Ripper by Stefan Petrucha.
Penguin, 2012.
All of his life, Carver Young has only known the orphanage he
lives in. It’s there that he met Delia,
his closest friend, and Finn, his worst enemy.
It’s also the place he learned skills like picking locks and not being
seen or heard, perfect skills for detecting.
Carver’s life has always been a mystery, and it’s one he’d
like to solve. Who was his father? When hacking into his file, all he stole was
a piece of paper dated July 18, 1889 with words like “boss,” and “knife,” and a
description of Carver as an eight year old boy, including a unique mole he
has.
But now, it’s the year 1895 and the orphanage is closing
down. Fourteen-year-old Carver has two options:
become adopted immediately by the wealthy clamoring to this “Prospective
Parents Day” (mostly because the young police commissioner of New York City,
Theodore Roosevelt, is there) become a street rat, selling papers or cleaning offal. And
this night is where Carver meets his fate – a Pinkteron Detective by the name
of Hawking….
Carver isn’t sure what to make of this mysterious and surly
man who has adopted him, but the more time he spends around Hawking, the more
intriguing his situation becomes and the closer Carver gets to the mystery
surrounding his father. The New
Pinkertons headquarters, carved deep under bustling New York City, has all the
tools and people Carver needs to find out more about his father, and when he
realizes who his father is, the more horror and bloodshed arrive at his
doorstep. Jack the Ripper is looking for
his long-lost son….
Petrucha knows the Gilded Age and New York City well. Not only his is novel a compelling and
interesting mystery, but the scenery he writes about as well as the characters
and inventions will take the reader back to that most interesting era of the
late 1800’s. Jack the Ripper has left
the foggy streets of London to go head-to-head with Theodore Roosevelt, but
will macabre cunning or intelligent bravado win? Petrucha takes the reader to the very of the
novel for it all to play out. Readers
may think they’re reading steampunk, but the author bases most everything on
reality, including the New Pinkertons headquarters, on fact. Of course there are a few exaggerations, but
they work well in the book. The end of
the novel has a character and gadget glossary, which gives historical accuracy
on everything Petrucha refers to. This
is an excellent book that will fascinate readers of both historical fiction and
mystery fiction. Highly recommended.
Common Core/Non Fiction Pair: Secret Subway: the fascinating tale of an
amazing feat of engineering. Martin
Sandler, author. An illustrated overview of the history
of New York's first subway that discusses why it was necessary to build, Alfred
Beach's vision for the system and efforts to see it through, resistance to its
construction, and other related topics.
