fucking love triangle!

This is what practically happens: Audrey Rose starts to have 'tender' feelings toward - attention - a clone of Cresswell! *gasp* They guy is darkly handsome and mysterious and he does sexy banter. Oh my, Audrey Rose starts to doubt her feelings toward Cresswell *gasp again* Am I the only one who feels cheap soap opera vibes?

I am very sorry I had to let all that spontaneous snark out on one of my ex-favorite series, but my disappointment is so high I had to let it out of my system.

Grand finale:

P.S. I will give book 4 a chance to rehabilitate, because no matter how harsh I am I still believe in second chances and do really really want my OTP Cressworth back.

...more

flag 81 likes · Like · see review

Jul 06, 2020 She-who-must-not-be-named rated it it was amazing

Shelves: psychological-thrillers

I am at a loss for words for what transpired in this book. The epilogue is the most beautiful thing ever and I'm infused with overwhelming joy. I'm unable to formulate coherent words to describe exactly what went down in this book, so I'll leave things here.

flag 72 likes · Like · see review

Aug 27, 2019 Chelsea Humphrey rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: bookstagram-made-me-do-it

Stalking Jack the Ripper: 🌟🌟
Hunting Prince Dracula: 🌟🌟🌟
Escaping from Houdini: 🌟🌟🌟🌟
Becoming the Dark Prince: ?
Capturing the Devil: ?

This is easily my favorite book in the series, and I'm hopeful that CTD will be a 5 star read! ...more

flag 70 likes · Like · see review

Oct 20, 2017 Rachel E. Carter rated it it was amazing

Shelves: to-buy-paperback

This book nearly broke my heart but THANK YOU KERRI that last chapter put it together again. SJTR is still my fave (just because I like when you don't know if the love interest is or isn't the villain and they weren't together yet which made for the best tension) but this definitely out-paced HPD by about a million -the setting and atmosphere were absolutely fantastic and I did love Thomas's competition even if I'm forever rooting for Cresswell.

flag 69 likes · Like · see review

Oct 04, 2018 Karima chermiti rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2018, historical_fiction, mystery, young-adult, buddy_read

#1)Stalking Jack the Ripper : 4 stars
#2)Hunting Prince Dracula : 5 stars

Spoiler warning : This review is filled with spoilers. If you haven’t read this book then you need to stay away unless you don’t care about being spoiled.

After reading and falling in love with Stalking Jack the Ripper and Hunting Prince Dracula , Escaping from Houdini was one of my most anticipated sequels of the fall. It’s really sad that I didn’t love anything about this book. Not only that but my love for the whole series ...more

flag 66 likes · Like · see review

Apr 22, 2018 Stacee rated it it was amazing

Shelves: physical-arc, read-in-2018, acknowledgements

I have been on board with these books since SJTR, so when I got my greedy hands on a arc of Houdini, I screamed at my UPS guy.

As always, Audrey Rose and Thomas are perfection. I love their banter and flirting and the way they are true partners in all things. Mephistopheles is an intriguing addition and of course he was quite charming and so infuriating. There is a fairly large cast of secondary characters on the ship and I will admit to not being able to keep up on the passengers, but it didn’t ...more

flag 67 likes · Like · see review

Jun 20, 2018 Danielle rated it really liked it

I love this series so much oh my god give me more please

flag 64 likes · Like · see review

Feb 07, 2018 Grace (BURTSBOOKS) rated it really liked it

I think it's safe to say this is the weakest of the series so far in terms of mystery and endings but I enjoyed the carnival theme so much I hardly even cared RTC

