Abigail Rook has always wanted to pave her own way, going against her parents’ wishes of a college education and instead going on an archaeological dig. When her dreams don’t pan out, she cannot return home and face her parents so she instead embarks on a journey across the Atlantic to New Fiddleham in New England, 1892. Upon arrival she sets out to find employment in a new city with not much luck, until she finds a strange advertisement for an investigative services assistant. Enter R.F. Jackaby – a charismatic, eccentric, incredibly endearing paranormal detective who can see what other cannot. When a string of suspicious murders takes place during Ms. Rook’s first week on the job, she is thrown into a mythical world of mystery and intrigue.
It is rare to find a book that will make you actually giggle out loud and not just in your head and the lively and humorous banter between Ms. Rook and Mr. Jackaby (à la Sherlock Holmes) does just that. In the Young Adult and Juvenile Fiction genres, it is always good to find a story that will appeal to boys as well as girls, and Jackaby fits the bill. It is an all-around fun, quirky read that everyone will adore and I have already enjoyed sharing it with customers at the store.
– Madison Butler of Liberty Bay Books, PNBA Award Committee member
Members of the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Award Committee are sharing what they loved about the books on their 2015 Shortlist on NWBL this month. The 2015 Pacific Northwest Book Award winners will be announced on Jan. 7.