People of Abandoned Character
A dark and addictive historical mystery about Jack the Ripper and his wife
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
What if you thought your husband was Jack the Ripper?
London, 1888. Susannah rushes into marriage to a young and wealthy surgeon. After a passionate honeymoon, she returns home with her new husband wrapped around her little finger. But then everything changes. His behaviour becomes increasingly volatile and violent. He stays out all night, returning home bloodied and full of secrets.
Lonely and frustrated, Susannah starts following the gruesome reports of a spate of murders in Whitechapel. But as the killings continue, her mind takes her down the darkest path imaginable. Every time he stays out late, another victim is found dead. Is it coincidence? Or is her husband the man the papers call Jack the Ripper?
Reviews for People of Abandoned Character:
'A mistreated wife suspects her husband might be the Whitechapel killer... Compelling' Sunday Times
'An astonishing book' M.W. Craven
'A gripping and original take on the world's most notorious serial killer. A perfectly thrilling read for those long winter nights' Adam Hamdy
'This impressive debut builds up pace, pathos and intrigue superbly, with plenty of twists and turns' Woman's Weekly
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In 1888, Susannah Chapman, the narrator of Whitfield's uneven debut, marries Thomas Lancaster, a surgeon at London Hospital, where she used to work as a nurse. Susannah, who grew up poor, looks forward to a comfortable life with Thomas, but after their blissful honeymoon, he starts treating her harshly and exhibits a violent streak. The morning after the murder of a prostitute, who's later identified as possibly Jack the Ripper's first victim, Susannah finds scratches on Thomas's neck, which he claims were inflicted by a cat he tried to rescue, and she spots his fiercely loyal housekeeper, who was once his nanny, trying to wash bloodstains out of the doctor's shirts. Her suspicions only increase as the killing spree, attributed to the Ripper, continues. Whitfield does a decent job of keeping her audience guessing whether the obvious explanation is the true one, but the closing revelations come as a letdown. Readers interested in a similar plotline will be better served by Peter Ackroyd's superior The Trial of Elizabeth Cree.
