Hello friends! Okay, I very much enjoyed this one! Before I get into my thoughts on this book, here's the synopsis:
In this third installment in the #1 bestselling Stalking Jack the Ripper series, a luxurious ocean liner becomes a floating prison of scandal, madness, and horror when passengers are murdered one by one…with nowhere to run from the killer. .
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 the first-class passengers nightly.
But then, privileged young women begin to go missing without explanation, and a series of brutal slayings shocks the entire ship. The strange and disturbing influence of the Moonlight Carnival pervades the decks as the murders grow ever more freakish, with nowhere to escape except the unforgiving sea. It’s up to Audrey Rose and Thomas to piece together the gruesome investigation as even more passengers die before reaching their destination. But with clues to the next victim pointing to someone she loves, can Audrey Rose unravel the mystery before the killer’s horrifying finale?
Alright, I tend to enjoy pretty much everything I read, but I realize that I can't have a good review blog if I don't at least try to pick this apart a little bit. So here I go!
I did really enjoy this book. The biggest thing I can say is: Mephistopheles. Wow. I love Thomas, I really really do, but hot damn if Audrey Rose was going to have anyone else, Mephistopheles would be it. It made me feel as bad as Audrey Rose did to admit that. It made me sad that there weren't as many cute Audrey Rose/Thomas moments, but it was kind of important to the plot that there weren't. Also, can I just throw in that slow burning romances make me sooo frustrated! I'm all about fast passionate love, lol. I mean, shoot, she already got to canoodle with a shirtless Mephistopheles by halfway through one book, but she's only simply kissed Thomas so far. Ugh!
What I found a little odd though was that the carnival kept performing each night of the cruise. I get that they wanted to try to keep things uplifted for the other passengers, but still. Also, there seemed to be a lot of casualness through the book. I believe they could have found the murderer a lot faster than they did, but they had to keep it interesting until the cruise was over.
I gave it 5 stars on Goodreads, and I really can't wait for book number four! Oh, and there wasn't a huge cliffhanger! So I really have no idea what direction the next book will take, but it'll be interesting to see!
