Sick from tuberculosis, Robert Louis Stevenson desires a cure and has sought out various treatments across the world in hopes of finding one. Dr. Rüedi at the Hotel Belvedere offers one, but at what cost? Meanwhile, Rafael "Rafe" Salazar is tracking coyotes with radio collars when he stumbles upon something else in the canyon. What secrets does the old trunk old? Unfortunately, the trunk isn't the old thing with secrets in the desert and some of those secrets may be deadly.

THE JEKYLL REVELATION weaves back and forth from present day to the late 1800s. The transitions shift seamlessly and I enjoyed both storylines as the overall picture slowly emerges. And oh, what a stunning tale of horror we begin to see! Robert Masello utilizes journal entries for the past while the present day story unfolds. This technique makes it easy for the reader to differentiate between the storylines and adds an air of authenticity.

I love the inclusion of Robert Louis Stevenson as a main character, even as Robert Masello tweaks some historical events in order to make the plot device work (see Author's Note). Robert Masello keeps true to some of the highlights of Robert Louis Stevenson's life, however, and maintains the overall spirit of this treasured author. Rafe Salazar is a nice modern day contrast to Robert Louis Stevenson, as we see Rafe's respect for nature and his disdain for some modern day conventions.

THE STRANGE CASE OF DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE has long been a favorite classic novel of mine and Robert Masello puts a fascinating new spin on the storyline. Who couldn't resist the idea of one of the all-time greatest classics colliding with the horror of Jack the Ripper? THE JEKYLL REVELATION isn't a gory horror story but rather it is classic, slow building horror that pays perfect homage to THE STRANGE CASE OF DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE. Bravo, Robert Masello!

Book Summary

A spellbinding thriller from the bestselling author of The Einstein Prophecy.

A chilling curse is transported from 1880s London to present-day California, awakening a long-dormant fiend.

While on routine patrol in the tinder-dry Topanga Canyon, environmental scientist Rafael Salazar expects to find animal poachers, not a dilapidated antique steamer trunk. Inside the peculiar case, he discovers a journal, written by the renowned Robert Louis Stevenson, which divulges ominous particulars about his creation of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. It also promises to reveal a terrible secret—the identity of Jack the Ripper.

Unfortunately, the journal—whose macabre tale unfolds in an alternating narrative with Rafe’s—isn’t the only relic in the trunk, and Rafe isn’t the only one to purloin a souvenir. A mysterious flask containing the last drops of the grisly potion that inspired Jekyll and Hyde and spawned London’s most infamous killer has gone missing. And it has definitely fallen into the wrong hands.