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13 Miller's Court #2
The Assassin's Coin
She is Catherine Weatherhead, and she is Madame Rostov. She will lie, though not with malice. She will deceive, though often with good cause. And she will change the course of history, for murder speaks to her. In Whitechapel, all talk is of Jack the Ripper, but there is another killer in play, and he most definitely has a name. Mr Edwin Dry, the Deptford Assassin. The truth is not what you believe. It is what he makes it.
Although THE ASSASSIN'S COIN is a standalone story, it is also a companion novel to the Jack the Ripper Victims Series novel, THE PROSTITUTE'S PRICE, by Alan M. Clark. The gain a broader experience of each novel, read both.
Although THE ASSASSIN'S COIN is a standalone story, it is also a companion novel to the Jack the Ripper Victims Series novel, THE PROSTITUTE'S PRICE, by Alan M. Clark. The gain a broader experience of each novel, read both.
280 pages, Paperback
First published September 28, 2018
1 person is currently reading
14 people want to read
About the author
John Linwood Grant
101 books42 followersJohn Linwood Grant lives in Yorkshire with a pack of lurchers and a beard. He may also have a family.
When he's not chronicling the adventures of Mr Bubbles, the slightly psychotic pony, he writes a range of supernatural, horror and speculative tales, some of which are actually published.
You can find him every week on his website which celebrates weird fiction and weird art, greydogtales.com, often with his dogs.
When he's not chronicling the adventures of Mr Bubbles, the slightly psychotic pony, he writes a range of supernatural, horror and speculative tales, some of which are actually published.
You can find him every week on his website which celebrates weird fiction and weird art, greydogtales.com, often with his dogs.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 23, 2020
I had become acquainted with Mr. Edwin Dry through the vignettes and stories in 'A Persistence of Geraniums'. He, I had realised, was the perfect anti-hero of our age. It’s he who proves that all are equal before blade.
This is his story.
But, even more importantly, this is also the story of a resourceful, brave, conscientious and hurt-but-undefeated woman. This woman, Catherine Weatherhead, is the protagonist of this work. It’s her pain and joy, her anguish and temper, her doubts and desperation that drive the arm.
Edwin Dry becomes the scalpel held therein!
The novel is labyrinthine, like the East End. But it was over before I could appreciate all its twists and turns. It seemed more like a silent night forebearing frost and death.
And Edwin Dry!
Highly recommended.
This is his story.
But, even more importantly, this is also the story of a resourceful, brave, conscientious and hurt-but-undefeated woman. This woman, Catherine Weatherhead, is the protagonist of this work. It’s her pain and joy, her anguish and temper, her doubts and desperation that drive the arm.
Edwin Dry becomes the scalpel held therein!
The novel is labyrinthine, like the East End. But it was over before I could appreciate all its twists and turns. It seemed more like a silent night forebearing frost and death.
And Edwin Dry!
Highly recommended.
October 16, 2018
THE ASSASSINS COIN is a very different look at London in the late 1880s.Victorian Era London suffered many of the same concerns we see today - women in the workplace, poor wages for workers, excessive pollution, religious decline, and other effects of the industrial revolution. Steam driven by coal was king. Books and movies have emphasized the squalor of the East End - Whitechapel, Spitalfields - and the women who kept body and soul together through prostitution. For many, 1888 screams Jack the Ripper. John Linwood Grant brings another aspect of that era to life, specifically the enthusiasm for Spiritualism and the desire to make contact with realms other than our own. Harry Houdini and Arthur Conan Doyle both wanted to believe and debunk the mediums of the day.
The protagonist, Catherine Weatherhead, AKA Madame Rostov, is a sensitive. Rather than sell herself, she uses her ability to read people to make a living. Although, by law, she cannot charge for her services, she makes a decent enough money from the donations pressed upon her by her clients. It is interesting to note that her middle class clients are more forthcoming with money than are her more well to do ones. Truly, some things never change.
If you read the blurb, you will have noted that this book is a companion piece to Alan M. Clark's THE PROSTITUTE'S PRICE. Although each works well as a standalone book, reading them both adds a bit of flesh to each of them. I read THE PROSTITUTE'S PRICE first, but I can see that either will stand as the first read of the two. I would, however, recommend reading the first four books in Clark's Jack the Ripper Victim Series before tackling either. I can also recommend the Audible editions of all four. The narrator is magnificent!
