Name: The Dire King
ISBN: 9781616207625

William Ritter

The fate of the world is in the hands of detective of the supernatural R. F. Jackaby and his intrepid assistant, Abigail Rook. An evil king is turning ancient tensions into modern strife, using a blend of magic and technology to push the earth and the otherworld into a mortal competition. Jackaby and Abigail are caught in the middle as they continue to solve daily mysteries in New Fiddleham, New England—like who’s created the rend between the worlds, how to close it, and why the undead are appearing around town. At the same time, the romance between Abigail and the shape-shifting police detective Charlie Cane deepens, and Jackaby’s resistance to his feelings for the ghostly lady of 926 Augur Lane, Jenny Cavanaugh, begins to give way. But before the four can think about their own futures, they will have to defeat an evil that wants to destroy the future altogether. The epic conclusion to the New York Times bestselling Jackaby series features wry humor and a cast of unforgettable characters facing off against their most dangerous, bone-chilling foe ever.

A Jackaby Novel

The Dire King

Connor 

I'm gonna need a moment to get over the book hangover from this but, in the meantime... it is always a privilege to read a well crafted end of a series, and this is no exception. I love all of these characters and all of their relationships, which are well handled and delightful to read. I could say more on that but I'm gonna get overly emotional so instead I'll just say: I am glad this series exists, I am glad this last novel exists, and I can't wait to see what Ritter writes next.

Christian Huss

All good things must come to an end...and now it's time to say goodbye to one of my favorite YA series and its superb and beloved characters. 



Reading The Dire King brought forth a whirlwind of emotions. It was exciting, sad, infuriating, and bittersweet. Ritter did a marvelous job of flowing between moments of humor, action, and heart-wrenching emotion. Above all, I love Ritter's little insights of pure genius and ability to weave powerful messages throughout his stories. I never cease to find meaningful quotes in his work that I will forever hold dearly in my heart, and The Dire King was no exception. I especially loved the following: 

“I never found a book that did not have at least a little magic in it.” 

These words brought a smile to my face as I read them. I guess I don't often think of books in such a way, but these words reminded me how special a collection of words on paper can be. A book can mean so many things to so many different people. Every single book holds a little magic for someone -- we just have to be daring enough to find it.

(The following two paragraphs may contain slight spoilers -- no characters are named, but some important plot points are discussed (mainly character deaths).)

In terms of plot, I was excited to find out what paths the characters were going to travel down and how they all developed. There's also that dwelling heaviness when you want to find out whether or not the author is going to kill off one of your favorite characters in the final volume of a series. It's something that I've come to expect and I always try to prepare myself for it, but when it came this time, I just couldn't handle it!!!! This is the only reason that I didn't give the book a total of five stars. I understand that authors often do this as a shock factor and to show the gravity of the situation the characters face -- giving up one's life is an ultimate sacrifice to save those you love -- but it still gets to me every time -- I'm looking at you The Fallen Kingdom. It's also important to mention that many authors kill off characters only to bring them back. Although it doesn't change the fact that they gave up their lives to save everyone, it seems like there death wasn't as important if they could simply be brought back to life. In the end, it's just shock factor. 

Aside from the killing off of characters, the final showdown was epic! The culmination of the previous three books was brought to a massive crescendo and so many things happened!!! I don't want to spoil anything else, so I'll just have to say that you'll experience all the feels. 

Additionally, I was hoping that more of Jackaby's past would be revealed. Alas, book 3 in the series is as close to an explanation of Jackaby's history as we're going to get. I have to admit that this was a bit of a disappointment.

I knew this moment would come, but I still don't want to leave this amazing world that Ritter constructed behind. 



There is still so much to explore...and perhaps one day Ritter will return to the fantastical world of Jackaby. However, even if this truly where the story ends, the magic of this series won't. 



As with many of my other Jackaby reviews, I shall leave you with another quote that I found to be particularly profound:

“This world doesn't need showy champions. It needs people who are good, people who do good, even if nobody will ever know.” 

