New England in the 1890's was a great place to make a fresh start for various groups of people like craftsmen, religious refugees and social reformers. It was also an ideal place to escape to for a young woman of good family who had absconded with her college tuition funds to pursue a life of adventure. Such was the case of Miss Abigail Rook, recently arrived in New Fiddleham from Europe and in need of a job. Fortunately for her Mr. R. F. Jackaby, the town's resident paranormal investigator, was looking for an assistant.
Of course at first Abigail can't tell if anyone takes her employer seriously, Jackaby himself included. But then Jackaby takes on the case of a gruesome series of murders (without the consent of the local police force, I might add) and the culprit may not be human at all. Abigail will have her eyes opened to the possibilities that Jackaby's world presents, and her life may depend on her willingness to accept them.
This book was a great combination of fantastical creatures, including a frog that produces clouds of noxious vapors when stared at for too long, and good ol' fashioned murder mystery. It's a fairly straight-forward plot, with the usual "dead ends" and red herrings that one encounters in most mystery novels, but the supernatural nature of things and the very appealing characters kept me entertained if not in suspense. I picked the Bad Guy out of the cast pretty quickly, and he matches a pretty good list of stereotypes as far as villains go, but I didn't mind following the others around until they caught on as well.
Jackaby and Abigail are great contrasting lead characters, because they're such complete opposites. One (Jackaby) can see supernatural beings and clues to which others are utterly blind, and the other (Abigail) notices the mundane but important details that are too boring for Jackaby to appreciate or even identify. And while we know about Abigail's personal background, as she is the narrator of the story, much of Jackaby's situation remains unknown aside from a few vague but tantalizing allusions to a dark past. At the very least we know that it involves a ghost named Jenny and an assistant-turned-duck by the name of Douglas.
I wish that Jackaby himself had been a more developed character though. As it is I feel like some of his quirkiness, like his coat and its pockets full of random things, is just affected to make him seem zanier. He never seems to really use any of it, so it comes off as more of an affectation than anything. Additionally for all his purported expertise on the subject of paranormal beings, he doesn't actually discover the murderer; the culprit reveals himself, and his identity makes sense after the fact. If he'd just laid low, I don't know if Jackaby would ever have figured it out. I'll be curious to see if these annoyances will be addressed in future books in this new series, and if improvements on his character will be made.
Fans of the Dr. Who franchise will appreciate the whimsical nature of Jackaby, as well as his unique wealth of knowledge and penchant for using an odd assortment of tools. If you like Jim Butcher's Dresden Files books, Jackaby will appeal to your sense of supernatural suspense and adventure. It will be released on September 16th, and is available for pre-order now at your favorite local independent bookstore.
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