Much like Alan Clark's series about the victims of Jack the Ripper, this is not a book about Jack, it is a book about a woman living in that time and place. Too much attention has been paid the criminal and not enough attention paid the women. Isn't that as it should be? After all, aren't women less than men? Weren't these women selling themselves to put a roof over their heads and food in their bellies? Both Clark and Grant have set the criminal aside in favor of the victims. Each in his own way has taken up the feminist cause by asking the hard question why. Why did conditions exist that allowed women to be abused? We are, unfortunately, still asking this question today. Any woman who believes that a man can't be a feminist, needs a different sort of man in her life. These male authors have captured the very essence of the fight for women's rights no matter the time or the place.
There is no doubt should other books like this appear that I will read them. The writing is superb, and the cover art is as good as it gets.
The protagonist, Catherine Weatherhead, AKA Madame Rostov, is a sensitive. Rather than sell herself, she uses her ability to read people to make a living. Although, by law, she cannot charge for her services, she makes a decent enough money from the donations pressed upon her by her clients. It is interesting to note that her middle class clients are more forthcoming with money than are her more well to do ones. Truly, some things never change.
If you read the blurb, you will have noted that this book is a companion piece to Alan M. Clark's THE PROSTITUTE'S PRICE. Although each works well as a standalone book, reading them both adds a bit of flesh to each of them. I read THE PROSTITUTE'S PRICE first, but I can see that either will stand as the first read of the two. I would, however, recommend reading the first four books in Clark's Jack the Ripper Victim Series before tackling either. I can also recommend the Audible editions of all four. The narrator is magnificent!
Much like Alan Clark's series about the victims of Jack the Ripper, this is not a book about Jack, it is a book about a woman living in that time and place. Too much attention has been paid the criminal and not enough attention paid the women. Isn't that as it should be? After all, aren't women less than men? Weren't these women selling themselves to put a roof over their heads and food in their bellies? Both Clark and Grant have set the criminal aside in favor of the victims. Each in his own way has taken up the feminist cause by asking the hard question why. Why did conditions exist that allowed women to be abused? We are, unfortunately, still asking this question today. Any woman who believes that a man can't be a feminist, needs a different sort of man in her life. These male authors have captured the very essence of the fight for women's rights no matter the time or the place.
There is no doubt should other books like this appear that I will read them. The writing is superb, and the cover art is as good as it gets.
November 25, 2018
The Assassin's Coin by John Linwood Grant is stunning amazing.
The story is developed around two key figures, among seances and intricate family stories.
The past sufferings and the desire for justice and revenge of the protagonist, Catherine Weatherhead, help the reader to see a mysterious assassin which otherwise would go unnoticed.
The historical elements of Jack the Ripper's story come together with the elements of fiction, creating an atmosphere as if we ourselves were having the visions of Madame Rostov.
If you have read The Prostitute's Price by Alan M. Clark you'll be able to compose the intricate puzzle of intrigues and subterfuges that will lead to Jack's latest victim, Mary Jane Kelly.
The story is developed around two key figures, among seances and intricate family stories.
The past sufferings and the desire for justice and revenge of the protagonist, Catherine Weatherhead, help the reader to see a mysterious assassin which otherwise would go unnoticed.
The historical elements of Jack the Ripper's story come together with the elements of fiction, creating an atmosphere as if we ourselves were having the visions of Madame Rostov.
If you have read The Prostitute's Price by Alan M. Clark you'll be able to compose the intricate puzzle of intrigues and subterfuges that will lead to Jack's latest victim, Mary Jane Kelly.
January 20, 2020
Fascinating!
Just as good as the rest of the Jack the Ripper series by Alan N Clark. The writing style of these two authors is very similar. Once you read this book, you must read Prostitute's Price by Mr Clark. They go hand in hand and the events in PP are explained in more detail. An edge of your seat, can't put down thriller. A must read for everyone.
Just as good as the rest of the Jack the Ripper series by Alan N Clark. The writing style of these two authors is very similar. Once you read this book, you must read Prostitute's Price by Mr Clark. They go hand in hand and the events in PP are explained in more detail. An edge of your seat, can't put down thriller. A must read for everyone.
November 2, 2018
enjoyable
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews