Ripper

In 1895, after fourteen-year-old orphan and wannabe-detective Carver Young becomes the protegé of a retired Pinkerton Agency detective, he makes the shocking discovery that his father is alive--and is Jack the Ripper, now terrorizing New York. This nonstop edge-of-your-seat action story features a collection of complex secondary characters, a whip-smart narrative, and a vividly portrayed setting.

After fourteen-year-old orphan and wannabe-detective Carver Young discovers a letter written by his unknown father, he becomes the protégé of a retired Pinkerton Agency detective, Albert Hawking. His new mentor takes Carver to the secret head-quarters of the New Pinkertons, a group of undercover crime-fighting detectives working on a case to catch a brutal murderer terrorizing the city, killing wealthy socialites. Petrucha inventively re-imagines history, inserting his young protagonist and the notorious Whitechapel serial killer, Jack the Ripper, into 1895 New York City amidst historical figures such as then-police commissioner Theodore Roosevelt. While Carver is using the New Pinkertons's resources (including several steampunk gadgets elaborated on in the back matter) to investigate the identity and whereabouts of his father, he makes the shocking discovery that "Saucy Jack" is his father and takes it upon himself to stop the Ripper, father or not. A collection of complex secondary characters, the whip-smart narrative, the vividly portrayed setting, and Carver's internal struggle over whom to trust raise the book's quality above the detective dime novels Carver loves to read. This exhilarating, history-bending, nonstop action story crowded with mind puzzles, chases, fight scenes, and intricate plot twists will keep readers on the edge of their seats until the last chapter's final revelation. cynthia k. ritter