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Jack the Ripper: The Long Arm of the Law
Jack the Ripper isn’t famous, rich, or royal, but he played a crucial role on the night of the double event. My suspect is an ordinary man, yet he both frightens and threatens the Metropolitan police to this day. They accused him of perjury, some called him a liar, others a fool. But he lived to a ripe old age and evaded the hangman’s noose. In short, he got away with murder. The files on The Jack the Ripper case will remain sealed to protect witnesses one-hundred and thirty years after the Whitechapel murders!
‘Fusty Luggs portrays the lives of the murdered women, so often portrayed as victims devoid of personality and mere bit-part players in the drama that is Jack the ripper, with sensitivity and humour.’
‘A brush with the law. Ha, ha.’
‘Fusty Luggs portrays the lives of the murdered women, so often portrayed as victims devoid of personality and mere bit-part players in the drama that is Jack the ripper, with sensitivity and humour.’
‘A brush with the law. Ha, ha.’
450 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 5, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
June 10, 2016
A fictional take on the Ripper. The story is told from the POV of the Ripper and gives clues to the motive and reasons he avoided capture. It goes far beyond the canonical victims and merges with the victims of The Bank Holiday murders and The Thames Torso killings. Inserted in the story are many historical accounts and interesting facts.
July 6, 2016
A challenging, compelling read
The allure of Jack the Ripper has been with us for over a century. Morbid fascination gone wild; indeed the story has become folklore, not to mention a sort of cottage industry. Why does it endure? I suppose it’s the brutality of the crimes, the number of victims, and the fact that Jack was never caught nor identified. Who was he? A surgeon, a royal personage, a deranged butcher, or a shadow who will never be found by history? Jack was not the first serial killer, but remains one of the most famous, and certainly the first to receive cult status thanks to a media frenzy of those times.
Somewhere in our imagination, the Ripper is still at large, still stalking the dank streets of London in 1888. The lore is extensive and it’s a brave author who attempts to tackle this subject, especially when they seek to dismantle the many myths that have gone before. Such is author Fusty Luggs’ task, and surely she has made no friends in the Ripper Community. I suspect they strive for a less prosaic explanation.
Author Luggs’ story is told simply. It follows “Jack” and his everyday wanderings through town, his dealings with the residents of Whitechapel, most of who are low-born and struggling just to exist. We hear some of Jack’s inner thoughts and get a sense of the man, his motives, and the events that led him to become a monster.
Authentic language takes the reader right back to the dank and sordid streets of London, circa 1888; language perfectly steeped in its era. The plot is interspersed with actual newspaper accounts and police transcripts. Dialog, descriptions and accounts which need to be savored, rather than rushed through. Clearly this book is a labor of the soul, scrupulously researched and perfectly re-enacted. The murders themselves are business-like, a chilling portrayal of violence as matter-of-fact events.
As piece of historical fiction, a careful blend of fact and fiction, “The Long Arm of the Law” leads to a well-thought-out, inescapable conclusion— nothing short of brilliant, compelling and believable.
My favorite few lines:
“What is it, though?”
“A delicacy.”
“I’d rather have chips.”
The allure of Jack the Ripper has been with us for over a century. Morbid fascination gone wild; indeed the story has become folklore, not to mention a sort of cottage industry. Why does it endure? I suppose it’s the brutality of the crimes, the number of victims, and the fact that Jack was never caught nor identified. Who was he? A surgeon, a royal personage, a deranged butcher, or a shadow who will never be found by history? Jack was not the first serial killer, but remains one of the most famous, and certainly the first to receive cult status thanks to a media frenzy of those times.
Somewhere in our imagination, the Ripper is still at large, still stalking the dank streets of London in 1888. The lore is extensive and it’s a brave author who attempts to tackle this subject, especially when they seek to dismantle the many myths that have gone before. Such is author Fusty Luggs’ task, and surely she has made no friends in the Ripper Community. I suspect they strive for a less prosaic explanation.
Author Luggs’ story is told simply. It follows “Jack” and his everyday wanderings through town, his dealings with the residents of Whitechapel, most of who are low-born and struggling just to exist. We hear some of Jack’s inner thoughts and get a sense of the man, his motives, and the events that led him to become a monster.
Authentic language takes the reader right back to the dank and sordid streets of London, circa 1888; language perfectly steeped in its era. The plot is interspersed with actual newspaper accounts and police transcripts. Dialog, descriptions and accounts which need to be savored, rather than rushed through. Clearly this book is a labor of the soul, scrupulously researched and perfectly re-enacted. The murders themselves are business-like, a chilling portrayal of violence as matter-of-fact events.
As piece of historical fiction, a careful blend of fact and fiction, “The Long Arm of the Law” leads to a well-thought-out, inescapable conclusion— nothing short of brilliant, compelling and believable.
My favorite few lines:
“What is it, though?”
“A delicacy.”
“I’d rather have chips.”
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews