The Princes of Ireland

The Princes of Ireland: The Dublin Saga by Edward Rutherford  350 pp. (estimated)

I didn't realize this was an abridged audiobook version when I selected it. Based on the number of discs I'm estimating it at less than half the pages of the print version. This saga spans eleven centuries, beginning with the love story of Connell and Deirdre during the Pagan times of the High Kings of Tara and going through the English takeover of Ireland during the reign of Henry VIII. Along the way there are battles with Vikings, the creation of the Book of Kells, Druids, monks, illuminated manuscripts, tribal chieftains, rebels, intrigue and a rich interweaving of history with characters true to their place and time. Rutherford takes historical detail and enlivens it with the stories of memorable people, both real and fictional. To be honest, I don't know if I would have tackled the lengthy print version but I'm disappointed that this audio version was an abridgment.

Jackaby

Jackaby by William Ritter, 299 pages
A 2015 Top Ten Best Fiction for Young Adults Book

Abigail Rook, newly in the States after a meandering journey that started with her taking her tuition money and leaving school prematurely (and without the knowledge of her parents), finds herself in want of a job. After several inquiries (and several dead ends), she sees a posting for "investigative services - assistant wanted", decides to take a shot at it and soon finds herself in the employ of R.F. Jackaby, detective. Jackaby is prickly, obtuse to the needs of others, but he has a rare ability to see through illusions, which means he sees all manner of supernatural types where others naturally can't. Of course, this puts him at odds with the local police department as he's always butting into their investigations. This time, a reporter close to the police commissioner is brutally murdered, and Jackaby and Abigail are in the thick of it. Can they determine who the killer is before he kills again, even as Inspector Marlowe tries to foil them at every turn?

The description on the inside flap ended with "Doctor Who meets Sherlock," and while I haven't seen enough or know enough about Doctor Who to determine if that's an apt comparison, Jackaby, as a character, definitely has a very Sherlockian feel to him. Abigail is clearly the Watson to his Holmes, but she has a healthy dose of adventuring spirit in her DNA, so she is the perfect counterbalance and compliment to his near-myopic search for the truth. Ritter has also populated his world with plenty of interesting characters, like Jenny, a ghost who lives in Jackaby's house, as well as Douglas, Jackaby's former investigative assistant who got turned into a duck. This book is kind of a romp, if that makes sense, and feels almost like a cozy mystery at times. I really enjoyed it, and kind of liked that it's being set up as a more traditional series, as opposed to a trilogy with a distinct beginning, middle, and end. Jackaby might not completely scratch your Sherlock itch while we wait for more episodes, but it'll at least relieve it for a little while.

(Read as part of YALSA's Hub Reading Challenge.)