flag 63 likes · Like · see review

Jan 20, 2018 Faye* rated it liked it

This series is a bit like those cosy murder mysteries, and listening to them on audio is just a whole lot of fun. Unfortunately, I think this instalment may be my least favourite. It wasn't bad but I felt myself getting distracted while I was listening, and it just didn't hold the same charm as books 1 and 2. I sincerely hope it was just me this time as I'm definitely planning on listening to the fourth (and final) book.

~~~~~~~~~~~before reading~~~~~~~~~~~
Look at that cover, it's so pretty!! I ...more

flag 52 likes · Like · see review

Nov 03, 2017 celeste rated it it was ok

i'm going to RANT because i have a lot of feelings towards this book and they are not particularly positive.

listen, i fell in love with these characters so much that i was highly anticipating this book mainly because of them. from the get-go the murder mystery in this one wasn't really appealing to me ever since we heard that houdini was gonna be in it, i honestly couldn't have cared less unlike with the previous two books but everything was fine because i still had audrey rose and thomas being i'm going to RANT because i have a lot of feelings towards this book and they are not particularly positive.

listen, i fell in love with these characters so much that i was highly anticipating this book mainly because of them. from the get-go the murder mystery in this one wasn't really appealing to me ever since we heard that houdini was gonna be in it, i honestly couldn't have cared less unlike with the previous two books but everything was fine because i still had audrey rose and thomas being that dynamic duo of crime investigators, right? right.......

i was surprised to find out how kerri completely sidelined what was so unique about these books, which is of course the relationship between the two main characters. and i'm not even talking about the 'romantic' aspect of the relationship (though that also played a huge role in my disappointment), but of their professional relationship. the dynamic these two characters had, the constant banter between them and simply them working together and solving crime was what made them unique and so refreshing in my opinion. and that was taken from us in this book for the sake of introducing the third side of a completely unnecessary love triangle. and i guess i would have been more accepting towards this new character if he hadn't happened to be extremely fucking annoying. i couldn't stand the guy or the things he said or the way he kept invading audrey rose's personal space. i just couldn't deal with him, and the fact that him and audrey rose took the spotlight and the majority of this book's scenes pissed me off. it pissed me off because as a consequence of that, thomas cresswell was sidelined and barely in the book.

audrey rose didn't make any fucking sense in the way she behaved towards this new character, and don't come at me with the excuse that she was doing it for 'the sake of the bargain'. bullshit. she said so herself, she was confused about her feelings towards him. you expect me to believe that she's gonna second-guess her feelings for thomas over a guy she just met 5 DAYS AGO?!?! ARE YOU FUCKING WITH ME RIGHT NOW???? unbelievable. i could understand her having doubts over marrying thomas because that's a huge deal, but to second-guess her FEELINGS? not realistic. this book just turned into another ya cliche where authors have to ALWAYS create drama or drive a wedge btw a couple once they become canon, and it's always through a love triangle. it's always the same damn thing. it's like they can't come up with something new or at least something mildly interesting to seperate them. i was half-way through this book and i honestly wanted it to be over.

the only good and redeeming thing in this travesty of a book was thomas cresswell, as little as he was in it. not even the murder mystery was intriguing in this one, it was all over the place, with 0 clues given to the readers for us to at least be mildly engaged into guessing who could be the murderer. this was such a disappointment of a book, and one that i was highly, highly anticipating because i do love these characters but the way that they were written in this one was just not right and i'm really pissed about it. ...more

flag 50 likes · Like · see review

Sep 20, 2018 Veronika rated it it was ok

Shelves: annoying-characters, death, dark, young-adult, did-not-care, female-pov, i-m-the-black-sheep, thriller-horror, romance, disappointment

A shit ton of books have been battling for "biggest disappointment of 2018" but I think we finally have a winner!?

description

Jokes aside, this was B A D. The plot was awfully boring and repetitive, the characters felt... different and less well-made than before, and I was SO! ANGRY! at them for how they acted. Audrey Rose, the girl who was finally 1000% ready for this relationship at the end of book 2 was suddenly flirting with a new guy (?) and Thomas somehow lost all his charm and personality. And don't ...more

