The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson

The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson
Series: Shades of London, Book 1
Pages: 372 pages
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
Date of Publication: Sept. 29, 2011
Format: Library Book






From Good Reads:
The day Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London marks a memorable occasion. For Rory, it's the start of a new life at a London boarding school. But for many, this will be remembered as the day a series of brutal murders broke out across the city, gruesome crimes mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper events of more than a century ago.

Soon "Rippermania" takes hold of modern-day London, and the police are left with few leads and no witnesses. Except one. Rory spotted the man police believe to be the prime suspect. But she is the only one who saw him. Even her roommate, who was walking with her at the time, didn't notice the mysterious man. So why can only Rory see him? And more urgently, why has Rory become his next target? In this edge-of-your-seat thriller, full of suspense, humor, and romance, Rory will learn the truth about the secret ghost police of London and discover her own shocking abilities.

My thoughts:

I absolutely LOVED this book.  Truly, it is my new favorite!  I always enjoy a great mystery story and this is a mystery with opps, I can't say it without giving away too much!  :)

The novel opens with the discovery of the first murder in a string of Jack the Ripper copy cat killings.  Soon after the discovery of the first body, Aurora "Rory" Deveaux arrives in London for her senior year abroad.  Rory comes from a small  town near New Orleans and I loved "seeing" and learning about London through her eyes.  Johnson did a great job of writing this novel.  I found Rory's voice to be very believable and likeable.  Her experiences as the new foreign student at Wexford, her boarding school,  were believable as well.  

Just as Rory arrives at her new school, the Jack the Ripper style killings begin and Wexford is smack in the middle of the Ripper killing zone. Rory and her new friends are soon caught up in the "Rippermania" that has grabbed London.    Rory gets way more involved than she wants when she sees the suspect.  But why didn't her roommate see him too?  

I could not read fast enough to find out what was going to happen as Rory, and the rest of London, waited for each day that the original Jack the Ripper killed his victims.  Would the new Ripper strike too?  What was he going to do about Rory, the witness?

The Name of the Star is Book One in the Shades of London series.  I can't wait until book two is out in September 2012! This was my first Maureen Johnson book, I plan  to read more!