The Name of The Star by Maureen Johnson REVIEW

The Name of The Star by Maureen Johnson (Shades of London #1)

bought


Synopsis from Goodreads
The day Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London marks a memorable occasion. For Rory, it's the start of a new life at a London boarding school. But for many, this will be remembered as the day a series of brutal murders broke out across the city, gruesome crimes mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper events of more than a century ago.

Soon “Rippermania” takes hold of modern-day London, and the police are left with few leads and no witnesses. Except one. Rory spotted the man police believe to be the prime suspect. But she is the only one who saw him. Even her roommate, who was walking with her at the time, didn't notice the mysterious man. So why can only Rory see him? And more urgently, why has Rory become his next target? In this edge-of-your-seat thriller, full of suspense, humor, and romance, Rory will learn the truth about the secret ghost police of London and discover her own shocking abilities.


Amazon  US/UK(£3.50) | Amazon kindle US/UK(£2.99) |  The Book Depository US/UK


* * *
A very good story which inevitably made me draw comparisons to an excellent Rivers of London series by Ben Aaronovitch.

Rory is a marvellous character. She is not silly and one-dimensional, her life doesn't revolve around a love interest, and praise Heavens, there is NO LOVE TRIANGLE in this story. Just for this Maureen Johnson deserves brownie points.


The contrast between Rory and her new pals British teens in a school in London is absolutely hilarious. She comes from warm and lazy Louisiana and at times loves to play a part of stereotypical American to scare other people off. She is also caring, attentive and has normal fleshed out friends. It's fun to watch how she picks up British habits, slang and cultural references and slowly acclimatizes.

The plot itself is very well done. This is a thriller, a murder mystery, which slowly unravels the face behind the recent gruesome murders, interspersed with the events years ago which were at the root at the problem.

London described by  Maureen Johnson is charming, full of ghosts and very much alive, with the small team of super secret paranormal detectives roaming through its ghostly hot spots and dealing with all sorts of emergencies.

I highly recommend this book. It's entertaining, dark and intense enough to feel real.

* * *
Совсем неплохая книга. Я даже могла бы сказать, что в ней есть отголоски серии Реки Лондона Бена Аароновича.

Неожиданно вышло, что автор отошла от клише подростковой литературы, не воткнула в сюжет обрыдший любовный треугольник, тут в принципе как таковой любовной истории нет, а сконцентрировала своё внимание на детективной истории, которая вышла достаточно мрачной и жизненной, чтобы в ней можно было поверить. Аллилуйя!

Рори переезжает вместе с родителями, которым предложили должности профессоров в университете Бирмингема, из маленького городка в Луизиане в частную школу в Лондоне, которую она выбрала сама.

Читать о различиях между типичным американским и британским подростком, слэнге и культурных предпочтениях было не только интересно, но и довольно смешно. Ещё интереснее было наблюдать за акклиматизацией Рори и её совершенно нормальными друзьями. Морин создала живых, полнокровных второстепенных персонажей.

Паранормальная часть сюжета, Лондон, полный призраков и оперирующая в нём маленькая секретная полицейская дивизия на фоне расследования преступлений нового Джека-Потрошителя читаются с напряжением, очень увлекательны и полны реализма.

Дело в том, что в эту историю со всеми её характерами легко поверить, и поэтому я считаю, что книга не только удалась, но и жду не дождусь её второй части. 

Рекомендую.

8.5/10

Comments

  1. I bought this book when it forst came out because of the sheer number of positive reviews. Sadly it slipped down my tbr pile until I forgot I even had until now! Sounds awesome - and any comparison to Rivers of London will have me wanting to read it soon! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Awesome review!! Have this one in my TBR mountain! Hope to get to it eventually!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular Posts