Jackaby by William Ritter

 Ritter, W. (2014). Jackaby. New York, NY: Scholastic.

Abigail Rock has just set sail for New Fiddleham and is looking for a job and a place to stay. What she finds though, is something unimaginable: R.F. Jackaby. He is a private investigator in search of a new assistant, but he is a little out of the ordinary. He claims to be able to see things which others cannot, and has become a nuisance to the police force, that is all except detective Charlie Cane. While Jackaby sees things that lead him to believe they have a supernatural serial killer, this all because of a banshee he sees at the scene of the recent crime, they are still escorted out and hope to find the next victim before the killer does. They are constantly on the search, but arrive a little to late to each one and cannot save them, and the commissioner, Commissioner Swift, finally sees that Jackaby may be the only hope left for the case. When it comes time to confront the killer, with a large police force backing them, Charlie turns into a beast and is thought to be the killer until Abigail runs into the Commissioner who in turn also morphs and shows that he is actually a goblin. He injures both Charlie and Abigail, but they are saved by Jackaby. Charlie is unfortunately not reinstated to their force, but is forced to assume a new position, so it leaves Abigail and Jackaby alone for whatever adventure comes next.

This book was filled with exciting twists and turns, both real and supernatural, and one cannot help but fall in love with what Ritter has included in the novel. I believe that students from middle school and up will enjoy this novel because of the thrill and suspense it leaves you in looking for the killer. Teachers can include this novel to discuss plot, inferencing, myths, and characterization.

I rate this book a 5 out of 5 stars!