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The Candle Man
The stunning new Victorian thriller from the author of OCTOBER SKIES..
1912. Locked in an eerily quiet dining room on the Titanic, a mysterious man tells a young girl his life story as the ship begins to sink. It all starts in Whitechapel, London in 1888...
In the small hours of the night in a darkened Whitechapel alley, young Mary Kelly stumbles upon a man who has been seriously injured and is almost unconscious in the gutter. Mary - down on her luck and desperate to survive - steals his bag and runs off into the night.
Two days later, an American gentleman wakes in a hospital bed with no memory of who he is or how he got there. He has suffered a serious head injury, and with no one to help him remember who he is he starts to wonder how he will ever find his way home.
One terrible truth links these two lost souls in the dark world of Victorian London - a truth that could ruin the name of the most influential man in the land...
Back in 1912, as the Titanic begins its final shuddering descent to the bottom of the frozen, black Atlantic, the truth behind a series of murders that have hung like a dark fog over London for more than two decades is about to be revealed... the identity of Jack the Ripper.
1912. Locked in an eerily quiet dining room on the Titanic, a mysterious man tells a young girl his life story as the ship begins to sink. It all starts in Whitechapel, London in 1888...
In the small hours of the night in a darkened Whitechapel alley, young Mary Kelly stumbles upon a man who has been seriously injured and is almost unconscious in the gutter. Mary - down on her luck and desperate to survive - steals his bag and runs off into the night.
Two days later, an American gentleman wakes in a hospital bed with no memory of who he is or how he got there. He has suffered a serious head injury, and with no one to help him remember who he is he starts to wonder how he will ever find his way home.
One terrible truth links these two lost souls in the dark world of Victorian London - a truth that could ruin the name of the most influential man in the land...
Back in 1912, as the Titanic begins its final shuddering descent to the bottom of the frozen, black Atlantic, the truth behind a series of murders that have hung like a dark fog over London for more than two decades is about to be revealed... the identity of Jack the Ripper.
308 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2012
26 people are currently reading
691 people want to read
About the author
Alex Scarrow
63 books1,047 followersI live a nomadic existence with my wife Frances, and son Jacob. For now we're living in Norwich. I spent the first 10 years out of college in the music business chasing record deals and the next 12 years in the computer games business as a graphic artist and eventually a games designer. For those of you who like their computer games, here's some of the titles I've worked on:
Waterworld, Evolva, The Thing, Spartan, Gates of Troy, Legion Arena
Since signing up as an author with Orion, I seem to spend most of my time hunched over my laptop in various cafes and coffee bars sipping lattes, tapping keys and watching the ebb and flow of shoppers outside on the street. As I write this, I'm awaiting the launch of my next book - the sequel to , LAST LIGHT, and getting ready to find a publisher for the first book in a separate series, ELLIE QUIN. Ahead of me, lies research work for my next thriller, and also some screenplays I'm looking forward to writing. Although I'm glad to be where I am now, I do occasionally kick myself for not having succumbed to the writing bug much earlier. But then we all just muddle along through life, don't we? There's rarely a plan.
-Source: http://www.scarrow.co.uk/page9.html
Waterworld, Evolva, The Thing, Spartan, Gates of Troy, Legion Arena
Since signing up as an author with Orion, I seem to spend most of my time hunched over my laptop in various cafes and coffee bars sipping lattes, tapping keys and watching the ebb and flow of shoppers outside on the street. As I write this, I'm awaiting the launch of my next book - the sequel to , LAST LIGHT, and getting ready to find a publisher for the first book in a separate series, ELLIE QUIN. Ahead of me, lies research work for my next thriller, and also some screenplays I'm looking forward to writing. Although I'm glad to be where I am now, I do occasionally kick myself for not having succumbed to the writing bug much earlier. But then we all just muddle along through life, don't we? There's rarely a plan.
-Source: http://www.scarrow.co.uk/page9.html
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 91 reviews
March 21, 2020
Yet another take on Jack the Ripper, and furthermore, the action begins and ends on the sinking Titanic.
A man who is about to drown, is recalling his adventures in the East End of London in the late 1880’s, when he lost his memory as a result of a mugging in an alley, and was taken to St. Bart’s hospital. As he lay in his coma in the alley, a young Irish prostitute named Mary Kelly tried to help him, at the same time robbing him of a bulky purse containing five thousand pounds.
Being a genuinely kind girl who has fallen on very hard times, Mary’s conscience will not allow her simply to forget him, and she tracks him down to the hospital, where his memory loss presents her with a wonderful opportunity for a really good con. She claims to be his grief-stricken sweetheart, and visits him every day, waiting for him to be pronounced well enough to be discharged – praying that he will not recover his memory just yet.
At the same time, a mysterious group of Masons with transatlantic connections are desperately trying to trace two other prostitutes, the associates of one Bill Tolly, whom they had employed to murder a young Frenchwoman and her baby. Bill had asked them to murder the baby, while he killed the mother. In the baby’s cot they find a gold locket containing a photograph of the mother and child with a young gentleman whose face looks vaguely familiar. At first they don’t tell Bill about the locket, but not being quite sure how to dispose of it, eventually do so. They at least have the sense not to hand it over. Other prostitutes get involved for various reasons, and thus begins the series of horrible murders by “Jack the Ripper”.
Meanwhile the man with the loss of memory is gradually recovering it. Mary has already established that he is American and, as she thinks, a gentleman. In fact he is a hit man known as The Candle Man, currently in the employ of the mysterious Masons.
I won’t reveal any more, but it’s well written and an intriguing read!
A man who is about to drown, is recalling his adventures in the East End of London in the late 1880’s, when he lost his memory as a result of a mugging in an alley, and was taken to St. Bart’s hospital. As he lay in his coma in the alley, a young Irish prostitute named Mary Kelly tried to help him, at the same time robbing him of a bulky purse containing five thousand pounds.
Being a genuinely kind girl who has fallen on very hard times, Mary’s conscience will not allow her simply to forget him, and she tracks him down to the hospital, where his memory loss presents her with a wonderful opportunity for a really good con. She claims to be his grief-stricken sweetheart, and visits him every day, waiting for him to be pronounced well enough to be discharged – praying that he will not recover his memory just yet.
At the same time, a mysterious group of Masons with transatlantic connections are desperately trying to trace two other prostitutes, the associates of one Bill Tolly, whom they had employed to murder a young Frenchwoman and her baby. Bill had asked them to murder the baby, while he killed the mother. In the baby’s cot they find a gold locket containing a photograph of the mother and child with a young gentleman whose face looks vaguely familiar. At first they don’t tell Bill about the locket, but not being quite sure how to dispose of it, eventually do so. They at least have the sense not to hand it over. Other prostitutes get involved for various reasons, and thus begins the series of horrible murders by “Jack the Ripper”.
Meanwhile the man with the loss of memory is gradually recovering it. Mary has already established that he is American and, as she thinks, a gentleman. In fact he is a hit man known as The Candle Man, currently in the employ of the mysterious Masons.
I won’t reveal any more, but it’s well written and an intriguing read!
January 25, 2015
First, the blurb : 1912. Locked in an eerily quiet dining room on the Titanic, a mysterious man tells a young girl his life story as the ship begins to sink. It all starts in Whitechapel, London in 1888...
In the small hours of the night in a darkened Whitechapel alley, young Mary Kelly stumbles upon a man who has been seriously injured and is almost unconscious in the gutter. Mary - down on her luck and desperate to survive - steals his bag and runs off into the night.
Two days later, an American gentleman wakes in a hospital bed with no memory of who he is or how he got there. He has suffered a serious head injury, and with no one to help him remember who he is he starts to wonder how he will ever find his way home.
One terrible truth links these two lost souls in the dark world of Victorian London - a truth that could ruin the name of the most influential man in the land...
Back in 1912, as the Titanic begins its final shuddering descent to the bottom of the frozen, black Atlantic, the truth behind a series of murders that have hung like a dark fog over London for more than two decades is about to be revealed... the identity of Jack the Ripper.
I didn't read the blurb, which is unusual - I just bought it via a Kindle daily deal thing. Am glad I did. This book was riveting, didn't expect the Jack the Ripper plot and all the twists and turns that came with that story - the author kept me gripped to the very last sentence. Stunning book, can't wait to read more by this author.
In the small hours of the night in a darkened Whitechapel alley, young Mary Kelly stumbles upon a man who has been seriously injured and is almost unconscious in the gutter. Mary - down on her luck and desperate to survive - steals his bag and runs off into the night.
Two days later, an American gentleman wakes in a hospital bed with no memory of who he is or how he got there. He has suffered a serious head injury, and with no one to help him remember who he is he starts to wonder how he will ever find his way home.
One terrible truth links these two lost souls in the dark world of Victorian London - a truth that could ruin the name of the most influential man in the land...
Back in 1912, as the Titanic begins its final shuddering descent to the bottom of the frozen, black Atlantic, the truth behind a series of murders that have hung like a dark fog over London for more than two decades is about to be revealed... the identity of Jack the Ripper.
I didn't read the blurb, which is unusual - I just bought it via a Kindle daily deal thing. Am glad I did. This book was riveting, didn't expect the Jack the Ripper plot and all the twists and turns that came with that story - the author kept me gripped to the very last sentence. Stunning book, can't wait to read more by this author.
October 12, 2022
Englantilaisen Alex Scarrow'n jännäri "The Candle Man" (Orion Books, 2012) päätyi lukulistalleni ilmiselvistä syistä. Jos kirjan kertotaan alkavan Titanicin kannelta ja käsittelevän Viiltäjä-Jackin mysteeriä, niin eihän sitä voi jättää pölyttymään hyllyyn!
No, ehkä olisi kuitenkin voinut. Scarrowin jännäri jättää nimittäin Titanic-teeman lähes kokonaan hyödyntämättä ja sivuttaa melkein kaikki historialliset faktat mitä tiedämme Whitechapelin murhista v. 1888. Noin muuten kirja oli keskiverron kioskipokkarin tasoa, eli menetteli hölmönä lomaviihteenä.
Alex Scarrow'n puolustukseksi on sanottava, että hänen nuortenkirjasarjansa Time Riders on oivallinen, ja sen ensimmäisestä osasta on tullut iso vinkkaushitti. Ja olisiko muuten niin, että kyseisen sarjan päähenkilö Liam vilahtaa myös the Candle Manin sivuilla?
Jos Viiltäjä-Jackia käsittelevä fiktio kiinnostaa, niin ottakaa lukuun Alan Mooren ja Eddie Campbellin mestarillinen sarjakuvaromaani Helvetistä.
No, ehkä olisi kuitenkin voinut. Scarrowin jännäri jättää nimittäin Titanic-teeman lähes kokonaan hyödyntämättä ja sivuttaa melkein kaikki historialliset faktat mitä tiedämme Whitechapelin murhista v. 1888. Noin muuten kirja oli keskiverron kioskipokkarin tasoa, eli menetteli hölmönä lomaviihteenä.
Alex Scarrow'n puolustukseksi on sanottava, että hänen nuortenkirjasarjansa Time Riders on oivallinen, ja sen ensimmäisestä osasta on tullut iso vinkkaushitti. Ja olisiko muuten niin, että kyseisen sarjan päähenkilö Liam vilahtaa myös the Candle Manin sivuilla?
Jos Viiltäjä-Jackia käsittelevä fiktio kiinnostaa, niin ottakaa lukuun Alan Mooren ja Eddie Campbellin mestarillinen sarjakuvaromaani Helvetistä.
September 9, 2014
Regardless of how gruesome the photos (which actually still exist on the web), or the details of his horrific actions, our culture is taken by the elusive story of “Jack the Ripper”. Perhaps it is the constant mystery; the fear of an unsolved case with plenty of proof, and yet, at the same time, so little. Perhaps it is the fact that we know, if this were to have happened in modern day, advanced science and DNA testing would have greatly increased the likelihood that this man, women or group of people would be behind bars. Though all the possibilities are speculative, the truth remains that our minds fill in the gaps of what the officials could not find. And this is exactly how Alex Scarrow builds his thrilling tale, THE CANDLE MAN.
The novel begins with Mr. Larkin, an aging man with cancer, speaking with a muscle-diseased young woman as the Titanic slowly sinks below the Atlantic Ocean. Both man and woman know that their inevitable fate almost guarantees their demise on the boat, and so they choose to share a drink together. As the young girl giggles from the drink, she asks Mr. Larkin if he has anything he would like to share before he meets his untimely death. And so the story unfolds.
For the entirety of the novel, Mr. Larkin’s identity within the story remains a mystery, however we know he is one of several men involved in an extremely high-profile and convoluted case. Scarrow weaves together intricate pieces to make a story which exudes such power and illustrates raw writing talent. This was a complete page-turner, with surprises behind every dark corner. His imagery of the Gothic Victorian scenery made the whole story play out on the streets of London in my mind. I could feel the moisture on the wet cobblestone roads and smell the dank stench of uncleanliness lurking in back alleys and in old run-down pubs.
This book was such an exhilarating read! My first Scarrow novel, but most definitely not my last. This is also my first Victorian thriller and all I can think of is “how did I not try this before?!” With picturesque scenes, an abundance of secrets and more than enough suspense to keep you reading into the wee hours of the morning, this book seemed to have it all. Plus, who would have thought to intertwine two of the most debated catastrophes of the time into one story?! Bravo, Alex Scarrow, bravo!
The novel begins with Mr. Larkin, an aging man with cancer, speaking with a muscle-diseased young woman as the Titanic slowly sinks below the Atlantic Ocean. Both man and woman know that their inevitable fate almost guarantees their demise on the boat, and so they choose to share a drink together. As the young girl giggles from the drink, she asks Mr. Larkin if he has anything he would like to share before he meets his untimely death. And so the story unfolds.
For the entirety of the novel, Mr. Larkin’s identity within the story remains a mystery, however we know he is one of several men involved in an extremely high-profile and convoluted case. Scarrow weaves together intricate pieces to make a story which exudes such power and illustrates raw writing talent. This was a complete page-turner, with surprises behind every dark corner. His imagery of the Gothic Victorian scenery made the whole story play out on the streets of London in my mind. I could feel the moisture on the wet cobblestone roads and smell the dank stench of uncleanliness lurking in back alleys and in old run-down pubs.
This book was such an exhilarating read! My first Scarrow novel, but most definitely not my last. This is also my first Victorian thriller and all I can think of is “how did I not try this before?!” With picturesque scenes, an abundance of secrets and more than enough suspense to keep you reading into the wee hours of the morning, this book seemed to have it all. Plus, who would have thought to intertwine two of the most debated catastrophes of the time into one story?! Bravo, Alex Scarrow, bravo!
September 17, 2018
As the story begins we find ourselves in the North Atlantic Ocean in the year 1912 about that famously doomed ocean-liner where two people get together while their are waiting for the rescue-boats to be lowered into the sea the man has a story to tell to his female companionship.
We then move to the faithful year 1888 Whitechapel in London, Mary Kelly finds a terrible wounded man and she robs him of his money. The guilt makes her return to the hospital where the man suffers amnesia and she takes up the part of an important person in his life.
This is the time of the infamous Jack the Ripper and his reign of terror in London. This story tells of a different tale of this horrible serial killer and yet catches the Victorian Era very well in a dark thriller that tells an interesting take or version of the misadventures of the most mysterious of serial killers ever known.
A very well written and entertaining novel that plays an interesting twist on the jack the Ripper legend.
Well worth your time reading.
We then move to the faithful year 1888 Whitechapel in London, Mary Kelly finds a terrible wounded man and she robs him of his money. The guilt makes her return to the hospital where the man suffers amnesia and she takes up the part of an important person in his life.
This is the time of the infamous Jack the Ripper and his reign of terror in London. This story tells of a different tale of this horrible serial killer and yet catches the Victorian Era very well in a dark thriller that tells an interesting take or version of the misadventures of the most mysterious of serial killers ever known.
A very well written and entertaining novel that plays an interesting twist on the jack the Ripper legend.
Well worth your time reading.
May 6, 2020
3 1/2 stars This was very easy to read and an interesting theory to the Jack The Ripper legend. Loved getting inside the head of essentially a madman and beginning to understand the workings of a mind to justify those kinds of deeds. Thought provoking take on good/evil in the world at that time.
October 8, 2024
Now this will be an interesting challange since I do not want give away any spoilers while the challange is that the mystery was solved (or at least the main one) very early on in the book for me.
So why did I decide to finish it - or give it a lower score - well apart from my own personal wish to see where the story went and what happened next was the fact that several of the characters were so interesting I wanted to see what fate befell them.
As a result you have a book which is equal parts predictable and equal parts surprising - something I rarely find (many authors aspire for me and get trapped by the other) while Alex Scarrow appears to have comfortable walked this tightrope without missing a step.
So yes a strange book in many ways but one I am pleased I read
So why did I decide to finish it - or give it a lower score - well apart from my own personal wish to see where the story went and what happened next was the fact that several of the characters were so interesting I wanted to see what fate befell them.
As a result you have a book which is equal parts predictable and equal parts surprising - something I rarely find (many authors aspire for me and get trapped by the other) while Alex Scarrow appears to have comfortable walked this tightrope without missing a step.
So yes a strange book in many ways but one I am pleased I read
May 11, 2021
Spectacular book. Would definitely read it multiple times.
This is the sort of book that even though you know the ending you know there are things you have missed out. It has taken two of my favourite topics and intertwined them a bit. We have the Titanic and Jack the Ripper.
The time lines are so important when reading this book
It will definitely help you keep on top of everything going on at all times. The story has different time lines and characters and watching the author inteweb everything is amazing and done so clean and crisp.
There are certain scenes that just totally take you by surprise at how dark and beautifully it is written .
This is a winner for me
This is the sort of book that even though you know the ending you know there are things you have missed out. It has taken two of my favourite topics and intertwined them a bit. We have the Titanic and Jack the Ripper.
The time lines are so important when reading this book
It will definitely help you keep on top of everything going on at all times. The story has different time lines and characters and watching the author inteweb everything is amazing and done so clean and crisp.
There are certain scenes that just totally take you by surprise at how dark and beautifully it is written .
This is a winner for me
May 10, 2012
If you have read any of Alex Scarrow's "grown up" thrillers you will know that he is a man who's writing is defined by great characters and great atmospherics.
Candle Man is no different, right from the very first page i the reader was sucked into another time and place, first aboard the titanic and then back to late Victorian London. A clever time-slip this time slipping only approx 30 years. The reader is treated to a darker than usual read from Alex (not as dark as October Skies, but close) a read that gives us the drama of the Titanic in its last hours, to 1880's London and Jack the ripper and who and what he really was, and the lives of his victims.
I am quite frankly gobsmacked that this has not become a top 10 best seller, i have read worse that has hit those heady heights, it just shows what good marketing could do.
I will advise TimeRiders fans that this is a very very different book despite the expected cameo. You can read it and enjoy it as a teen reader / young adult but don't expect TR level action, this is as i say much darker, but just as brilliant and engaging.
This will be one of my top 5 books this year and i highly recommend you buy it
(Parm)
Product Description
1912. Locked in an eerily quiet dining room on the Titanic, a mysterious man tells a young girl his life story as the ship begins to sink. It all starts in Whitechapel, London in 1888...
In the small hours of the night in a darkened Whitechapel alley, young Mary Kelly stumbles upon a man who has been seriously injured and is almost unconscious in the gutter. Mary - down on her luck and desperate to survive - steals his bag and runs off into the night.
Two days later, an American gentleman wakes in a hospital bed with no memory of who he is or how he got there. He has suffered a serious head injury, and with no one to help him remember who he is he starts to wonder how he will ever find his way home.
