The Jekyll Revelation by Robert Masello
4/5
*I received an ARC by Little Bird Publicity in exchange for an honest review*
Initial thoughts: 1. Thank you to Little Bird Publicity for the ARC! 2. My oh my! This book completely blew my mind! The amount of twists and turns this book took left me turning each page to find out what happened next.
Synopsis (from Goodreads):
While on routine patrol in the tinder-dry Topanga Canyon, environmental scientist Rafael Salazar expects to find animal poachers, not a dilapidated antique steamer trunk. Inside the peculiar case, he discovers a journal, written by the renowned Robert Louis Stevenson, which divulges ominous particulars about his creation of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. It also promises to reveal a terrible secret—the identity of Jack the Ripper.
Unfortunately, the journal—whose macabre tale unfolds in an alternating narrative with Rafe’s—isn’t the only relic in the trunk, and Rafe isn’t the only one to purloin a souvenir. A mysterious flask containing the last drops of the grisly potion that inspired Jekyll and Hyde and spawned London’s most infamous killer has gone missing. And it has definitely fallen into the wrong hands.
Review:
First off, I have to admit, I went into this book without a shred of idea what was happening. I knew the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, but never saw the play or read the book. I just knew the basis, a guy is a doctor by day and completely changes into someone knew by night. However, The Jekyll Revelation took that basis and brought it to a whole new level, especially with adding the complex, mysterious aspect of Jack the Ripper. Masello was able to take a historical event, an author’s life, and turn it into this exhilarating thriller that left me jaw dropped and completely immersed into the story.
Not only did the cover completely grab my interest, but Masello’s writing style was very unique and simplistic almost, but still held attention to it. I appreciated that his descriptions and imagery weren’t drawn out, but rather straight to the point and still allowed room for interpretation. I was able to visualize was what happening, how everything looked in my own way.
The story is told from multiple POV’s, which I think added to the story greatly. We were able to clearly see their side of the story even when we didn’t necessarily want to from certain characters…Which brings me to the Jack the Ripper history! Honestly, I gained a completely new interest for the story behind the Ripper as well as Robert Louis Stevenson. Both stories are completely different, but Masello created a novel that brought them both together in a way that was thrilling and historical. While it was historical fiction, the research was clearly done.
My main issue I had while reading was there were a few parts that lagged excitement in the sense. Where I didn’t feel as connected with the story. Mainly these happened in Rafe’s chapters. I think it had something to do with a personality clash, his voice bored me almost in the sense I didn’t feel he was really pulling me into the story with his POV.
All in all, this story is one for the books. If anyone has the least bit interest in the history of Jekyll and Hyde, or Jack the Ripper, I highly recommend this. Even if you don’t know anything about what I just mentioned (like me), I think you’d still enjoy it. If you like anything with a mystery and love having know idea what is coming next, pick up The Jekyll Revelation! It hits shelves November 8th, 2016!
Until next time,
Kiara
A Nerd and Her Books 