Beastly Bones by William Ritter {early arc review + giveaway}

Beastly Bones
by William Ritter
♦publisher: Algonquin Young Readers
♦release date:  September 22nd, 2015
♦hardcover, 304 pages
♦intended audience: Young adult
♦series: Jackaby, book 2
  review of book 1
♦source: trade show

“I’ve found very little about private detective R. F. Jackaby to be standard in the time I’ve known him. Working as his assistant tends to call for a somewhat flexible relationship with reality.”

In 1892, New Fiddleham, New England, things are never quite what they seem, especially when Abigail Rook and her eccentric employer R. F. Jackaby are called upon to investigate the supernatural.

First, a vicious species of shape-shifters disguise themselves as a litter of kittens, and a day later, their owner is found murdered with a single mysterious puncture wound. Then in nearby Gad’s Valley, now home to the exiled New Fiddleham police detective Charlie Cane, dinosaur bones from a recent dig mysteriously go missing, and an unidentifiable beast starts attacking animals and people, leaving their mangled bodies behind. Charlie calls on Abigail for help, and soon Abigail and Jackaby are on the hunt for a thief, a monster, and a murderer. 

Review:  *Sigh* please let there be at least a dozen more Jackaby adventures before we see the end. This is just the kind of series I adore---wonderful characters, great fun plots, and each book has its own story arc that stands on it's own.  In this second story, William Ritter has given us another wild and entertaining mystery to unfold alongside Jackaby and his assistant, Abigail.  With curious creatures, grim killings, and one bafflingly hideous knit hat, this series brings on another tale of fast-paced, laugh out loud fun.

This time around we get to delve deeper into Abigails love for archeology. A strange creature has been unearthed at a local farm and Abigail and Jackaby have been called in to investigate a few strange deaths that have happened nearby.  A  slew of fun new characters come into play including two notoriously rivaling archeolgists, a riotously smart-mouthed and headstrong reporter, the kindly farmer grieving his late wife, and a big loveable country trapper with a fascination for bizarre creatures (this one, I couldn’t help but picture as Hagrid from HP!).  A few familiar faces from book one make appearances, including Jenny, the ghost who lives with them, and Charlie, a police officer who was banished to the countryside after his true “lineage” was revealed in the first adventure.   Abigail was incredibly fond of him the first time around and their closeness and attraction grows ever sweeter and stronger, in their very proper Victorian ways—for the most part. :) The bumbling way they sort of dance around their feelings is just adorable.

The mystery is full of clever twists and keeps you guessing at what could possibly be behind the strange deaths and missing artifacts--and how the two might be connected. The big climactic scene is so full of fantasy, peril, and bittersweet turns, it broke my heart one second and had me cheering the next.  There is also a brilliant bit of build-up to the plot of the next book. Looks like we'll be finding out more about Jenny. Though she is just a small part in Beastly Bones, she breaks out with some seriously strange behavior, so I absolutely can't wait to find out what is happening to her!

Find William Ritter online:  Website  •  Twitter 

Purchase Jackaby:  Indiebound  •  BookDepository  • Amazon

*GIVEAWAY!*

I want to get this into another reader's hands!! Enter below to win a copy :)

•US addresses only

 (watch for an international giveaway closer to the pub date!) 

•Ends 8/7/15 

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