Historical
fiction mash-ups can be quite fun, especially when handled as a fun read,
playing fast and furious with history, reality and the imaginary, and doing
away with the burden of hidden codes and ancient conspiracy theories, which is
an easy pitfall that is usually handled more sloppily than not. Robert Masello shoots
for the fun and crafts a tale around a “What if…?” solely grounded in reality
when he discovered that the play The Strange
Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde opened on the same night as Jack the
Ripper’s first murder. Creepy, eh? Hence, the “What if…” found in The Jekyll Revelation. What if… Robert
Louis Stevenson was involved with the Jack the Ripper investigation?

Masello
postulates with the time-honored literary tradition of men playing God and the
results of such dealings. Stevenson takes on the unlikely role of a reluctant
action hero, but he’s Scottish so it’s all cool, as does his park ranger
American contemporary who must deal with the crimes of the past in the present
resulting in fisticuffs and bullets all around. American storytelling at its
best, eh?
An
enjoyable read that gets moving after a heavy start. Most of all, this is fun. Thanks
to NetGalley and 47North for the advance copy and the magic contained within.
As
Always,
theJOE
theJOE