Ripper is about a young boy named Carver who becomes involved with the famous detective agency "The Pinkertons". He was an orphan who eventually finds out his dad is the one doing all the Jack the Ripper style killings that have been happening in New York. It's a very gripping page turning book but it lacks originality. The author wrote it very well but it lacked something content wise for me. I could imagine this being one of my favorite books if I read this as a kid. 3 stars ( )

Fun adventure/mystery. An orphan boy learns his father may be a killer, is befriended by a detective, and races to solve the killer's puzzle before more women are killed. Entertaining read with interesting historical atmosphere with a few reasonable upgrades developed to fight crime. ( )

The Book, "Ripper" by Stefan Petrucha is one about a young lad named Carver Young who is a fourteen year old orphan in New York City, and he is infatuated with one day becoming a detective. This is perfect due to the fact that it's a mystery as to what happened to his father, but he's received a letter from who he assumes to be his father, which to him, is a mystery begging to be looked upon into. There is also a killer loose in New York City who has just recently began a series of murders, which piques Carver's interest as well. All of these culminate into something greater as the book goes on, with each new development of each mystery just begs you to flip the page just one more time. I'd truly recommend this book to anyone who is young and into books that start of slow but ramp up all the way to the sweet end. ( )

It’s been over one hundred years since Jack the Ripper terrorized the streets of London, yet he remains a fascinating and gruesome mystery. Who was he? What were his motives? And why did he suddenly stop? Questions like these have produced volumes of investigative books--some even claiming to have solved the mystery--and several movies. In his latest young adult novel, Ripper, author Stefan Petrucha mixes fact with fiction to offer up a new look at Jack the Ripper in a suspenseful blend of history and horror.
In 1895 New York, Carver Young is a fourteen year old orphan recently taken in by Detective Hawking of the renown Pinkerton Agency. Carver should be thrilled—he has a home and a means to learn detective skills alongside the very best, skills he needs if he is to find his father. Yet, home is a room inside a mental institution and the discoveries Carver is making are leading him to an unbelievable conclusion. Could Jack the Ripper be in New York? With the city reeling from the murders of high society women and Police Commissioner Teddy Roosevelt up in arms, Carver must decide how far he’s willing to go to learn the truth and how much he’ll risk to get it. Ripper is a fast-paced mystery filled with historical detail, new-fangled gadgetry, and the Pinkerton’s cool underground base. The clues and red herrings are numerous enough that even the best mystery reader may not guess the outcome. With a sequel hinted to at the end, here’s hoping that we won’t see the last of Carver Young and his fellow Pinkerton agents. ( )

Carver, a 14-year-old orphan, wants to be a detective. When he is placed as the ward of a retired detective, his first "assignment" is to track down his father. But it looks like his father may be Jack the Ripper, and his investigation puts him and his friends in danger. ( )