One terrible truth links these two lost souls in the dark world of Victorian London - a truth that could ruin the name of the most influential man in the land...
Back in 1912, as the Titanic begins its final shuddering descent to the bottom of the frozen, black Atlantic, the truth behind a series of murders that have hung like a dark fog over London for more than two decades is about to be revealed... the identity of Jack the Ripper.
Candle Man is no different, right from the very first page i the reader was sucked into another time and place, first aboard the titanic and then back to late Victorian London. A clever time-slip this time slipping only approx 30 years. The reader is treated to a darker than usual read from Alex (not as dark as October Skies, but close) a read that gives us the drama of the Titanic in its last hours, to 1880's London and Jack the ripper and who and what he really was, and the lives of his victims.
I am quite frankly gobsmacked that this has not become a top 10 best seller, i have read worse that has hit those heady heights, it just shows what good marketing could do.
I will advise TimeRiders fans that this is a very very different book despite the expected cameo. You can read it and enjoy it as a teen reader / young adult but don't expect TR level action, this is as i say much darker, but just as brilliant and engaging.
This will be one of my top 5 books this year and i highly recommend you buy it
(Parm)
Product Description
1912. Locked in an eerily quiet dining room on the Titanic, a mysterious man tells a young girl his life story as the ship begins to sink. It all starts in Whitechapel, London in 1888...
In the small hours of the night in a darkened Whitechapel alley, young Mary Kelly stumbles upon a man who has been seriously injured and is almost unconscious in the gutter. Mary - down on her luck and desperate to survive - steals his bag and runs off into the night.
Two days later, an American gentleman wakes in a hospital bed with no memory of who he is or how he got there. He has suffered a serious head injury, and with no one to help him remember who he is he starts to wonder how he will ever find his way home.
One terrible truth links these two lost souls in the dark world of Victorian London - a truth that could ruin the name of the most influential man in the land...
Back in 1912, as the Titanic begins its final shuddering descent to the bottom of the frozen, black Atlantic, the truth behind a series of murders that have hung like a dark fog over London for more than two decades is about to be revealed... the identity of Jack the Ripper.
June 20, 2012
A novel which attempts to combine a conspiracy theory based around the Jack the Ripper murders and Titanic sounded simply too good to pass up. Actually, the Titanic storyline is a bit of a stretch (and those buying the book out of interest about anything to do with Titanic will be disappointed), but overall this is a very good and well written mystery.
The story combines two main storylines to begin with. Firstly, Mary Kelly discovers a man bleeding on the street and robs his bag. Later, afraid that he is not dead and will remember her, she seeks him out. The second main thread concerns the murder of the young mistress and baby of a very well known person. Although they are murdered, a locket containing a photo of the man, woman and baby still exists and the Steering Committee, a group of influential men, are involved in making sure all evidence of indiscretion is gone.
Basically, the author has taken the Whitechapel murders of 1888 and weaved an entirely different storyline around them. To Ripperologists this may seem unacceptable, but it IS fiction and, as long as the storyline makes sense and you care about the characters, then the novel works - and it does. This is a very exciting read, leaving you with empathy for even the vicious Candle Man, as well as for Mary Kelly, who is more than a little out of her depth in the deception she is attempting to pull off, the victims themselves and even for the members of the Steering Committee, who feel little sympathy for the man they are trying to protect. Overall, a really good read and I will certainly search out more by this author.
The story combines two main storylines to begin with. Firstly, Mary Kelly discovers a man bleeding on the street and robs his bag. Later, afraid that he is not dead and will remember her, she seeks him out. The second main thread concerns the murder of the young mistress and baby of a very well known person. Although they are murdered, a locket containing a photo of the man, woman and baby still exists and the Steering Committee, a group of influential men, are involved in making sure all evidence of indiscretion is gone.
Basically, the author has taken the Whitechapel murders of 1888 and weaved an entirely different storyline around them. To Ripperologists this may seem unacceptable, but it IS fiction and, as long as the storyline makes sense and you care about the characters, then the novel works - and it does. This is a very exciting read, leaving you with empathy for even the vicious Candle Man, as well as for Mary Kelly, who is more than a little out of her depth in the deception she is attempting to pull off, the victims themselves and even for the members of the Steering Committee, who feel little sympathy for the man they are trying to protect. Overall, a really good read and I will certainly search out more by this author.
February 17, 2017
This is possibly one of my favourite Alex Scarrow novels. I read TimeRiders first, and subsequently became addicted to his style of writing. Even between the genres and ages, his writing style remains the same; short chapters, built up plots and quick revelations. Though the revelations are somewhat slower in The Candle Man than in TimeRiders, this is possibly due to the change in audience.
The book begins with suspense; aboard the Titanic, next to a dying girl, a man recounts the most exciting time of his life, knowing that he is going to die by nights end. The story surrounding Jack the Ripper. Scarrow keeps this suspense throughout the novel, with a few twists and turns that took me by surprise (i.e the identity of the man on the Titanic and the role of Mary Kelly.) I admit that I thought it would struggle to keep the pace of the novel as many Jack the Ripper novels do, but I was pleasantly surprised. This was probably helped by the novel being split into three distinct parts and views; 1. how the Candle Man came to England. 2. Mary Kelly and John Argyll, and 3. the employer of the Candle Man.
