Review: Ripper by Stefan Petrucha

Title: Ripper
Author: Stefan Petrucha
Publisher: Philomel
Publishing Date: March 1st 2012
Pages: 427
Genre: YS Mystery
Series: Stand Alone
Source: Hardcover

Goodreads Summary:
You thought you knew him. You were dead wrong.

Carver Young dreams of becoming a detective, despite growing up in an orphanage with only crime novels to encourage him. But when he is adopted by Detective Hawking of the world famous Pinkerton Agency, Carver is given not only the chance to find his biological father, he finds himself smack in the middle of a real life investigation: tracking down a vicious serial killer who has thrown New York City into utter panic. When the case begins to unfold, however, it’s worse than he could have ever imagined, and his loyalty to Mr. Hawking and the Pinkertons comes into question. As the body count rises and the investigation becomes dire, Carver must decide where his true loyalty lies.

Full of whip-smart dialogue, kid-friendly gadgets, and featuring a then New York City Police Commisioner Teddy Roosevelt, Ripper challenges everything you thought you knew about the world’s most famous serial killer.

Review:

This book really intrigued me. It sounded like something right up my alley. I love mysteries, I find serial killers interesting, and it’s a historical fiction. I had very high hopes for this book. I enjoyed the story very much but was let down just a bit.

The story is about a boy, Carver, who has lived in an orphanage all his life. He is now 14 years of age and is taken in by a wacky retired detective. Carver decides to dig around in his past a bit after finding a letter that looks to be from his father, and after digging around finds out his father is the infamous Jack the Ripper. He is now bent on finding his father to stop the murders happening around New York City.

The book has a wide arrange of characters and I thought he characters were developed very well. Carver is very clever, brave, and street smart. He is also very good hearted. He cares for his friends and he is very loyal. I found him to be an awesome hero. His friends from the orphanage are pretty cool too, also very loyal. I loved the fact that Roosevelt was the detective in this story, and he really did steel my heart. I enjoyed seeing him in action, his brains his brawn, and his bravery. I wasn’t sure at first if I would like this part of the story, but it worked very well. The retired detective that takes Carver in is loony. I went back and forth the entire story whether or not I could like him. I cannot tell you how that ended up. You will just need to decide yourself.

The story was very well done. Everything fit together perfectly like a puzzle and the mystery had me second guessing myself the entire book. The only downfall I had was the story was a little slow and there was not as much thrills as I was hoping for. Almost more like a mystery drama instead of a mystery thriller. It does make a good coming of age novel for Carver too.

The ending was kind of fast and abrupt and I feel I did not get full closure. It doesn’t look like a series but I am hoping it is because I do need to know more.

Overall I think it was a good read and I did enjoy the ride.

Rating: