Give me a snarky, sassy female protagonist and I'll automatically love her. 
 Jackaby, the great detective, is a New England Sherlock--except he deals in the fantastical, with an extensive knowledge of creatures others think to be of fairy tales. While Sherlock will know your last whereabouts by the type of soil on your boot, Jackaby knows by the fairy that's taken camp in your coat collar. 
 It's a fun read, and the characters are charming. Abigail, our protagonist, struggles between being a proper lady and dashing off into adventures. I found her story to be more engaging than the detectives, having taking her tuition money to scamper off to a dinosaur dig--and then wind up in America with no money, no job prospects, and no companions. And that's where she meets Jackaby, and is immediately caught up in a serial murder case. 
 The case itself wasn't too complex, and I figured out the murderer halfway through. But the cast makes up for it. Socially awkward Jackaby; his assistant, Abigail, who'd rather wear trousers; Jenny, the resident ghost. And best of all, the plot wasn't muddied by unnecessary romance. (Crushes don't count, and in fact I found that quite charming and silly.) I'd very much like if the second book follows the same trend.