Escaping From Houdini (Stalking Jack the Ripper, 3) Hardcover – Illustrated, September 18, 2018

Be warned there are minor spoilers ahead. Sigh, I have been a huge fan of the Stalking Jack the Ripper series and I was beyond excited to read this book, Escaping From Houdini! The story started off perfectly, Audrey and Thomas were off on another grand adventure and their relationship had also deepened. In addition, the setting was wonderfully tantalizing with its mysteriousness and intriguing characters, I was delighted! The mystery behind the murders was very complex although the motivation was as old as time. There was so much to delight the senses so why was I disappointed?Why would the author decided to take such an amazing duo as Audrey and Thomas, a duo by the way that I have been desperately rooting for since book one, and drive a wedge between them? Ok, I could see them having a conflict over points of view or over personal issues but to take a team that I love and drive a freaking love triangle between them?! I hate love triangles on any given day but this felt like a betrayal to me. I was definitely on team Thomas in this book and spent most of it with open disdain for all the scenes with Audrey and Mephistopheles, which ended up being a majority of the book. So frustrating!I was mostly frustrated with the love triangle but there were some exciting parts of the story and I liked the inclusion of Houdini’s character. It is always fun when historical figures are incorporated into a story. The ending left me with mixed feelings and I can’t say that I am excited about Audrey. I think she has a better understanding of herself and learned a valuable lesson that many people actually learn in life about getting in over your head. I just hope that she learns to communicate better in the next book because a lot could have been avoided if she just thought things through. Sorry, I know this is more of a rant but this book really pushed my buttons, ha ha ha.

While this book started strong the author’s decision to not only introduce a nonsensical love triangle, she also single handedly destroyed her main character turning an intelligent, strong minded, mature, female character into a immature chick who wanted nothing more than to get drunk, high, and get laid by a guy she had known in less than a week. I felt like the authors use of plot-devices was simply ridiculous- Audrey Rose making bargains to save her cousins reputation and then dressing in nothing but corsets and stockings and bringing said cousin to a party where they do drugs and then going out EVERY night to meet with the new love interest and make out. AR was unbearably out-of-character and her logic during this entire book was completely flawed. I feel like this was simply some weird wish fulfillment on KM’s part. I really wish I would have read the REAL reviews before I had purchased this one.

This was my least favorite of the series - such an understatement. Lots of twists and turns in the storyline but it seemed so forced and weakly put together. We've come to admire and appreciate Audrey Rose's strength of character from the last two books, and in this book we see her complete lack of character and morals as she doesn't hesitate in hurting those around her with weak and shallow justifications to do so. It was more like a modern day 17 year-old girl with no thought of others-- out of place for the Audrey Rose we have known and even more so for the time period. Maybe the author was going for Audrey considering her options not being tied to Thomas. Instead it came across as her being selfish, shallow, and unwilling to consider the thoughts and feelings of others or the commitmemt she had made to Thomas. Her willingness to hold to her word so absolutely for Mephistopheles and not be commited or loyal to Thomas in any way was a huge descepancy in her character. Her interactions with Thomas, and his with her, in the end are so oddly put together they fell way short of being beliveable. There should have been no way Thomas would so coldly walk away and then return as if all was well WITH NO ACTUAL CONVERSATION about what had occured. So is Audrey Rose supposed to be a modern woman considering her independence while Thomas is a spineless door mat or puppy ready to follow her around?! Ridiculous! This was such a disappointment, I am left hoping that Thomas Cresswell can find someone actually deserving of him!!! Don't think I can stand to pay for and read the next one.

I have to be honest, this was not for me. I put this book down so many times out of frustration. And I had to skip around the last hundred or so pages because I fell out of love with the characters. I'll be finishing the series because I've already paid for the whole set, but It's no longer a good series. In fact, stop after the first two books and save yourself the disappointment.I'm not sure why the author felt it was necessary to make a love triangle. Alright, I do understand why she did it, but as a reader I didn't need to read about how she CHOSE Thomas just as much as he chose her.Maybe I would have liked it if Thomas was a horrible person, or at least annoying. However, he is none of those things and the reader has never been lead to doubt his feelings for Audrey Rose. So to bring in a whole new character, who by the way, IS A GREAT CHARACTER. The reader is put in a cringeworthy and awkward position, having to read all the annoying bits going through Audrey Roses mind. I admired her character in the last two books. I also enjoyed the balance that her relationship with Thomas brought to the story. But this garbage, was not it.Would have loved if the ringmaster was shown in a different light. Maybe with Liza instead of Houdini. I don't know. He was a great character, but I hated the role he played and I couldn't enjoy him.Would not recommend this book.The only good thing about this is that there is a Novella by the same author and it's in Thomas' point of view, and yes, it's worth the read. It start's on the 4 day of their voyage all the way up this a few weeks after they solved the case. It explains better as to why he was such a pushover in this book and makes me dislike Audrey Rose's character much more for the way she acted.Read the eBook, Becoming the Dark Prince.

This book. Oh my god, this book was incredible. 3 books in and I still can never work out who the killer is and still feel as shocked as I did when I read Stalking Jack the Ripper.I really enjoyed it, at first I was worried it would be a little slow and maybe not as good as the previous two, but within a few chapters, it was an intense as the others. I was a little frustrated with the introduction of the new love interest, throughout Audrey Rose has been a strong character who didn't have any romantic moments until the last book, and even that took two full books to get to. I love Thomas's character too much to want to see her with any other, and I think she did too ultimately.I loved the brief steamy make-outs scattered throughout, whenever the book got too serious a scene would be thrown in to ease the tension and make my heart flutter like I was the one in the room with him, not her. I must have highlighted a passage in every scene that was remotely romantic!I loved that we got to see more of Liza also, when we were first introduced to her in the first book I was worried she would be used simply as a plot device to highlight how different Audrey Rose is, but instead she is shown to be the strong character she is and it just shows that you can come across as a more traditional Victorian young girl but still be as badass as the non-traditional girl.I loved their relationship, it was just as it should be between family, there was no competition, despite Liza not being interested or familiar with the work Audrey Rose does, she was still included and still listened and supported them all during their time. Just as Audrey Rose was there for Liza. It made me wish I had the same depth of relationship with cousins of mine.I cannot wait for the fourth, and I really really hope the series will never end!

The audiobook was very good; the one person who narrates the whole thing does different accents and tones of voice to liven up the cast of characters, to make it feel like it isn’t just one person.But Escaping From Houdini makes Audrey Rose an unlikeable narrator, and the plot only makes sense because she acts senselessly and runs around in circles. I’d say only 50 - 80 pages of this book were actually enjoyable for me. Audrey Rose also becomes a massive hypocrite in believing her female cousin isn’t capable of thinking for herself - exactly what Audrey Rose criticises men for in books 1 and 2.Honestly I was extremely relieved when this book was over. The only good thing about it was Thomas Cresswell and the interesting setting (a cruise liner at sea where someone is murdering people). I wouldn’t rush to recommend this.

Loved this book. Full of twists and turns. Keeps you on edge all the way through

Amazing copy. Looks brand new

I really enjoyed this book! I’m very intrigued to see what’s next for Audrey-Rose and Thomas.