You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Scan barcode
A review by camryndaytona
Capturing the Devil by Kerri Maniscalco
1.0
I started this book with such high hopes (and expectations) and the longer I read, the more upset I became.
So what bothered me so much about it?
There are a lot of spoilers in this review. I really don't know how to avoid them (and there's too many to hide them all) so I'm just going to include them.
The Positives
Usually, I start with the problems, so I can end on a high note, but this time I'm starting with the positive parts because there's a lot less of them.
- I got the Faecrate Limited Edition box and it was really spectacular.
- Grandmama is one of the greatest characters of all time
- Did she just telegram the queen like it was no big deal? SHE DID
Alright. Let's move on to the bad stuff.
Historical Notes
If you haven't noticed, Maniscalco always includes a notes section in the back of her books where she talks about the historical stuff. It's usually worth a read, so I wanted to discuss parts of it here.
The Chicago Columbian Exposition / World's Fair was NOT in 1889
Yes, she did admit that this was one of the things she changed, but honestly? It STILL bothered me.
It's supposed to be the anniversary of Columbus sailing in 1492, so you can't really change that.
Personally, since one of my complaints is that Audrey is only 17, she should have just skipped a few years and let everyone grow up.
HH Holmes is NOT Jack the Ripper
He's not.
No credible source thinks that he is.
Jeff Mudgett thinks that he was. Jeff Mudgett is not a credible source.
Please stop.
(personally I prefer the theory that Jack was actually an alien to the theory that Jack is HH Holmes)
Jeff Mudgett is NOT CREDIBLE
He's HH Holmes' great-great-grandson and so he has an incentive to make his relative as interesting as possible.
Read Erik Larson's Devil in the White City
This is THE source on all things HH Holmes, and I was very disappointed that she listed it at the end of her notes. Honestly, it should have been first, and the fact that she put Jeff Mudgett first is what worries me.
I don't know how you can read Larson and still think Jeff Mudgett is credible. Honestly, that blows my mind.
Characters
Audrey is 17
Honestly, I had forgotten this until I read someone else's review, but this blows my mind.
Audrey keeps whining throughout the book that people aren't treating her like an adult, BUT THAT'S BECAUSE SHE'S NOT AN ADULT.
They really try to push that deciding to get married at 17 is feminist, but its NOT. Trust me on this, please. Don't get married to the first person you date, I'm begging you.
Thomas is Hot. Really Hot.
I genuinely believe that Maniscalco is in love with Thomas.
I suspected it after meeting her in May, but after finishing CTD, I really, truly think that she's madly in love with him and honestly? That worries me.
Thomas' entire personality in CTD is being the perfect YA love interest. And he also loves sweets (seriously, how is he not morbidly obese by now?)
And look, I'm a morbid person, but it's really not sexy to tell someone that you're buff because you pick up bodies all day (and please, Thomas, you haven't been in a morgue regularly in weeks).
He's also not Victorian at all. I'm sorry, I get that there are always people who exist outside of societal expectations, but he takes the line and burns it.
Nathaniel is a Cop Out
Remember in book one how Audrey's entire world was shattered because we found out that her brother is Jack the Ripper?
Remember how she's spent two books recovering from her trauma? Remember how these books actually had a decent representation of PTSD?
Well forget all that, because NATHANIEL IS A GOOD GUY NOW!
Look, he's only encouraging a murderer! That makes him good!
No it doesn't. Sorry.
But yes, it's revealed that Nathaniel isn't actually Jack, HH Holmes was. Nathaniel was just using Holmes to get body parts (and then did the whole reveal/confession in book one for funsies! It's totally just a fun sibling prank to tell your sister that you're a deranged serial killer)
There are issues with the other characters (it seems like everyone just does things to advance the plot, not because it fits them) but I don't feel like writing a novel about this so I'm going to stop here.
Plot
Puh-lease.
Instead of Capturing the Devil, this should have been called Marrying the Vampire (because Thomas is related to Dracula. You know that right? Well, in case you didn't Audrey reminds you in every chapter).
But yes, most of this book is about Thomas and Audrey's wedding (which is particularly annoying since Maniscalco originally said there would be NO wedding). It's so much about the wedding that they don't even go to Chicago until page 243. And since Chicago is in all the promo material and ON THE COVER that's false advertising.
