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Return To Whitechapel: The Ripper's Knife
‘You know, Mr Collins, I think our elusive Ripper's quarrel is not with the lower class females of Whitechapel... it is with you.'
Whitechapel, London, 1889: James Collins reflects on his tragically intimate relationship with the ‘Jack the Ripper' killings the previous autumn and, longing to escape, takes a boat to France. He begins a new life in Paris under the tutelage of the distinguished criminologist Alex Lacassagne and his intelligent and beautiful daughter Lena.
James thrives in his new life, finding a sense of purpose as a consulting detective. But Whitechapel has a way of drawing him back to the horrors he hoped he had left behind.
Dean Jacobs' well-researched, pacey and intriguing variation on the Jack the Ripper legend is enhanced by 14 full-page, full-colour illustrations by the author.
Whitechapel, London, 1889: James Collins reflects on his tragically intimate relationship with the ‘Jack the Ripper' killings the previous autumn and, longing to escape, takes a boat to France. He begins a new life in Paris under the tutelage of the distinguished criminologist Alex Lacassagne and his intelligent and beautiful daughter Lena.
James thrives in his new life, finding a sense of purpose as a consulting detective. But Whitechapel has a way of drawing him back to the horrors he hoped he had left behind.
Dean Jacobs' well-researched, pacey and intriguing variation on the Jack the Ripper legend is enhanced by 14 full-page, full-colour illustrations by the author.
158 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 30, 2016
404 people want to read
About the author
Dean Jacobs
83 books8 followersDr Dean Jacobs is an author/illustrator based on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia.
He has written three novels and nine children's picturebooks, a number of which have been nominated for national literary awards.
Dean's doctoral thesis explored the role of illustration, or visual text, when used in conjunction with words, or written text. When used effectively, visual text and written text can create multiple levels of understand and interpretation for the reader, and can form a stronger literary attraction for a wider reading audience
He has written three novels and nine children's picturebooks, a number of which have been nominated for national literary awards.
Dean's doctoral thesis explored the role of illustration, or visual text, when used in conjunction with words, or written text. When used effectively, visual text and written text can create multiple levels of understand and interpretation for the reader, and can form a stronger literary attraction for a wider reading audience
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
September 28, 2017
'A thirst for the darkness caused the creature inside to stir........'
I've always been very interested and fascinated by Jack the Ripper and with my favourite period of time in fiction being Victorian London then I just knew I was going to love this book "Return to Whitechapel - The Ripper's Knife".
It certainly didn't disappoint, exceedingly well written and composed, it's an excellent fictional account based on the real life murders carried out by the Ripper.
The book is the second written by the author Dean Jacobs and features the after years following the last murder in 1888. James Collins aka Jack the Ripper now fifty years older stumbles across a photo from 1890 where he begins to tell the reader how the photo came to be taken.
After the last murder of Mary Kelly, James takes a boat to France to start a new life in Paris under the tutelage of criminologist Alex Lacassagne and his daughter Lena. James thrives in his new life as a consulting detective - managing to keep the monster within him contained - but Whitechapel has a way of drawing him back to the horrors he hoped he'd left behind.
I actually liked James' character and truly felt sorry for the split personality he endured. The story has a great plot to it and I was quite surprised by the ending - an ingenious twist - that I thoroughly enjoyed and devoured in a day. I have to say that the quality of the printing is superb, with fourteen full page full colour illustrations accompanying the story all by the author. This really made it for me and definitely will be staying on my bookshelf!
I highly recommend "Return to Whitechapel", it has been very well researched, is truly entertaining, not overly violent and instantly compelling.
I'm intrigued to see what happened in the first book "The Streets of Whitechapel" so I've purchased it to accompany this one and look forward to reading that too.
It was always going to be a masterful 5 stars for this book and I would love to read more by this author in the future.
I've always been very interested and fascinated by Jack the Ripper and with my favourite period of time in fiction being Victorian London then I just knew I was going to love this book "Return to Whitechapel - The Ripper's Knife".
It certainly didn't disappoint, exceedingly well written and composed, it's an excellent fictional account based on the real life murders carried out by the Ripper.