If you enjoyed this review, you can find more here: http://knightingalereviews.blogspot.com/

a ray

like a 4.999999. omg it was so good; I cried multiple times. I was scared that bc it was so short it would be lacking but it really wasn't. I'm just sad it's the last book in the series.

The fate of the world is in the hands of detective of the supernatural R. F. Jackaby and his intrepid assistant, Abigail Rook. An evil king is turning ancient tensions into modern strife, using a blend of magic and technology to push the earth and the otherworld into a mortal competition. Jackaby and Abigail are caught in the middle as they continue to solve daily mysteries in New Fiddleham, New England--like who's created the rend between the worlds, how to close it, and why the undead are appearing around town. At the same time, the romance between Abigail and the shape-shifting police detective Charlie Cane deepens, and Jackaby's resistance to his feelings for the ghostly lady of 926 Augur Lane, Jenny Cavanaugh, begins to give way. But before the four can think about their own futures, they will have to defeat an evil that wants to destroy the future altogether. The epic conclusion to the New York Times bestselling Jackaby series features wry humor and a cast of unforgettable characters facing off against their most dangerous, bone-chilling foe ever.

Candyce Kirk

Anastaciya

oh my God... this one is four and a half stars. Ritter saved it for me in the last moment, otherwise I'd ve been Extremely disappointed.

Irin 

*spoiler-free review* 
Book(s) : The Jackaby Series by William Ritter
Genre : Paranormal Mystery (Sherlock-ian) , Fantasy, and has the perfect touch of Comedy too!
Meet my new favorite books, guys! I loved every single bit of the Jackaby series. I fell in love with so many characters from these books, I can't stop thinking about them sometimes. I found this line from Goodreads which describes the series perfectly - "Doctor Who meets Sherlock in William Ritter’s Jackaby series, which features a detective of the paranormal as seen through the eyes of his adventurous and intelligent assistant in a tale brimming with cheeky humor and a dose of the macabre." 💙 
The story starts off with Abigail Rook's journey to a city far away from her home: New Fiddleham of New England, in the 1890s. Sh desperately looks for a job, and she finds the perfect one ~ as a private assistant for R.F Jackaby, a detective with a keen eye for seeing supernatural beings. The story then goes on with the pair solving deadly mysteries and facing unexpected obstacles along the way. 
Here's what I loved about the Jackaby series (basically everything, but let me point out what I loved the most) : 
• First of all, let's talk about Mr Jackaby, who has become one of my favorite fictional characters. I've never read about such a mesmerizing person like him. His funny but thoughtful personality, quirky lines and mystery solving skills stole my heart. While reading the books, I wanted to hug him countless times, because he's the sweetest person ever. I miss him so much, oh my heart.
• I loved Abigail Rook, the other protagonist from the series as much as I loved Jackaby. They are my babies, I cannot compare between my love for them. Abigail 's character was the perfect mixture of intelligence and badass-ness. I fell in love with her from the beginning of the book. She's such a strong person - she ran away her family home in such a young age, because she thought she couldn't fulfill her thirst of adventure and freedom being there. I adore her with every single piece of my (already broken for Jackaby) heart. Her character development from the first to the fourth book made me so proud.
• The side characters, specially Chalie and Jenny, added such a charming glow to the story.
• The friendship between Jackaby and Abigail melted my heart. It made me cry sometimes too, because of the wholesome-ness involved within their relationship. #friendshipgoals
• The world building in the Jackaby series was really captivating. The writer did a perfect job of creating a spooky atmosphere throughout all of the books. The outline of the characters ' a personalites were amazing - I found something to love about every character.
• The books aren't filled with heavy/ deep mystery. They are umm... light mystery reads. Perfect for getting out of a reading slump! The story was really interesting, and had unexpected twists and turns nevertheless.
• The ending, the ending! I'm still not over it. 😭

The Dire King A Jackaby Novel