flag 49 likes · Like · see review

Jun 10, 2019 Kristin Hackett (SuperSpaceChick) rated it really liked it

Buddy reading with Alexa ...more

flag 46 likes · Like · see review

May 17, 2019 Mara YA Mood Reader rated it it was ok

Shelves: read-in-2019

I’m not sure why I didn’t just give up but I pulled through and it didn’t even pay off.

I think this series should’ve ended with Stalking Jack the Ripper. Hunting Prince Dracula was just okay but it’s not necessary and doesn’t really add much. It just becomes 3 long books of redundant murders and postmortems. And ends with Thomas and Audrey in the same place as they were in book one *insert shrug*

Escaping from Houdini didn’t have much to do about Houdini. And it strays far from the lovely bante ...more

flag 46 likes · Like · see review

Sep 22, 2017 ambsreads rated it it was amazing

Shelves: young-adult, romance, historical-fiction, wishlist

Trigger Warnings: gruesome murders, descriptions of death, PTSD references, anxiety

THIS REVIEW OF ESCAPING FROM HOUDINI WAS FIRST FEATURED ON MY BLOG @ AMBSREADS

If you know me, then you know I am absolutely obsessed with Kerri Maniscalco’s Stalking Jack the Ripper series. This particular series is one that I just can’t get out of my head. In between the release of each book I can’t get the characters out of my head and find myself desperately yearning for the next book each year. As soon as I co Trigger Warnings: gruesome murders, descriptions of death, PTSD references, anxiety

THIS REVIEW OF ESCAPING FROM HOUDINI WAS FIRST FEATURED ON MY BLOG @ AMBSREADS

If you know me, then you know I am absolutely obsessed with Kerri Maniscalco’s Stalking Jack the Ripper series. This particular series is one that I just can’t get out of my head. In between the release of each book I can’t get the characters out of my head and find myself desperately yearning for the next book each year. As soon as I could get my hands on Escaping from Houdini I did. I waited patiently (not really) for this book and was absolutely devastated when I realised I was actually rostered to work the day that this book released.

It felt like a form of torture to not be able to read one of my favourite books on release day and have to spread it out over several days. It didn’t take away from my absolute enjoyment of it though. I was so absolutely enthralled with this book and just the spectacular world building that I am almost left rendered speechless. Kerri Maniscalco’s Audrey Rose and Thomas are such reflections of real life that it is incredible. I can’t speak about the era of Victorian England but, I love the atmosphere that is created.

At the end of Hunting Prince Dracula our formidable duo, their chaperone and Audrey Rose’s uncle were bordering a ship set to head to New York to solve a new crime. The pair had faced horrific circumstances of the two major crime investigations they had been a part of and are looking forward to some possible relaxing on an entertainment ship. Nothing is ever that easy so when a lady dies during a circus act on the first night Audrey Rose, Thomas and her uncle jump straight into the investigation. The trio has to solve the crime before the criminal gets off the ship in New York or else they’ll never be able to work it out. Problems arise and flirtations begin to confuse our dear lead main character. I’ll talk more about that one later though. This story follows closely with the carnival that is on board the ship. In a time where PT Barnum was creating show business and it is something spectacular throughout Escaping from Houdini.

Kerri Maniscalco knows how to use description. She weaves it so damn well that it makes you feel as if you’re aboard the ship or even Audrey Rose. It is such a unique experience and one that I rarely experience with books now. However, each of Kerri’s books has managed to take me to her unique historical settings.

Some may say there is a love triangle in this book as well or that Audrey is unfaithful towards Thomas. I don’t see it that way. Our main characters are seventeen. I was seventeen only a few years ago and in a relationship, I remember finding other people attractive but that didn’t mean I was unfaithful to my boyfriend of the time (it was super toxic but still). Audrey is clearly struggling with her feelings for the ringmaster and that is clear in the book. It is so damn clear what she feels for Thomas is on a whole other playing field. The romance and ship stay put but Audrey is allowed to explore her internal feelings of attraction without being slandered I believe. I think it was an incredibly realistic insertion by the author and give her major props for it!

Audrey is ultimately a complex character who I want to see stab someone. No, but seriously. She has so many layers and after the ending of this book, I am so excited to see where Kerri takes her character!

