Name: Chiara Vitale Zelaia's review of Capturing the Devil by Kerri Maniscalco
Item: Capturing the Devil
Rating: 5
Author: Chiara Vitale Zelaia

Kerri Maniscalco

In the shocking finale to the bestselling series that began with Stalking Jack the Ripper, Audrey Rose and Thomas are on the hunt for the depraved, elusive killer known as the White City Devil. A deadly game of cat-and-mouse has them fighting to stay one step ahead of the brilliant serial killer---or see their fateful romance cut short by unspeakable tragedy. Audrey Rose Wadsworth and Thomas Cresswell have landed in America, a bold, brash land unlike the genteel streets of London. But like London, the city of Chicago hides its dark secrets well. When the two attend the spectacular World's Fair, they find the once-in-a-lifetime event tainted with reports of missing people and unsolved murders. Determined to help, Audrey Rose and Thomas begin their investigations, only to find themselves facing a serial killer unlike any they've encountered before. Identifying him is one thing, but capturing him---and getting dangerously lost in the infamous Murder Hotel he constructed as a terrifying torture device---is another. Will Audrey Rose and Thomas see their last mystery to the end---together and in love---or will their fortunes finally run out when their most depraved adversary makes one final, devastating kill?

Capturing the Devil

In this shocking finale to the bestselling series that began with Stalking Jack the Ripper, Audrey Rose and Thomas are on the hunt for the depraved, elusive killer known as the White City Devil. A deadly game of cat-and-mouse has them fighting to stay one step ahead of the brilliant serial killer -- or see their fateful romance cut short by unspeakable tragedy. Audrey Rose Wadsworth and Thomas Cresswell have landed in America, a bold, brash land unlike the genteel streets of London. But like London, the city of Chicago hides its dark secrets well. When the two attend the spectacular World's Fair, they find the once-in-a-lifetime event tainted with reports of missing people and unsolved murders. Determined to help, Audrey Rose and Thomas begin their investigations, only to find themselves facing a serial killer unlike any they've encountered before. Identifying him is one thing, but capturing him---and getting dangerously lost in the infamous Murder Hotel he constructed as a terrifying torture device---is another. Will Audrey Rose and Thomas see their last mystery to the end---together and in love---or will their fortunes finally run out when their most depraved adversary makes one final, devastating kill?

Marissa

I delight in pointing out areas where man has failed, even if it changes only one mind.

grabdmama speaks urdu? that's all I love her even more now

yusra noorain

Moments passed dreadfully slow, agitating my grandmother further. I held my breath as she stamped the floor with her walking stick periodically, muttering what I imagined were curses in Urdu.

WHAT ON EARTH IS GOING ON. AM I SUPPOSED TO DOUBT THOMAS OR THE WOMAN

“Not for long, silly.” Miss Whitehall, who’d continued her slow march toward us, turned a dazzling smile on the priest. “You see, Thomas and I are betrothed.”

THE WAY I THREW ALL MY PILLOWS ACROSS THE ROOM😭😭

“Eighteen.” I sighed dramatically. “You’re practically ancient. In fact”—I breathed him in, trying to hide my smile—“I believe I smell grave dirt on you. Terrible.”

“Wicked thing.” He nuzzled my neck, prompting gooseflesh to rise in the best of ways.

“Tell me having a cat’s affection and a good book doesn’t sound like an ideal evening.”

Sarah 

Penelope

Cassandra 

Hannah Williams

Chiara Vitale Zelaia

This is one of my favourites book series ever, it is gothic, bloody, vintage and thrilling till the end. It has dark humour, macabre scenes and a very good love story in it.

Laura 

Ellie M.

"𝐁𝐞𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞, 𝐛𝐞𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡. 𝐌𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐥."
"𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥. 𝐖𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫?" 
"𝐍𝐨. 𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐈 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮."

If I could rate this higher than 5, it’s definitely a 10. Audrey Rose and Thomas’ adventures have finally come to an end and it had me staring at the ceiling trying to take it all in. I’m not okay, nor will I ever be, but reading this series was one of the best things to ever happen to me. The plot of the story was more intriguing than ever since it’s set in two different places. I loved the medium-paced storytelling, the cunning characters and cameos, and how Maniscalco was able to connect the elements of the first book to this last, and I still find it truly amazing how real-life career murderers were incorporated into a fictional setting, painting the perfect picture of a murdery/mystery novel. Also, I can still remember asking for more romantic scenes, and it truly fucking served! The flirtations, the pining,the way they see each other as bestfriends to lovers is just perfect. I fucking love them so much. It had me swooning like an idiot but I would pay for this to be rewritten into an NA story, or I hope we could at least get a novella of their married life. It would never be enough to satisfy my adoration and emotional attachment to them. All my love to these characters. Cressworth will forever be one of my comfort ships and I thank Daciana and Ileana for being the best support sapphics ever! ( hear me out, can we please get a novella of them?)

Emily Wisnesky

gave it three stars for being better than the third book

Ena Kalkan

FIVE STARS to this entire series!!! god, this was the perfect amount of longing, angst, mystery & suspense. i enjoyed every single chapter. all the twists and turns... it was all so much fun to read. i didn’t want this one to end but i loved the ending.

thomas cresswell and audrey rose own my heart 🥺💖
i love them

Jade Lexi

audrey rose stabby stab stab satan so true of her queen 😚😚

Kimberly Burgess 

These are an excellent YA historical murder mystery, they were so creative and got more interesting as the books went on. I love Kerri's writing style, highly recommend!

I think about this book and it’s characters all the time. I love this series!

Liz Hunsaker

Courtney

5⭐️“Beyond life, Beyond death, my love for thee is eternal” 

This was the perfect ending to the SJTR series. Not only did I love Audrey Rose and Cresswell’s banter and their love for one another, I fell even more for Cresswell wanting her to choose her own path. I loved the HH Holmes history even with the timeline inaccuracies, it made for the absolute perfect villian to bring the series to a close. AudreyRose gave us the fierce feminist vibes that we’ve come to love over the series and really showed her strengths. I loved every stolen moment between her and Cresswell and I loved the plot twists- it kept me on my toes! 

5/5✨ for our investigative duo.

Yora

Het eerste deel van het boek ging alleen maar over romantisch drama, wat ik opzich niet erg vind. Maar als ik romantisch drama had gewild, was ik wel bridgerton gaan lezen ofzo, het is niet wat ik hoop in een murder mystery. Het tweede deel was wel een stuk beter, de moorden waren echt goed uitgewerkt met een enorme plottwist. Dus toch 4 sterren

this book was so freaking good omg I still can't get all the events out of my head. yk that feeling of completing a book and then getting stuck in a haze for another few days, that's exactly how I feel after I read a realllyy good book. 

this one had less of the mystery factor and focused more on audrey and Thomas' relationship but I ain't complaining. I love how the mystery of the first book was brought back to the last book which jus made it even more intriguing. 

I hope my streak of good books continues after reading four entire books w such captivating plots

this book was so freaking good omg I still can't get all the events out of my head. yk that feeling of completing a book and then getting stuck in a haze for another few days, that's exactly how I feel after I read a realllyy good book. 

this one had less of the mystery factor and focused more on audrey and Thomas' relationship but I ain't complaining. I love how the mystery of the first book was brought back to the last book which jus made it even more intriguing. 

I hope my streak of good books continues after reading four entire books w such captivating plots

Nicole Dykeman

Holy cow. What an emotional roller coaster this was. I am so glad I continued this series, even after I didn’t immediately fall in love with the first book. The characters have developed, the plots have become more complex, Kerri Maniscalo’s writing has matured, and I’m so excited to see what she does with her next series. 

For real though, every time I turned a page in this book I felt like I was going to have a heart attack. Talk about big anxiety™️. She really dragged my heart through the mud, stomped on it, brushed it off and cuddled it, and then repeated the process over and over again. I’m ridiculously invested in Audrey Rose and Thomas’s relationship and I’m so sad to say goodbye to them. You know what that means...it’s fanfiction time babey!!

Megan Lowe

I loved this book! It was the perfect end to Audrey Rose and Thomas’s story.
I loved the romance, the intrigue, the twists, the turns.
Thomas is my ultimate book boyfriend and although I’d happily read his stories until the end of time, I can be satisfied with this one.
A truly great series, highly recommended!!

jaya

i feel like i just got off of a rollercoaster that went to hell and back oh my god…. if you’d told me yesterday that this one was gonna be more frustrating than the last, i would have laughed in your face — i actually think i lost 20 years of my lifespan from stress. anyway i love this series and i love cressworth and and and and yeah 🫶

cressworth my best friends, the absolute loves of my life, now until forevermore 😩🤞🏼❤️

catia

“Audrey Rose Wadsworth, love of my heart and soul, I long to spend forever with you by my side. If you’ll have me. Will you do me the tremendous honor of—” I wrapped my arms around his neck, our lips brushing as I whispered, 
“Yes. A million times over, Thomas Cresswell. I want to spend forever adventuring with you.”

I am truly in love with them!! Such a beautiful ride 🥺

Dawn Hodge

I absolutely loved this series! It kept me engrossed the whole time. Wadworth and Cresswell are some of my favourite characters to date.

Holly

3.5 stars but Thomas gets an extra .5 because he carried the entire series on his back

jenn kause

I WAS STRESSING WITH THIS BOOK OMG
the wedding drama and for some reason my brain was telling me someone was going to die at the end and I just didn’t want to finish it to know 
(Obvs I did) and I will really miss this series! I’m hoping for more but who knows.

Can I just say i didn't love this one? Too much romance, too much dragging the plot, the ending was unpredictable but i wasn't impressed. I have so many unanswered questions too. This one was just too many words, too many unnecessary clues that didn't add up, too much beating the bush. It was complex in a way that it didn't lead to anything much. Even if you take out a lot of complexity you will still have the same ending. It didn't have that magnetism to it and i had to push through instead of being excited about it

Ipshita Kanungo

jana <3

screaming crying sobbing throwing up this was so good

mary

premetto dicendo che le 5 stelle non sono per capturing the devil,ma bensì per tutta la saga di sjtr. quest’ultimo libro mi è piaciuto tantissimo,nonostante delle parti cringe che non sono mancate affatto. vedere audrey rose così determinata e forte e coraggiosa non ha fatto altro che aumentare il mio amore per lei. la mia crush per thomas non si estinguerà mai,ormai ne sono consapevole e onestamente non mi lamento. adoro entrambi,sia singolarmente sia come la bellissima coppia che hanno aiutato a crescere con il tempo. sono incredibilmente felice di aver letto una saga come questa,è stata davvero incredibile. devo tantissimo ad audrey rose,thomas,ma anche alle splendide Daci,Ileana e Liza. Stalking Jack the Ripper non è una saga perfetta,ma è validissima e può portare a tantissimi spunti di riflessione. senza dubbio 4 dei libri più belli che abbia mai letto. 
“beyond life, beyond death, my love for thee is eternal.”

sara

“Beyond life, beyond death,” he whispered, his breath warm against my ear, “my love for thee is eternal, Audrey Rose Cresswell.”

They are definitely my favourite couple of all times.

Laura

Beyond life, beyond death; my love for thee is eternal

#1: Stalking Jack the Ripper ★★★★★
#2: Hunting Prince Dracula ★★★★★
#3: Escaping From Houdini ★★★★☆
#3.5: Becoming the Dark Prince ★★★★☆
#4: Capturing the Devil ★★★★★


After reading this book, and loving it, I'm even more convinced that the way in which Audrey Rose seemed to be out of character during Escaping From Houdini was due to external influences on Kerri's writing. That's the only plausible explanation. And I'm happy she fixed that mess.
It was also nice to see how it all tied up with the other books, and how it was conected to Stalking Jack the Ripper. To me, it felt as if the story had come to a proper end... even though the life of adventures of Audrey Rose and Thomas Cresswell has just began.

Emi Gilmore 

Capturing the Devil was hands down one of my favorite reads of 2020, and one of my favorite series finales. I couldn’t have asked for a better adventure to say goodbye to Audrey Rose and Thomas. It was like coming full circle—we get a return to the Ripper investigations, which were my favorite case to read about, and the narrative was filled with treats for the long-time fans of the series. Every element that brought back memories of the previous cases and the journey Thomas and Audrey have been through gave me such a bittersweet sense of nostalgia. We see them being honest with themselves, processing events from the other books, working together and trusting one another completely. These characters have come such a long way, and seeing the lessons they’ve learned and the people they’ve become so manifest in this story made me feel like a sort of proud parent.
Capturing the Devil was a fairytale dream and a nightmare all in one thanks to the relationship between Thomas and Audrey Rose, which felt deeper than ever before and more intoxicating than ever. Not only do these two have a sparkling banter, but their sizzling dynamic reached its hottest tips in this installment. Of course, being a wicked creature, Maniscalco found a way to create an obstacle even now! I was writhing in my bed, giggling like a school girl, sobbing and fanning myself because THOMAS CRESSWELL IS A GOD. There, I said it. Now take me back to the Victorian Era.

I did have a few minor issues, the first being that I felt like the great obstacle in Audrey and Thomas’ relationship was hastily created to accommodate the changed finale of Escaping from Houdini. However, I do understand why that ending needed to change from the arc, and I understand that drama keeps the tension alive, and given the circumstances I felt it was well done. Audrey and Thomas handled it maturely, I suffered, and help came in the form of my very own Indian Olenna Tyrell, so I’m happy.
The second minor issue was in relation to the case. Personally, I wasn’t too happy about the resolution of this investigation. I had my hopes set on another character and I was very fond of the finale of Stalking Jack the Ripper and was loathe to let it go. But neither of these issues were strong enough to make me want to lower my rating. I just had too much fun reading this book and feeling all the feels with my favorite crime-solving duo.

So to wrap this up, I loved this ending and I adore this series in its entirety. We found one another surprisingly, because this definitely isn’t my go-to genre, but it’s a series that claimed my heart and a spot in my Favorites Olympus. I definitely recommend it to readers who like romance with a witty banter in their stories, a historical setting and a hint of mystery to go with it.

Chiara Vitale Zelaia &
Capturing the Devil by Kerri Maniscalco

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Capturing the Devil by Kerri Maniscalco