Where the main characters in Jackaby based on or inspired by any one person? Ritter about his novel Jackaby and this great characters. William Ritter is an Oregonian author who has released his debut novel in a series about a investigating duo in 19th century New York uncovering the strangeness beneath the everyday.

Jackaby wasn’t exactly what I was expecting, but I will read the next book.Interviewed by Elvira Sanchez Kisser, Woodburn Public Library It took a bit to get used to the fact that Jackaby investigates brownies and trolls instead of normal human beings, but when I got into the story, I enjoyed the ride. I quite liked this debut, because in the end these archetypical characters are very entertaining. He also writes entertaining banter and seems to have a great imagination for mythological beasties and paranormal occurrences. He has a very convincing 19th century voice, something that isn’t easy to accomplish. I think this is where Ritter’s expertise shines most. On a sentence level Jackaby is fantastically written. Mr Ritter deserves a cookie, however, for writing a story with a male and female character in close quarters to each other without there being any romantic feelings between them. There is a shallow back story that never fully takes form, and she’s hardly an acting character at all. There isn’t more to him than this flat characterisation.Ībigail herself isn’t much better – like many detective sidekicks she is simply a foil, a stand-in for the reader so we can enjoy the work of the detective in her place. He struts around like the Doctor, and deduces like Holmes. He is simply a mash-up of the personality of these two pop-culture heroes, and he never breaks from the mould into becoming a character of his own. Jackaby as a character is described as “Sherlock Holmes meets Doctor Who”, which is exactly who he is. Ritter knows his source material, but that is also his greatest weakness.

There are countless allusions to the grandfathers of the genre, including to Poe (there is both a character named Allan, as well as one named Dupin). It’s clear that Mr Ritter is an absolute fan of old detectives.

She finds employment by the eccentric Jackaby, a young man who solves paranormal mysteries. That’s how she ends up on a different continent, penniless, looking for a job. A paranormal Sherlock Holmes? Count me in!Ībigail Rook doesn’t want to live a life of pretty dresses, but one of adventure and excitement. It has a beautiful cover, a great blurb, and honestly just sounded so good. Jackaby was one of my most anticipated 2014 releases. Published September 16th 2014 by Algonquin Young Readers

Jackaby book