JACKABY - William Ritter

I had a feeling, soon after starting Jackaby, that it might be my favorite novel read this year.  What I didn't expect was it would became my favorite book read in YEARS, nor that it'd be the first in a very long time that I remembered actually tearing up over as I finished, so sorry I was to let go.  Set in the 1892, when a spirited young British woman named Abigail Rook has just arrived by ship in the small New England town of New Fiddleham in the U.S., the story gets off to a ripping start when Abigail meets R. F. Jackaby - a young, eccentric, often aggravating private investigator, specializing in the paranormal, who embodies all the best (and most irascible) traits of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Who combined.  Desperately seeking employment, Miss Rook talks Jackaby into taking her on as his assistant, on trial, and what follows is a dangerous, thrilling, at times even humorous adventure that begins with the bizarre murder of a local respected journalist.  Author Ritter's prose is lyrical on the page, the characters and story bursting with life from page one, and I had literally forgotten how it felt to fall in love with a book ... until now.  Marketed to lucky YA readers, Jackaby is a feast for all ages - and a pure joy you will dearly regret finishing; it's THAT good.  *****