Scarrow has always had this imagination that enables him to intertwine historical opinions (such as near the end of this novel, the different viewpoints in regards to Mary Kelly and her murder by Jack the Ripper) with fact and events. It served him very well in this novel, and I hope he continues to use this method in future novels.
Altogether, this was a brilliant book by a brilliant author, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to a friend or read it again.
Rating = 5 / 5 stars.
The book begins with suspense; aboard the Titanic, next to a dying girl, a man recounts the most exciting time of his life, knowing that he is going to die by nights end. The story surrounding Jack the Ripper. Scarrow keeps this suspense throughout the novel, with a few twists and turns that took me by surprise (i.e the identity of the man on the Titanic and the role of Mary Kelly.) I admit that I thought it would struggle to keep the pace of the novel as many Jack the Ripper novels do, but I was pleasantly surprised. This was probably helped by the novel being split into three distinct parts and views; 1. how the Candle Man came to England. 2. Mary Kelly and John Argyll, and 3. the employer of the Candle Man.
Scarrow has always had this imagination that enables him to intertwine historical opinions (such as near the end of this novel, the different viewpoints in regards to Mary Kelly and her murder by Jack the Ripper) with fact and events. It served him very well in this novel, and I hope he continues to use this method in future novels.
Altogether, this was a brilliant book by a brilliant author, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to a friend or read it again.
Rating = 5 / 5 stars.
October 28, 2012
Loved, loved, loved this book. My first taste of Alex Scarrow and am now looking to read his other books.
Such an interesting view of an old tale, told so differently from the rest.
Love, horror, intrigue, such a good recipe.
I found myself yelling at the characters, warning them of their impending fate like any good horror ;o)
The story was so spellbinding that by the time I read the Epilogue, I had to try hard to remember the Prologue. IMHO they were a waste of paper and not vital to the story.
Such an interesting view of an old tale, told so differently from the rest.
Love, horror, intrigue, such a good recipe.
I found myself yelling at the characters, warning them of their impending fate like any good horror ;o)
The story was so spellbinding that by the time I read the Epilogue, I had to try hard to remember the Prologue. IMHO they were a waste of paper and not vital to the story.
May 18, 2015
I found The Candle Man superbly riveting, a wonderfully dark journey through a sordid Whitechapel of 1888,embroiled in the evil doings of Jack The Ripper.
It is a nicely constructed story, enhancing the Ripper legend with a whole new slant on who he was.
But there are charming moments too, as Mary Kelly, a typical Whitechapel whore, finds that one moment where luck is on her side at last, and she is determined to make the most of it.
The dark underbelly of a grimy Whitechapel screams out from these delightful pages.
A great little read.
It is a nicely constructed story, enhancing the Ripper legend with a whole new slant on who he was.
But there are charming moments too, as Mary Kelly, a typical Whitechapel whore, finds that one moment where luck is on her side at last, and she is determined to make the most of it.
The dark underbelly of a grimy Whitechapel screams out from these delightful pages.
A great little read.
July 8, 2019
Brilliantly written book that brings together a world wide tragedy, and a unsolved mystery from Victorian England. Not a book I would’ve thought of reading, until someone suggested it and tell me how clever the two plots will work together. Clearly well researched using all the real facts that are knownand then mixing them with history and fantasy, highly recommend, will keep you riveted from start to finish. If you like audible books, highly recommend listening to the audible version from Audible.,. Superbly read, and some of the voices will scare your socks off.
October 4, 2014
An absolute corker. I couldn't put it down and read it in 48 hours. Mr Scarrow has done it again. Until now the Time riders series have been some of my favourite books. I have read almost all his work and I have to say, for me, this is his best so far. Moving on to A Thousand Sun's. It can't possibly top this one, can it?
January 7, 2015
A different but consistent approach to the mystery of Jack the Ripper.
Good story, well written, excellent atmospheric descriptions of Victorian London full of period details, combined with interesting characters.
It got a bit predictable at the middle of the book.
Good story, well written, excellent atmospheric descriptions of Victorian London full of period details, combined with interesting characters.
It got a bit predictable at the middle of the book.
February 11, 2013
This was a beauty. Very difficult to put down not only because of the story line but the writing and chapter changes were terrific. I wouls highly recommend this book for a trip or holiday.
January 30, 2020
Overall, the story was compelling enough to be enjoyable the whole way through, but I did have some problems with this book.
More minorly, there were a number of continuity errors that really ground my gears. For instance, if a murder took place on the 9th, the next day on the 10th we’d be told the murder had been reported on everyday in the newspaper for the last three days. And I’d be like… hmm?
I forgave it the first time, but for that type of mistake to occur more than once is just poor editing.
