Lestrade And The Ripper

Sholto Lestrade Mystery #6

by M.J. Trow

The year is 1888 and Jack the Ripper terrorises the East End of London; all the victims are found in Whitechapel - but Scotland Yard has to look into another suspicious death, that of Edmund Gurney in Brighton. Foremost amongst the Yard's top men is young Inspector Sholto Lestrade. It is to his lot that a number of unsolved cases fall - cases that include the murder of a former Whitechapel prostitue, and that of Gurney. Leaving no stone unturned, Lestrade follows the trail to a public school, Rhadegund Hall, where it is his intention to question the Reverend Algernon Spooner. What he finds is murder.
As the Whitechapel murders increase in number, so do those at Rhadegund. What is the connection?

Genres: Mystery, Audiobook, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery, 20th Century

9 pages, Audio CD

First published January 1, 1988

About the author

Meirion James Trow is a full-time teacher of history who has been doubling as a crime writer for seventeen years. Originally from Ferndale, Rhondda in South Wales he now lives on the Isle of Wight. His interests include collecting militaria, film, the supernatural and true crime.

Reviews

[Amy H. Sturgis]

I have mixed thoughts about this one.

On the one hand, the writing style didn't work for me. For my personal taste, a little humor goes a long way, and M.J. Trow's novel reads like one extended, often tortured pun. I found the unabashed tongue-in-cheek tone to be a particularly uncomfortable fit with the subject matter, namely the Jack the Ripper murders. While I appreciated the completely different take on Sherlock Holmes and John Watson (neither of whom has much of a clue, literally or figuratively), I could never quite tell if the author was laughing with or at Lestrade, which was a bit off-putting.

(I fully realize that this is partially my fault for jumping into the middle of a book series, but I'm currently trying to go through most if not all of the Sherlock Holmes-meets-Jack-the Ripper novels, so that's the context in which I read this.)

That said, Trow can't be faulted for his attention to detail in the Ripper cases. Many of the historical prime suspects (such as Montague Druitt, Sir William Gull, Aaron Kosminski, Michael Ostrog, and "Jill the Ripper," among others) get their moment in the spotlight, as do others involved in the investigation (Frederick Abberline, Robert J. Lees, Walter Dew, etc.). While the novel "solves" the Martha Tabram murder, the identity of Jack the Ripper remains a mystery.

I do recommend this to those who, like me, are interested in Holmes-Ripper stories, but I wouldn't put it at the top of the list.

[Amanda]

Boring and very cheesy. Lestrade is a bumbling idiot, Holmes is a crazy person, and Watson is a weak and useless character. I wanted so much more from the characters. There are two mysteries, one of which is the Ripper which is not wrapped up at all (granted, that is reality. But this is fiction which encourages a bending of reality to make a good story). The second is school murders which alternates as an afterthought to the whole story. Very disappointed.

[Redderationem]

Da quando mi sono in qualche modo condannato a seguire la collana dei Gialli Mondadori interamente dedicata a Sherlock Holmes trovo maggior piacere nell'imbattermi in quei romanzi che mettono un guizzo in più nell'affrontarne il Canone. Come in questa specie di spin-off in cui il protagonista è lo spesso non ingiustamente vituperato Lestrade.
Un romanzo giallo secondo tutti i crismi ma con un retrogusto spiccatamente umoristico.

[Angel Citty]

A pretty fun read, good twist at the end.

[D.L. Morrese]

Lestrade is clumsy, unsophisticated, only marginally educated, and not overly bright. He's also inadvertently hilarious at times. This Victorian murder mystery is, as the title suggests, about the Ripper murders...sort of. Mainly it's about Lestrade bumbling around trying to figure out who done it. He is, despite his shortcomings and somewhat unbelievably, apparently one of the best men Scotland Yard has. The Victorian, or possibly mock-Victorian prose and references can make the reading a bit confusing at times, but this is a fun, light read.

[Rena Sherwood]

This is the pre-quel to the first book in the series. It's best if you read the first book before reading this. Has some nice puns and humor just for Sherlockians and Holmesians but gets difficult to follow in places.

[Rita Marcella]

This is a humorous and despite the subject lighthearted read.

[Sue]

Very good read. I'm not a huge Holmes fan, but am a Ripper fan. Loved the tieins with Walter Dew.

[Les Wilson]

I really am enjoying this series. The little bits of humour gives it that little extra.