If Looks Could Kill

Jack the Ripper isn’t the only monster stalking the streets of 1888 New York City in this overstuffed but inventive Greek mythology-infused thriller from Berry (Lovely War). Eighteen-year-old Tabitha Woodward leaves Troy, N.Y., for the city, joining the Bowery chapter of the Salvation Army intending to make friends and help people. Instead, she and her peevish, pious roommate, Pearl Davenport, spend long days inviting disinterested saloon customers to worship gatherings and hawking newsletters to the disenfranchised. Pearl refuses to deviate from their assigned mission—until a teenage girl is swept up by a brothel madam and Pearl insists on mounting a rescue. Meanwhile, things in London are getting too hot for Jack the Ripper after he commits five murders, so he relocates to N.Y.C. to continue his work. Little does he know, a metropolitan sisterhood of Medusas seeks vengeance for the women he’s killed. Berry intersperses Tabitha’s first-person narration with third-person chapters from Jack and Pearl’s perspectives, their stories and fates entwining in tandem. Lengthy setup mires initial pacing, but witty banter, intrepid female characters, and thoughtful meditations on faith reward readers’ patience. Primary characters cue as white. Ages 12–up. Agent: Alyssa Eisner Henkin, Birch Path Literary. (Sept.)