But more significantly, I had some ethical concerns. If you’re going to use the real names and identities of women who were brutally murdered, you have to be extremely mindful of how you portray them, and I didn’t think Alex Scarrow’s portrayal was particularly respectful at times. I think perhaps he relied too heavily on the assumption that these events happened over 100 years ago and therefore sensitivity around the victims is less of an issue now, and I don’t agree. Towards the beginning of the book, two of the women are described as being involved in “baby farming”, a thriving business whereby they murder unwanted newborns for money. There’s a part in the book where Annie Chapman remorselessly murders a 6 month old child. But there’s absolutely nothing to suggest any of these women were involved in crime, and it seems a gross and unethical manipulation of the facts to take the identities of real women whose reputations as prostitutes have already afforded them limited sympathy from the public, and then imply they were also criminals who murdered babies. Annie Chapman sold flowers and crochet to make money, but it worked for the narrative that she murdered children to make money, so that's what Alex Scarrow chose to run with.
If you're going to embellish or stretch the truth, there needs to be an author’s note that clearly separates the fact from the fiction.
I’ve done my best to take this with a grain of salt and still consider the story itself, how well it reads and how entertaining it is, but that’s not everything in literature, especially when you’re writing on real events and real people. Unfortunately this tarnished the book a little for me, which is frustrating because were it not based on true events I would’ve been more able to get swept up in this dark, gory Victorian thriller. I just wish Alex Scarrow had taken a little more care.
More minorly, there were a number of continuity errors that really ground my gears. For instance, if a murder took place on the 9th, the next day on the 10th we’d be told the murder had been reported on everyday in the newspaper for the last three days. And I’d be like… hmm?
I forgave it the first time, but for that type of mistake to occur more than once is just poor editing.
But more significantly, I had some ethical concerns. If you’re going to use the real names and identities of women who were brutally murdered, you have to be extremely mindful of how you portray them, and I didn’t think Alex Scarrow’s portrayal was particularly respectful at times. I think perhaps he relied too heavily on the assumption that these events happened over 100 years ago and therefore sensitivity around the victims is less of an issue now, and I don’t agree. Towards the beginning of the book, two of the women are described as being involved in “baby farming”, a thriving business whereby they murder unwanted newborns for money. There’s a part in the book where Annie Chapman remorselessly murders a 6 month old child. But there’s absolutely nothing to suggest any of these women were involved in crime, and it seems a gross and unethical manipulation of the facts to take the identities of real women whose reputations as prostitutes have already afforded them limited sympathy from the public, and then imply they were also criminals who murdered babies. Annie Chapman sold flowers and crochet to make money, but it worked for the narrative that she murdered children to make money, so that's what Alex Scarrow chose to run with.
If you're going to embellish or stretch the truth, there needs to be an author’s note that clearly separates the fact from the fiction.
I’ve done my best to take this with a grain of salt and still consider the story itself, how well it reads and how entertaining it is, but that’s not everything in literature, especially when you’re writing on real events and real people. Unfortunately this tarnished the book a little for me, which is frustrating because were it not based on true events I would’ve been more able to get swept up in this dark, gory Victorian thriller. I just wish Alex Scarrow had taken a little more care.
June 28, 2020
“The Candle Man” (TCM) is a 2012 novel by Alex Scarrow. It is a fictionalised version of the events of the “Autumn of Terror” that captured the London suburb of Whitechapel in 1888 - the time of Jack the Ripper.
It is hard to discuss the premise of the story too much without spoiling the tale but suffice to say that it is a twist one that has been used before in many of the conspiracy theories surrounding The Ripper.
Scarrow does well to present the societal class difference in London, as well as the less than comfortable conditions of the poorer East End. The characters are at times exaggeratedly stereotyped but it adds to the book rather than detracts from it - I would hasten to add however my opinion of this would’ve been the other way around if Scarrow was writing something more believable.
My only real disappointment in TCM was one of the dates used for two of the Ripper’s crimes was out by a day; something that should’ve been picked up at the editing phase.
That said Scarrow has written an entertaining tale of murder and villainy, of intrigue and conspiracy, of secret societies, the men behind them, and the secrets they try to keep at all costs.
With an conclusion that has a few final twists for the reader TCM gets 4 grisly Ripper conspiracy theories out of 5.
It is hard to discuss the premise of the story too much without spoiling the tale but suffice to say that it is a twist one that has been used before in many of the conspiracy theories surrounding The Ripper.
Scarrow does well to present the societal class difference in London, as well as the less than comfortable conditions of the poorer East End. The characters are at times exaggeratedly stereotyped but it adds to the book rather than detracts from it - I would hasten to add however my opinion of this would’ve been the other way around if Scarrow was writing something more believable.
My only real disappointment in TCM was one of the dates used for two of the Ripper’s crimes was out by a day; something that should’ve been picked up at the editing phase.
That said Scarrow has written an entertaining tale of murder and villainy, of intrigue and conspiracy, of secret societies, the men behind them, and the secrets they try to keep at all costs.
With an conclusion that has a few final twists for the reader TCM gets 4 grisly Ripper conspiracy theories out of 5.
