Set sail on the Etruria, home of Mephistopheles and his Moonlight Carnival in Kerri Maniscalco’s newest installment of her Stalking Jack the Ripper series Escaping From Houdini.
Make sure to check out and enter the giveaway below!!
A big Thank You to Fantastic Flying Book Club for picking me to participate in the Escaping From Hourdini Blog Tour! I’ve really enjoyed working with them and can’t wait to see what other tours they’ll be hosting in the coming months! If you haven’t checked out their blog yet, you are missing out!
About Escaping From Houdini
Title: Escaping From Houdini
Authors: Kerri Maniscalco
Publication Date: September 18, 2018
Publisher: Jimmy Patterson Books
In this third installment in the #1 bestselling Stalking Jack the Ripper series, a luxurious ocean liner becomes a floating prison of scandal, madness, and horror when passengers are murdered one by one…with nowhere to run from the killer. .
Audrey Rose Wadsworth and her partner-in-crime-investigation, Thomas Cresswell, are en route to New York to help solve another blood-soaked mystery. Embarking on a week-long voyage across the Atlantic on the opulent RMS Etruria, they’re delighted to discover a traveling troupe of circus performers, fortune tellers, and a certain charismatic young escape artist entertaining the first-class passengers nightly.
But then, privileged young women begin to go missing without explanation, and a series of brutal slayings shocks the entire ship. The strange and disturbing influence of the Moonlight Carnival pervades the decks as the murders grow ever more freakish, with nowhere to escape except the unforgiving sea. It’s up to Audrey Rose and Thomas to piece together the gruesome investigation as even more passengers die before reaching their destination. But with clues to the next victim pointing to someone she loves, can Audrey Rose unravel the mystery before the killer’s horrifying finale?
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Favorite Quotes
Review
I cannot tell you how excited I got accepted to participate in this blog tour! This series is one of my all time favorites and of course this new installment did not disappoint!
Audrey Rose is back to investigate the mysterious murders among the many layers of the ship Etruria with the lovely Thomas Creswell. Audrey Rose won’t just face a murderer this time but her fears, dreams, and the unknown future. She’s offered a bargain made on the deck at midnight following the first series of murders and believes it’s the only way to investigate the carnival crew and find a killer but instead she’ll be faced with more uncertainty and as the bodies pile up she feels time is running out. Audrey Rose is one of my favorite female protagonists because she uses her education and wits to be the detective I wanted to be one day. She doesn’t let the fact she is a woman stop her following her dreams and I love that the most about her. She doesn’t use her station to get what she wants but her abilities. She’s grown so much by the time we get to EFH and continues to grow.
Thomas. I love Thomas and the way he loves Audrey Rose is so sweet. He is so fun to be around while he is on the page and although jealousy gets in the way sometimes in this one, his love for Audrey Rose never falters. The banter he has with her is a trait I believe most girls would love to see in a relationship. The fact that he has an uncanny ability to put himself into the murder scene to try to uncover clues is also a huge turn on for Audrey Rose and we get to see a little bit more of how he does that in this one!
Mephistopheles is such an intriguing character and the majority of the book you’ll wonder what his motives are, is he the killer, is he not the killer, who is he, why is he leading a circus on a ship in the middle of the Atlantic, is he running from something or someone, so many questions. I think he has been the most interesting character in the series so far. You’ll have to read it to find the answers!
I love this series with all my heart and I can’t wait to see what famous person will be the highlight of the next, and final, installment of this series!
Excerpt
Listen to the Excerpt Here !
One: Moonlight Carnival
RMS Etruria
Liverpool, England
1 January 1889
New Year’s afternoon aboard the Etruria began like a fairytale, which was the first indication a nightmare lurked on the horizon, waiting, as most villains do, for an opportunity to strike.
As our cruise liner prepared to leave port, I ignored twinges of unease in favor of the lush fantasy world before us. It was the start of a fresh year, a new chapter, a wonderful opportunity to put dark events of the past behind us and stare ahead into the bright future.
A future that might soon bring a wedding…and a wedding night.
I took a steadying breath and glanced at the stage in the center of the grand dining saloon. Heavy velvet curtains — an ink blue so dark they appeared black — shimmered with tiny sparkling gems whenever light caught them. Aerial performers in diamond encrusted bodices twirled on silver threads, beautiful spiders spinning webs I was hopelessly caught up in.
Round tables dotted the floor like well-placed constellations, their moon white linens strewn with flowers in purples, creams and blues. Among many modern conveniences the Etruria boasted a hot house, and the scents of jasmine, lavender and other midnight notes wafted through the air, inviting yet dangerous — like the masked performers soaring above us.
“The long trains on their costumes make them look like shooting stars, don’t they? I should love to have a dress made with as many gemstones one day.” Miss Prescott, daughter of Chief Magistrate Prescott, sighed deeply. With her caramel hair and cunning brown eyes, she reminded me of my cousin Liza. I liked her immediately. She set her champagne flute down and leaned close, dropping her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “Have you heard the legend of Mephistopheles, Miss Wadsworth?”
About the Author
Kerri Maniscalco grew up in a semi-haunted house outside NYC where her fascination with gothic settings began. In her spare time she reads everything she can get her hands on, cooks all kinds of food with her family and friends, and drinks entirely too much tea while discussing life’s finer points with her cats.
Her first novel in this series, Stalking Jack the Ripper, debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. It incorporates her love of forensic science and unsolved history.
Favorite non-writing things:
I believe curry, avocados, vinyl records, handwritten letters, and my 1950s Smith-Corona typewriter are the best things on the planet. EVER. (Aside from my food blog, www.sndwchsetc.com, that is.) 😀 My favorite quote of all time is: “You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club” by Jack London.
Follow Kerri on Twitter and Instagram where she’s always ready to talk fictional crushes and nerd out over books:
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Giveaway
One ARC of Escaping From Houdini by Kerri Maniscalco (US Only)
Starts: 09-12-18
Ends: 09-26-18
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The Clever Reader 
This book sounds amazing and I loved the previous two so this is going to be one book that I dearly fall in love with!
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Yes! You definitely will! It has so many feels! I love the carnival aspect too!
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I continue to see such high praise for these books, glad to see you enjoyed this one. Extra bit of motivation for me to stop slacking on them, I just know they’re going to be 5 star reads for me too 🙂
Happy Reading! ❤
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Yes!! You’ll love them!
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I can’t wait to read this!
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They are so good!
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So many good quotes in this!! I can’t wait to read it 😄
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Thank you! I had to narrow them down! I’m glad I featured ones you liked!
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Great review! This is one of my most anticipated books of this month and I’m so glad to hear that you loved it! I can’t wait to read it! 🙂
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Thank you! I hope you love it too! It was one of my most anticipated also!
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