Thomas is so damn charming as well. I mean I absolutely adore him and I know many others do so it’s not a shock. But can we like all acknowledge that is he basically the ‘men doing the bare minimum’ meme on Twitter? He gives Audrey Rose free choice and allows her to choose between men without any of his input. He says he will always support her choices and everything he does shows that. But, like, every man should do this. It is absolutely lovely to see, don’t get me wrong! But it is straight up that Twitter meme.

I guess I should talk about the mystery element of this book considering it is a young adult mystery. I didn’t actually guess the killer in this one. Someone take my detective hat from me because it is all over for me folks. The mystery really kept me on the edge of my seat. It seemed that unlike the other murder that this one was random and that is probably the scariest part. It was so damn intriguing to see how the murders all came together and the characters reactions.

I think the only thing that bothered me slightly about Escaping from Houdini was that the PTSD representation was pulled back a little. It is still present in underlying conversations and thoughts but after everything that Audrey Rose has been through, most of it with no discussions, I don’t think it should have all but disappeared from the book.

Overall, I am so glad to say that Escaping from Houdini met all of my expectations. It quite literally blew my socks off and I feel so lucky to have had the chance to read it. It was such a spectacular story and the showcasing of the authors writing is so clear. Gosh, I could rave about these books for days. I just think everyone should give these a try, even if you aren’t particularly interested in historical fiction or mystery. Kerri Maniscalco creates the perfect harmony between the two that anyone would love. ...more

flag 42 likes · Like · see review

Apr 21, 2020 April (Aprilius Maximus) added it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2020, dnf

1.) Stalking Jack the Ripper ★★★.5
2.) Hunting Prince Dracula ★★★.5
3.) Escaping From Houdini DNF

-----------------------------------------------

DNF'd 5 hours into the audiobook.

I'm honestly just bored and am not that invested in this series anyway and i'd rather be reading other things!

flag 42 likes · Like · see review

Oct 05, 2018 Ann (annreads) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: own

“If you wish to go, I’ll never make you stay. I might not do and say the proper thing all the time, but I do know that I love you enough to set you free.”

DEAD
Please resurrect me when the next book comes out, thank you *goes back to the coffin*

4/5 ★★★★

flag 40 likes · Like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
YA Buddy Readers'...: Escaping from Houdini by Kerri Maniscalco (Stalking Jack the Ripper #3) - Restarting May 1st 2020	91	112	May 11, 2020 02:14PM
Buchreihen Challe...: April - Reihe fortsetzen: Escaping from Houdini	49	14	Apr 14, 2020 11:47AM
Worm Book Club : Isabel's April Read	1	4	Apr 05, 2020 03:17PM
Shut Up & Read: Escaping from Houdini by Kerri Maniscalco	22	7	Feb 08, 2020 12:34PM
Cressworth ❤️ SJT...: Escaping From Houdini ( Book 3 )	1	4	Nov 27, 2019 11:10AM
Addicted to YA: Escaping from Houdini	9	63	Aug 28, 2019 09:06AM

Readers also enjoyed

See similar books…

Genres

Historical > Historical Fiction

639 users

Young Adult

484 users

Mystery

474 users

Historical

219 users

See top shelves…

About Kerri Maniscalco

Kerri Maniscalco

7,518 followers

I'm mostly on instagram--where I'm always ready to talk fictional crushes and nerd out over books. (Okay, okay. And I've also been known to share snippets and teasers from my upcoming novels, if you're into that sort of thing...) Please feel free to chat with me there @KerriManiscalco. I love talking with fellow readers!

Kerri Maniscalco grew up in a semi-haunted house outside NYC where her fascina ...more

Other books in the series

Stalking Jack the Ripper (4 books)

Books by Kerri Maniscalco

Stalking Jack the Ripper (Stalking Jack the Ripper, #1)

Hunting Prince Dracula (Stalking Jack the Ripper, #2)

Capturing the Devil (Stalking Jack the Ripper, #4)

Becoming the Dark Prince (Stalking Jack the Ripper, #3.5)

More…

The Most Anticipated Young Adult Books of April

As dedicated readers already know, some of the best and most innovative stories on the shelves come from the constantly evolving realm of young ...

Trivia About Escaping from Hou...

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

Quotes from Escaping from Hou...

“If you wish to go, I’ll never make you stay. I might not do and say the proper thing all the time, but I do know that I love you enough to set you free.” — 51 likes

“I love you... More than all the stars in the universe. In this life and ever after. I love you.” — 46 likes

More quotes…

See a Problem?

Preview — Escaping from Houdini by Kerri Maniscalco