And what even was the deal with the fake fiancé? Seriously? When the wedding was happening I was honestly excited because I THOUGHT WE WOULD FINALLY BE ABLE TO GET ONTO THE MURDER but instead Miss FakeLady showed up and we had ten pages of Audrey crying.
Remember how Audrey is ALL GROWN UP AND TOTALLY MATURE ENOUGH TO GET MARRIED? Well she sure cries a lot when she doesn't get her way.
And then, on page 243 we finally go to Chicago.
Somehow, I thought that the Chicago stuff would finally get better. I had enough faith in Maniscalco that I thought "this will redeem this." But no. It got so much worse.
Oh, and the Moonlight Carnival from Escaping from Houdini came back, and I'm really not sure why. Their scenes felt like more of an afterthought than anything else.
The Fair
What I wanted:
- Audrey and Thomas exploring the fair, going to the different pavilions, seeing all the wonders.
- She did such a good job creating the Carnival in book two that I thought she would put the same effort into this.
- Meeting all the people that were there
- Wild Bill Cody, Annie Oakley, and Tesla were all mentioned
- This is one of the most famous World's Fairs for a reason. It was SPECTACULAR.
What I got:
- "Uncle said no."
- Honestly this might be the only time in the entire series that Audrey actually listens to authority.
But yes, since her uncle told her not to, she actually listened and didn't go to the fair except for two short scenes (both of which were really short).
Instead the Chicago scenes included a crazy Jesus guy, one of their classmates from book two, and the Midnight Carnival from book three (why were they back? Seriously?). Oh and the Pinkertons, but we didn't meet any real Pinkertons, so even that was a let down.
Everyone Keeps Getting Richer
Honestly. What. Just. Happened?
It's not enough that Thomas is related to Dracula, now his dad is the most important Duke in England? And somehow no one knew this? (that's so inaccurate, like, I can't even begin to explain how everyone would have known who he was).
And now Audrey's grandmother is related to the Raja and can just NAME DROP THE QUEEN? Sure it's badass, but honestly, why? And of course, she's leaving her many, many houses to Audrey (but don't worry, the money isn't getting to Audrey's head because she totally felt bad for some orphans she saw on the way to her expensive dress fitting. She didn't do anything of course, but you knowing #prayingforyou).
Oh and Ileana is a Hohenzollern? What? Why? It wasn't even important to the plot, Maniscalco just had to make her EVEN MORE IMPORTANT.
HH Holmes
One thing that Maniscalco said in her notes that startled me, was that the entire series was supposed to be building up to HH Holmes.
I'm sorry what now?
That's like saying Lord of the Rings is supposed to build up to The Mouth of Sauron who get his head chopped off in two minutes.
Apparently Audrey and Holmes passed each other in book one (but really, the creepy guy in the alley could have been ANYONE) and there was the unsolved murder on the boat, and another in NYC.
But that's not building up.
If it was 'building up' then when he revealed everything I should have gone "oh THAT makes sense" not "what are you smoking" because that was my reaction.
I could go on for literal pages about everything she got wrong here, but here's a tiny summary:
- Holmes is what's known as a "product killer" (meaning he wants the body or the 'product' of the kill). Jack is a "process killer" (for him, the thrill is in the kill). Very, very few killers are both.
- tl;dr Jack was a mad man. Holmes just killed for money.
- Holmes wasn't apprehended until several years AFTER the fair. The castle was burned down even later.
- More time should have been spent in the Murder Castle, because, honestly it's that interesting.
- Nathaniel is supposedly "based" on Benjamin Pitezel, which is stupid because Pitzel is nothing like Nathaniel (for starters: he's dumber than a box of rocks)
- Minnie was NOT killed in the same manner as most of his victims. She was locked in his safe and suffocated (police later found her footprint on the wall from where she'd been trying to escape). Oh, and it's been theorized that she was his accomplice.
- Audrey described that some of the bodies he had hanging around were partially intact, but that the parts that were skeletalized were held together with wires. Which means that they're half articulated (the word for making skeletons that stay together)
- You don't do that. That's not how that works. That only happens in a haunted house.
Overall
I was planning to give this book two stars because I hate giving one star, but the day after I read it, I woke up and my first thought was "wow that book sucked."
It's now been two days, and I'm still pretty pissed.
At this point, I'm sort of just glad that it's over and ready to move on with my life.
Part of me wants to reread book one (because I LOVED that one) but I also just.... I can't.
I want to be excited about the book that she has coming out next year, but, I don't know if I'm gonna be able to read that after this.