Ripped by Shelley Dickson Carr

If you could save your parents at the expense of others, would you do so? Would you take the hard right or the easy wrong? This is really the cruz of the matter with Ripped, not the fact that it's a Jack the Ripper murder mystery.

Ripped stars Katie, an American girl living in London. Her parents have died, and her older sister is a famous rock star. So one day, when on a visit to Madame Tussands with her cousin Collin and his friend Toby, she goes to the London Stone and makes a wish.

And suddenly, she's back in the time of Jack-the-Ripper. And this isn't a stuck in the past thing - Katie can go back and forth in time, but only three times. So this is also about using your chances (and your wishes wisely). In Ripper-Era London, Katie is helped/hindered by her cousin Collin (her great great great ancestor), and his half-cousin Tobias (Toby).

Of course, being a modern American girl in London, Katie has trouble fitting in. And in a really interesting move, the author chose to use Cockney slang - like how twist and swirls mean "girls". It really emphasized how out of place she was; even though Cockney slang existed in modern London, not-knowing it then didn't seem like much of a deal.

There is a pretty good twist in this book, and I must say, I didn't manage to guess who Jack the Ripper was in this story. A strong plot, coupled with Katie's desperate wish to change history made for a real page-turner read.

I don't have much to complain about this story. I mean, there is a romance (she's 14! How young are they getting nowadays?), but it was sweet and wasn't in-your-face. All in all, it's a really good book and worth the read.

Disclaimer: I got a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a free and honest review.