The book is the second written by the author Dean Jacobs and features the after years following the last murder in 1888. James Collins aka Jack the Ripper now fifty years older stumbles across a photo from 1890 where he begins to tell the reader how the photo came to be taken.
After the last murder of Mary Kelly, James takes a boat to France to start a new life in Paris under the tutelage of criminologist Alex Lacassagne and his daughter Lena. James thrives in his new life as a consulting detective - managing to keep the monster within him contained - but Whitechapel has a way of drawing him back to the horrors he hoped he'd left behind.
I actually liked James' character and truly felt sorry for the split personality he endured. The story has a great plot to it and I was quite surprised by the ending - an ingenious twist - that I thoroughly enjoyed and devoured in a day. I have to say that the quality of the printing is superb, with fourteen full page full colour illustrations accompanying the story all by the author. This really made it for me and definitely will be staying on my bookshelf!
I highly recommend "Return to Whitechapel", it has been very well researched, is truly entertaining, not overly violent and instantly compelling.
I'm intrigued to see what happened in the first book "The Streets of Whitechapel" so I've purchased it to accompany this one and look forward to reading that too.
It was always going to be a masterful 5 stars for this book and I would love to read more by this author in the future.
June 9, 2017
Return to Whitechapel, is the story of Jack the Ripper, told by the very man himself. The prologue gives you an indication of who the murderer really was, written by the killer some 50 years after the atrocities.
James Collins is Jack the Ripper, in a Jekyll and Hyde sense of the word. James tried for so long not to let the monster loose, but Jack always won. He tried to keep Jack a secret, trouble was – ‘Secrets always come out…in the end’.
Dean Jacobs has written a fictional story, based on the real life events of Jack the Ripper. He has cleverly pieced together fact and fiction, and come up with his own idea of who would be capable of such vile acts. He has used his research into the killer to tell a story of a man possessed, a normal man, with a murderer lurking beneath the surface.
Throughout the book there are many works of art, from pictures featuring the scenes, to newspaper cuttings. You don’t find many novel that include artwork, but these images work well with this story and add to the enjoyment.
I love books set in the Victorian age, although other periods of history don’t interest me. This book was perfect for me, as not only do I love books from this period, but Jack the Ripper fascinates me too. How could one man of brutally killed these women, yet never be caught.
The tension builds throughout, as you get to read about James past, his travels to London from Ireland, and the women he killed. All this sets the scene for such a brilliantly crafted ending.
If you like books about the infamous 1888 murderer, then this book will be a perfect read for you.
Reviewed by Stacey on www.whisperingstories.com
James Collins is Jack the Ripper, in a Jekyll and Hyde sense of the word. James tried for so long not to let the monster loose, but Jack always won. He tried to keep Jack a secret, trouble was – ‘Secrets always come out…in the end’.
Dean Jacobs has written a fictional story, based on the real life events of Jack the Ripper. He has cleverly pieced together fact and fiction, and come up with his own idea of who would be capable of such vile acts. He has used his research into the killer to tell a story of a man possessed, a normal man, with a murderer lurking beneath the surface.
Throughout the book there are many works of art, from pictures featuring the scenes, to newspaper cuttings. You don’t find many novel that include artwork, but these images work well with this story and add to the enjoyment.
I love books set in the Victorian age, although other periods of history don’t interest me. This book was perfect for me, as not only do I love books from this period, but Jack the Ripper fascinates me too. How could one man of brutally killed these women, yet never be caught.
The tension builds throughout, as you get to read about James past, his travels to London from Ireland, and the women he killed. All this sets the scene for such a brilliantly crafted ending.
If you like books about the infamous 1888 murderer, then this book will be a perfect read for you.
Reviewed by Stacey on www.whisperingstories.com
September 25, 2017
' A thirst for the darkness caused the creature inside to stir........'
I've always been very interested and fascinated by Jack the Ripper and with my favourite period of time in fiction being Victorian London then I just knew I was going to love this book "Return to Whitechapel - The Ripper's Knife".
It certainly didn't disappoint, exceedingly well written and composed, it's an excellent fictional account based on the real life murders carried out by the Ripper.
The book is the second written by the author Dean Jacobs and features the after years following the last murder in 1888. James Collins aka Jack the Ripper now fifty years older stumbles across a photo from 1890 where he begins to tell the reader how the photo came to be taken.
