Title: Escaping From Houdini
Author: Kerri Maniscalco
Publisher: Little Brown / Jimmy Patterson
Release Date: 18th September 2018
Genre/Age Group: Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Horror, Mystery
Format: Hardcover (437 pages)
Source: ARC / Advanced Proof (Sent by publisher in exchange for an honest review)
Rating: 
(Disclaimer: This review is spoiler free. However, may contain spoilers for previous books in the series!)
Synopsis
“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?”
Review
We have joined Audrey Rose Wadsworth and Thomas Cresswell as they investigate and solve the Ripper murders, and as they discover the secrets of a Romanian forensic school said to be haunted by Vlad Dracula. Now we’re following them as they cross the Atlantic to the United States on the RMS Etruria where a number of passengers are being murdered one by one. Audrey Rose and Thomas, now open with their feelings for one another, find themselves stuck on a ship in the middle of the Atlantic with a murderer who is using morbid and magical acts to kill their victims. Whilst Audrey and Thomas are aboard the RMS Etruria, they meet the Moonlight Carnival, a group of performers hired to entertain the passengers throughout the journey. But, when the mysterious ringmaster Mephistopheles offers his assistance, Audrey Rose and Thomas’ companionship is put to the test.
Sometimes we choose not to see things we know are true, simply because we wish to keep the fantasy of what could have been alive.”
Audrey Rose continues to be the protagonist I adore from the previous two books, however, we get a glimpse into the side of her that we’ve not really seen, where she wonders if the high society life, a marriage and family is what she really wants. These feelings become a bit more prominent when Mephistopheles introduces her to his carnival. Mephistopheles’ character is one I thoroughly enjoyed, so much so that I found myself debating whether I wanted more scenes with him or more scenes with Thomas (I know, how dare I! But I really loved his character) He was shrouded in mystery from the moment he was introduced and Maniscalco carries this mystery really well throughout the entire book without over-dramatising it. There were even some instances where Mephistopheles literally gave me chills.
Thomas Cresswell is just as wonderful as always, and I’m sure he’d love to know I’m saying such a thing. He continues to be the charming and mischievous devil he has been in previous books, but we definitely witness a sensitive side to him now. He truly believes that Audrey Rose is too good for him, so when she spends more time with Mephistopheles trying to crack the case of these murders we see Thomas falling into doubt. It was really sad to read because Thomas, as we learned in HPD, is entirely devoted to Audrey Rose.
We also have a returning character, Liza, Audrey Rose’s beloved cousin from London who recently ran from home seeking adventure. Little did she know, her adventure would lead her right into a reunion with her cousin. I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about Liza’s character and her banter with Audrey Rose was one of my favourite parts of the book.
Magic is science. It’s simply a fancier term for showing people the impossible is attainable.”
Maniscalco’s writing throughout the series has been phenomenal and this instalment was no different. She effectively managed to portray the trapped feeling onto the characters (because they were hunting a freaking murderer on a boat in the middle of the Atlantic) and made you genuinely worry for them. There were many times where I was panicking for their well being and I had no clue about how this would end for our beloved protagonists.
When it came to the murderer reveal, I was shocked. Maniscalco is definitely an illusionist in disguise herself, because there were so many times were I changed my mind about who the murderer could be. Turns out, I was wrong every time. Maniscalco hid that murderer and she hid it well. At the very end of the book, Maniscalco also drops a hint about the murderer for the final book in the series. So keep a look out for that. I got chills!
‘Escaping from Houdini‘ was a downright wonderful third instalment. It was spooky, shocking, thrilling and romantic. Everything I could possibly expect from a Maniscalco book, and more. This is definitely one of my favourite books in the series thus far and I completely devoured it in a few short days.
Prepare yourself to be absolutely captivated by this book!
☾
Have you read the ‘Stalking Jack the Ripper‘ series by Kerri Maniscalco yet? I’d love to know what you think of it so far!
If you started a Carnival, what would you call it?
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