High School isn't supposed to be so...frightening. Rory is spending her senior year in a new school in a new country. She arrives in London in a rush, as the first of what will be a series of Jack the Ripper-esque murders is discovered, very near her school. Adjusting isn't so bad, really, even if there is a serial killer on the loose in London.
It's the other stuff. The girls’ prefect that looks down at her, a new roommate partway through the term. The guy..does he like her or not? The nearly dying the first evening at dinner. Then seeing people that no one else does. Nothing quite prepares you for being the only witness to a murder.
This is NOT your typical Maureen Johnson (think, Suite Scarlett), but remember, authors, much like books, cannot be judged by covers--or previous works. It's not humorous, but it, despite revolving around serial murders, isn't dark, either. The serial killer and murders are almost secondary, beyond all the usual boarding school drama filled with romance, roommates, and just stuff. Oh, and Jack the Ripper-like murders. But the story is definitely paranormal and mysterious. And she threw a plot twist in there, too.
There's enough of the known history of Jack the Ripper to make the story interesting to those who like that sort of thing. The fact that it's Maureen Johnson who wrote it makes it approachable to those who just want a good story to read.
--Jennifer Turney, Librarian at Angleton High School, Texas USA
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Rory, a teen who has grown up in Boueuxlieu, Louisiana is leaving to attend boarding school in London for her senior year while her parents teach for a year at the University of Bristol.
As Rory arrives in London and starts her new adventure she is told that someone “pulled a Jack the Ripper” the night before. Still trying to learn the London way of talking she is not sure what people are really saying. But she soon finds out that there is a copycat murderer on the loose who is mimicking Jack the Ripper and his murders in London from 1888. He copies everything right down to how the murder happened, the date, the name and the place. But when surveillance cameras are watched no one can see the murderer. It seems he is invisible but how can that be? Could the killer possibly be a ghost?
As Rory makes friends at her new school and a romance begins to blossom the murders continue. But one night Rory sees and talks to who they think the murderer is and she finds out that no one can see him but her. What makes her different from everyone else? Is she seeing a ghost?
One night as she encounters the murderer and he tries to attack her she finds herself meeting three young people who have “the sight” like she does. Now she is part of a small group called The Shades. With their help maybe she can help solve the mystery of the new Jack the Ripper.
Recommended by: Joleen Waltman, Librarian, Idaho USA
