This book was quite a let down compared to the rest of the series. It felt very forced and backtracked a lot of things established from the first book. I get wanting to connect these big murder cases of similar times but it's doesn't work. I didn't really like the Houdini angle the last book had but it didn't negatively affect the arc of the characters like this one did.

This book has trope of the killer being in love/obsessed with the hero and I really hated in this. I don't mind it usually but maybe I'm just sick of the only woman character in crime investigating being harassed by the killer. All of it just seems really lazy in this case, especially when having change well know facts. I know that this a theory that came up before, but it more throwing names out there instead of an actual thing that could have to happen.

Everyone wants to be Jack the Ripper. Also the main arguer for H.H. Holmes being involved in the Jack the Ripper killings gives the theory that it was an assistant who actually did the killing. Yeah, no. Completely different and I know its very popular to have killers that change their techniques. There are killers similar to Jack the Ripper that were active in America at this time and I thought this was the way it was going to go.

I do like that the Audrey Rose gettings injured continues to affect her from the last book.