The Name of the star (Shades of London #1) by Maureen Johnson
Rating: 3 out of 5 hearts372 pages
Released: September 2011
Buy it @ book depository
The day Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London marks a memorable occasion. For Rory, it's the start of a new life at a London boarding school. But for many, this will be remembered as the day a series of brutal murders broke out across the city, gruesome crimes mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper events of more than a century ago.
Soon “Rippermania” takes hold of modern-day London, and the police are left with few leads and no witnesses. Except one. Rory spotted the man police believe to be the prime suspect. But she is the only one who saw him. Even her roommate, who was walking with her at the time, didn't notice the mysterious man. So why can only Rory see him? And more urgently, why has Rory become his next target? In this edge-of-your-seat thriller, full of suspense, humor, and romance, Rory will learn the truth about the secret ghost police of London and discover her own shocking abilities.
Review
"The Name of the star is what you fear"
I have wanted to read this one for such a long time! A Jack the Ripper story sounds really creepy and I like a good creepy tale. But I was a little disappointed. The blurb promises: edge-of-your-seat thriller, full of suspense, humor, and romance but all of this was on the slight side.
Yes, there were moments of suspense and humor but the romance was on the cool side and there were small amounts of gruesome horror. I hadn't really read any reviews about this book and didn't know what the mystery behind the story was. Unfortunately that's what let the story down a bit, I was able to pick up on what the mystery was very early on in the book. I don't know if I'm getting better at figuring out the mysteries in books these days or it wasn't hidden very well. I guess after reading that blurb and seeing what the series is called could make you figure it out quite quickly but I never read the blurb. All I knew was that it's a book about Jack the Ripper, so I was expecting lots of horror and suspense.
Rory was a pretty cool character though. She's from Louisiana, so her trying to get used to British slang and sayings was quite funny. I realised that England & Australia have quite a few things in common, like calling it 'Maths' instead of 'Math' and drinking lots of warm tea, not iced tea. I also liked how the book gave us plenty of time to really get to know Rory and the place she spends a lot of her time, it helped develop who she was and let us as readers make a connection with her.
I read this a few weeks ago and I'm finding it hard to bring any feelings back to me, which is probably a bad thing. It shows it was a little forgettable. I did enjoy this and plan on reading the others as it turned out to be a good story, I was just a little let down because it wasn't what I was expecting. So if you're a gore, horror fan then you may want to sit this one out.
Rory was a pretty cool character though. She's from Louisiana, so her trying to get used to British slang and sayings was quite funny. I realised that England & Australia have quite a few things in common, like calling it 'Maths' instead of 'Math' and drinking lots of warm tea, not iced tea. I also liked how the book gave us plenty of time to really get to know Rory and the place she spends a lot of her time, it helped develop who she was and let us as readers make a connection with her.
I read this a few weeks ago and I'm finding it hard to bring any feelings back to me, which is probably a bad thing. It shows it was a little forgettable. I did enjoy this and plan on reading the others as it turned out to be a good story, I was just a little let down because it wasn't what I was expecting. So if you're a gore, horror fan then you may want to sit this one out.
On the cover
Everytime I see this cover I think how creepy it looks. So perfect for the feel of the book. One thing though, if that's meant to be Rory on the front cover why is her hair red? Because her hair is brown in the book...
What I'm listening to next: The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult
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