Renegade

by Amy Carol Reeves

Overview

“She hungered again as she had not in twenty years. For blood.’’ The Conclave—a secret group with twisted ideals and freakish practices—has been wiped out, thanks to Arabella Sharp. But Abbie has no time to rest. Terrifying visions of a sea beast plague her, and strange encounters lurk around every turn. She only knows one thing for certain: there’s a new malevolence afoot. Meanwhile, fishermen are being killed, their partially devoured bodies washing up on the shores of Scotland. Is the Ripper responsible? Or have the Conclave’s horrible experiments left behind something more monstrous? Drawn reluctantly into the mystery, Abbie fears the worst when her beloved Dr. William Siddal vanishes. To save the man she loves, Abbie must journey to the Orkney Isles before time runs out—putting her own life in danger as she confronts the Conclave’s sinister past.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780738732626
Publisher:	North Star Editions
Publication date:	04/08/2013
Series:	A Ripper Novel , #2
Pages:	346
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.90(d)
Age Range:	12 - 18 Years

About the Author

Amy Carol Reeves has a PhD in 19^th century British Literature and a master’s degree in British Literature from the University of South Carolina. She became entranced by the idea for Ripper, her debut novel, after meeting Donald Rumbelow, a world-recognized expert on Jack the Ripper. Reeves is currently an adjunct professor at the University of South Carolina, and lives with her husband and two children in Columbia, S.C. For more information, visit her online at: AmyCarolReeves.com.

Read an Excerpt

Please browse inside this title with the preview below.

Editorial Reviews

"Reeves strikes a good balance between Victorian sensibilities and a strong female protagonist." —School Library Journal

"Reeves continues to build a rich storyline blending history and paranormal elements for an enjoyable read." —VOYA

From the Publisher

10/01/2013
Gr 7–10—This follow-up to Ripper (Flux, 2012) is best understood by readers of the first book. Arabella Sharp has survived the Conclave, but not without consequences, and is left with the knowledge that she is now a murderess, albeit for a justifiable reason. She is positive that the madness is behind her and that she can focus on becoming a doctor, not an easy task for a woman in Victorian England, and perhaps even think about a relationship with Dr. William Siddal. Then another series of mysterious murders begins, Arabella is drawn into the nightmare of the Conclave, and her beloved is kidnapped. Can she figure out the evil plan and save him? Reeves strikes a good balance between Victorian sensibilities and a strong female protagonist. Some of the more supernatural elements are a little far-fetched, and they are explained away by vague "scientific experiments." Buy where the predecessor is popular.—Saleena L. Davidson, South Brunswick Public Library, Monmouth Junction, NJ

School Library Journal

This sequel to Ripper (2012) takes readers back to Abbie Sharp's late-Victorian London. Previously, Abbie learned that she inherited her psychic powers from her late mother and that the painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti was her father. Doing charity work at first promoted and then reluctantly tolerated by her snobbish grandmother at the Whitechapel Hospital, she spurned the advances of sweet Simon St. John, accepted those of mercurial William Siddal, discovered an aptitude for medicine and single-handedly took out an evil cabal of immortal alchemists--all but one. Now she finds herself plagued by visions of a dreadful lamia, a man-eating monster that's half woman, half serpent. She also stumbles upon horrific acts of cannibalism in London's cemeteries. Could the remaining member of the Conclave be responsible? Well, duh. Reeves' story hits all the expected formula notes, including resurrecting the love triangle among Abbie, Simon and William. It also makes a waggish reference to Dickens and more labored ones to other English classics. But it's conveyed in such incompetent, faux-Victorian prose it's hard to imagine readers persisting to the exceptionally silly conclusion--which, heaven help them, sets up further sequels. Commas fling themselves about with little regard for grammatical rules, appearing where they don't belong but going AWOL where they should be, and malapropisms abound--sometimes multiple times on a page. An insult to all readers, teen or otherwise. (Paranormal historical fiction. 13 & up)

Kirkus Reviews