Actual rating: 2.5 
 I'm a big mystery fan so that, and the gorgeous cover of course, were my initial draws for Jackaby The crossover appeal that the blurb references - Doctor Who meets Sherlock - doesn't really apply to me since I don't watch the respective shows. In the end, all I was hoping for was a solid mystery story. 
 Jackaby was okay. That's about it. It's not bad but it's not anything great either. I wasn't bored but I wasn't turning the pages as fast as possible to know what happened next. Despite the mystery and the added magical elements, the story was really simple and I was kind of let down by how nice and quick everything was wrapped up. I was entertained but there wasn't much meat to the story that made it anything special. 
 The characters, like the story, were just okay as well. There wasn't anyone I hated but no one stood out to me. I didn't find anything special about Jackaby like I feel like I was supposed to. He was a tad strange, yes, but that's about. There wasn't really anything else defining him. Abigail Rook, the story's narrator, often came off as Mary Sue-ish but she was smart and strong. 
 Jackaby wasn't a bad book but it didn't blow my mind in any way. It entertained me for a couple days but doesn't leave much of an impression.