After the last murder of Mary Kelly, James takes a boat to France to start a new life in Paris under the tutelage of criminologist Alex Lacassagne and his daughter Lena. James thrives in his new life as a consulting detective - managing to keep the monster within him contained - but Whitechapel has a way of drawing him back to the horrors he hoped he'd left behind.
I actually liked James' character and truly felt sorry for the split personality he endured. The story has a great plot to it and I was quite surprised by the ending - an ingenious twist - that I thoroughly enjoyed and devoured in a day. I have to say that the quality of the printing is superb, with fourteen full page full colour illustrations accompanying the story all by the author. This really made it for me and definitely will be staying on my bookshelf!
I highly recommend "Return to Whitechapel", it has been very well researched, is truly entertaining, not overly violent and instantly compelling.
I'm intrigued to see what happened in the first book "The Streets of Whitechapel" so I've purchased it to accompany this one and look forward to reading that too.
It was always going to be a masterful 5 stars for this book and I would love to read more by this author in the future.
I've always been very interested and fascinated by Jack the Ripper and with my favourite period of time in fiction being Victorian London then I just knew I was going to love this book "Return to Whitechapel - The Ripper's Knife".
It certainly didn't disappoint, exceedingly well written and composed, it's an excellent fictional account based on the real life murders carried out by the Ripper.
The book is the second written by the author Dean Jacobs and features the after years following the last murder in 1888. James Collins aka Jack the Ripper now fifty years older stumbles across a photo from 1890 where he begins to tell the reader how the photo came to be taken.
After the last murder of Mary Kelly, James takes a boat to France to start a new life in Paris under the tutelage of criminologist Alex Lacassagne and his daughter Lena. James thrives in his new life as a consulting detective - managing to keep the monster within him contained - but Whitechapel has a way of drawing him back to the horrors he hoped he'd left behind.
I actually liked James' character and truly felt sorry for the split personality he endured. The story has a great plot to it and I was quite surprised by the ending - an ingenious twist - that I thoroughly enjoyed and devoured in a day. I have to say that the quality of the printing is superb, with fourteen full page full colour illustrations accompanying the story all by the author. This really made it for me and definitely will be staying on my bookshelf!
I highly recommend "Return to Whitechapel", it has been very well researched, is truly entertaining, not overly violent and instantly compelling.
I'm intrigued to see what happened in the first book "The Streets of Whitechapel" so I've purchased it to accompany this one and look forward to reading that too.
It was always going to be a masterful 5 stars for this book and I would love to read more by this author in the future.
April 29, 2018
I really wanted to like this book but alas I could not finish. First off the book itself was such a let down. I prefer to read physical copies, I love the feel of a book in my hand. This copy however was awkward and uncomfortable to hold. I don't know if it was because it wasn't lengthy or what happened but the binding (it's a hardcover by the way) was just off... like way off. When you open the book you have to hold the pages to the left in different areas to keep the pages down and they don't reach the edge of the book, not even when you flatten them. And then I had to turn or flatten to be able to read all the words. It was just not pleasant. Second I was a little thrown off about the direction of the story from the start, it seemed confused as to whether it was supposed to be a retelling of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, or The Ripper, I personally am not interested in a mash-up, just one or the other. And lastly, the true reason I could not complete... the writing lacked a level of emotion that I prefer in my stories.
June 1, 2017
This book was given to me through Goodreads.
I had just finished reading Portrait of a Killer when this book came.
I started it right away. Although this novel is fiction, I wanted to see if the Ripper was the same as determined in the previous book. It was not but I couldn't put it down.
Nevertheless Return to Whitechapel is told from the perspective of James Collins. His story is interesting and compelling with several of the facts in the original case adding reality to the compelling story. I enjoyed the twist at the end.
The graphic art is wonderful and adds to the story.
I had just finished reading Portrait of a Killer when this book came.
I started it right away. Although this novel is fiction, I wanted to see if the Ripper was the same as determined in the previous book. It was not but I couldn't put it down.
Nevertheless Return to Whitechapel is told from the perspective of James Collins. His story is interesting and compelling with several of the facts in the original case adding reality to the compelling story. I enjoyed the twist at the end.
The graphic art is wonderful and adds to the story.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews