Book Review :: Hunting Prince Dracula, by Kerri Maniscalco

Hunting Prince Dracula by Kerri Maniscalco
ISBN: 0316551678
Series: Stalking Jack the Ripper #2
Also in this series: Stalking Jack the Ripper
Published by Jimmy Patterson
on 2018-09-04
Genres: Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Vampires
Pages: 480
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In this sequel to Kerri Maniscalco's Stalking Jack the Ripper, bizarre murders are discovered in the castle of Prince Vlad the Impaler, otherwise known as Dracula. Could it be a copycat killer...or has the depraved prince been brought back to life?

Following the grief and horror of her discovery of Jack the Ripper's true identity, Audrey Rose Wadsworth has no choice but from flee London and its memories. Together with the arrogant yet charming Thomas Cresswell, she journeys to the dark heart of Romania, home to one of Europe's best schools of forensic medicine...and to another notorious killer, Vlad the Impaler, whose thirst for blood became legend. But her life's dream is soon tainted by blood-soaked discoveries in the halls of the school's forbidding castle, and Audrey Rose is compelled to investigate the strangely familiar murders. What she finds brings all her terrifying fears to life once again.

Last updated on 20 October 2021

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My thoughts on Hunting Prince Dracula

After being horrendously late to the Stalking Jack the Ripper series party, I am very pleased that I have now read two of Kerri Maniscalco’s books. Hunting Prince Dracula is the second in the series, and follows Audrey Rose Wadsworth and Thomas Creswell all the way to Romania, where they uncover a serial killer seemingly posing as the infamous Dracula.

“You are not mine to take. You are yours to give.”

What I am loving about this series is the 1880s period, combined with these infamous killers, myths, legends, the works. It so works for these gothic young adult novels, and Maniscalco combines the two superbly. In Hunting Prince Dracula, we follow Audrey Rose and Thomas to Romania, and it’s very different from the streets of London where they were in the first book.

In fact, so different that the story was set in a castle. That’s right, my friends, a castle. There’s something magical and mysterious and fantastic about castle-set books; there are so many things to discover around each end, and authors can play with so many aspects when you have ancient settings.

For some reason, I wasn’t quite as compelled by the Dracula vibes as I was the Jack the Ripper ones in the last book, but it was in no way hindering the story at all. It was actually quite fun going back to those vampire-esque story lines that were so prevalent in YA about  8 – 10 years ago, but way more enjoyable because it was based on folklore rather than a fantasy in the modern world. If that makes sense …?

I’m liking both Audrey Rose and Thomas more and more as the stories go on, and I can’t wait to see what happens in the third book, Escaping from Houdini.

Have you read this series? Without spoilers, what did you think?