January 30, 2019
It's not often I'm blown away and scared by a novel and this book does both. Set mostly during Jack the Rippers murderous reign and seen from a purely fictitious angle - well from who Jack is anyway - the story moves along at a fair pace.
It's dark and gory as it should be as it's set in a dark and gory time and the author managed to scare me on many occasions. I usually read/listen before bed but not with this one. My imagination took me to those dark, unlit, blood soaked Victorian streets.
The narrator gives the characters a voice although, and this is nit picking, Marys voice did grate once or twice but that aside I would listen to him again. My first book by this author and I think I will buy another one to see what that's like.
If you buy this book thinking it takes place on the Titanic you will be disappointed as that is just a minimal part of the plot.
This book really is worth a credit and if you don't like it you can return it :)
It's dark and gory as it should be as it's set in a dark and gory time and the author managed to scare me on many occasions. I usually read/listen before bed but not with this one. My imagination took me to those dark, unlit, blood soaked Victorian streets.
The narrator gives the characters a voice although, and this is nit picking, Marys voice did grate once or twice but that aside I would listen to him again. My first book by this author and I think I will buy another one to see what that's like.
If you buy this book thinking it takes place on the Titanic you will be disappointed as that is just a minimal part of the plot.
This book really is worth a credit and if you don't like it you can return it :)
August 14, 2025
This was BLOODY amazing (see what I did there)
I won't say this was a surprise, seen as though it came from the pen of my favourite author. But, I didn't expect just how ferociously I would tear through it and invest in it.
I never have a hard time with struggling to separate reality and novels but this is too hard to keep them apart. It makes reasonable sense for reality to have played out that way, especially with lack of forensics testing back then. So I feel like I just lived with Jack The Ripper.
This book pulls no punches and I love it. Definitely not a book for the faint of heart. I wish I could capture my thought process whilst reading, but I was too busy reading. Going to have to be a keeper this one.
I won't say this was a surprise, seen as though it came from the pen of my favourite author. But, I didn't expect just how ferociously I would tear through it and invest in it.
I never have a hard time with struggling to separate reality and novels but this is too hard to keep them apart. It makes reasonable sense for reality to have played out that way, especially with lack of forensics testing back then. So I feel like I just lived with Jack The Ripper.
This book pulls no punches and I love it. Definitely not a book for the faint of heart. I wish I could capture my thought process whilst reading, but I was too busy reading. Going to have to be a keeper this one.
October 22, 2024
I am aware this is fiction based on real events but still I was skeptical of many things, like why would the Masons hire the Candle Man to kill the witnesses of the locket just to hire another person again to get rid of the Candle Man? Why just not hire someone from their own circle to eliminate the first patch and that's it? And I am aware this is another time but I still could not accept that Mary would be so gullible to invent a whole relationship with a stranger instead of just running away with that whole money...
One of the 1st murder scenes (involving a baby) was so awful to read that I had to stop for a while; while none of the murders is explicit, this one was the most shocking.
One of the 1st murder scenes (involving a baby) was so awful to read that I had to stop for a while; while none of the murders is explicit, this one was the most shocking.
April 26, 2023
An intriguing tale set in the time of Jack the Ripper and the Titanic disaster. Cleverly tied together. It paints a dramatic picture of the times and tells the story of a man with memory loss and a woman who starts off to cross him but ultimately helps him. It vividly describes the seedier side of London at the times. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
November 8, 2023
Definitivamente, "Jack el destripador" es un personaje que ha fascinado de una manera u otra al público en general y generalmente uno se hace la idea de un asesino en serie con una mente perturbada ... Este libro ofrece una cara completamente diferente a la idea que tenemos de este asesino victoriano, que merece muchísimo la pena explorar. ¡Altamente recomendado!
August 9, 2024
Great mystery and two protagonists. Slightly disappointed the central mystery that revolves around a theory that is most commonly featured in Ripper media.
There is great attention to detail in the actual events if the Ripper killings. However some crucial details of the real life victims mainly Mary Kelly are omitted
Overall a fantastic thriller.
There is great attention to detail in the actual events if the Ripper killings. However some crucial details of the real life victims mainly Mary Kelly are omitted
Overall a fantastic thriller.
November 15, 2017
Scarrows writing is so enjoyable and immersive, his stories are always fun and easy reads. This book like his others although gritty and menacing has a glimmer of hope and plot twist you can never plot out but makes so much sense. Can't recommend enough!
December 12, 2019
An entertaining Victoria thriller with a different take on the Ripper murders. There isn't much of a mystery to it because the reader is aware of who did from the beginning just not the why. The Titanic element didn't have a lot to do with the story and seems to be added as click bait.
April 7, 2020
Talk about mystery and suspense. This story was filled to the max with both. If it wasn't for all the gore I would have given it four stars but I have to say the descriptions often made my stomach churn.
January 27, 2018
The novel is quite good. Although it's far from reality, as a work of fiction it's a delight to read.
July 4, 2018
An unusual story found it hard to get into but became curious as to the ending.
So persevered to the conclusion and glad that I did.
So persevered to the conclusion and glad that I did.
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