The Dire King~William Ritter | Review

Title: The Dire King (Jackaby #4)
Author: William Ritter
Genre: Paranormal Mystery
Length: 352 Pages
Release: August 2017

I received a review copy of this novel through Netgalley. 

Review

"Jackaby took a deep breath, his face leaden. And then he made a deal with the devil."

This final installment in the Jackaby series probably sits somewhere in the 2.5 star range for me. There were things I liked and things I didn't like. 

The best part about this novel, as well as the previous three, is Jackaby himself. He has such a snarky attitude that makes him hilarious. He and Abigail have some great banter during portions of the novel. I just wish there had been more of that. More of the main characters from all of the preceding novels in general would have been nice. 

I was rather disappointed by the overall tone of this novel. The others were so much fun as Abigail and Jackaby, along with their friends, solved paranormal mysteries. All of those came together for the overarching plot, which was the focus of the novel. And I found it rather lacking. The fun of the others was not as present here. There would be bursts of the same humor and tone, but they never seemed to last long. There was also an influx of new characters that I never felt I got to know or understand. They seemed to pop up to further the plot, without having any other purpose. 

The final conclusion was satisfactory enough but I still didn't feel fully satisfied. There were little questions I had through the series that were never answered or seemed outright ignored. I had fun while reading it, but never really felt invested. 

"We do not survive because we're strong--we become stronger the more we survive."

Throughout the whole series I have been impressed with Ritter's writing, and that held up here. He really has a way with words. And it feels like an older novel, more fitting of the setting. I do look forward to trying future works of Ritter's. 

Overall this was just an ok conclusion to the series. I would definitely still recommend them, particularly the first one, but I think that Ritter could have tweaked a few things to make this a stronger ending. Still, it ended with great promise for our loved characters. All of the biggest questions were answered and a good idea was given for future events.