Letters From A Murderer: Could Jack the Ripper have crossed the Atlantic?

by John Matthews

COMPLETE AND UNABRIDGED

A trail of murder and corruption sets the scene for Jameson & Argenti’s first case! Perfect for fans of Sherlock Holmes, Gangs of New York and Ripper Street.

Jack the Ripper’s murderous spree is finally over in London, but has it started again in New York…?

375 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 31, 2019

About the author

John Matthews is an historian, folklorist and author. He has been a full time writer since 1980 and has produced over ninety books on the Arthurian Legends and Grail Studies, as well as short stories and a volume of poetry. He has devoted much of the past thirty years to the study of Arthurian Traditions and myth in general. His best known and most widely read works are ‘Pirates’ (Carlton/Atheneum), No 1 children’s book on the New York Times Review best-seller list for 22 weeks in 2006, ‘The Grail, Quest for Eternal Life’ (Thames & Hudson, 1981) ‘The Encyclopaedia of Celtic Wisdom’ (Element, 1994) and ‘The Winter Solstice’ (Quest Books, 1999) which won the Benjamin Franklin Award for that year. His book ‘Celtic Warrior Chiefs’ was a New York Public Library recommended title for young people.

Reviews

[Paul Zaccagnino · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy reading novels set in 19th Century New York City (and even earlier) and this book delivered with excellent descriptions of the sights and sounds of the city. It was a very good mystery story as well and had a very exciting ending.

[Faouzia · Rating 2 out of 5]

2,5 Stars rounded to 2 Stars.

I enjoy reading a story about Jack the Ripper, i feel curious about what kind of solutions the different authors imagine for this mystery. I didn't really have any expectations for this one, just curiosity and yet i was disappointed.
Some key points of the story and particularities of the main character, Finley Jameson, reminded me too much of the movie adaptation of From Hell, i am not sure how close it is to the book since i didn't read but many elements are annoyingly the same from the addiction of Jamson to opium, his continual visits to opium dens, to his pronounced interest for the prostitute friend of one of the victims, to the murder of this said prostitute who turned out to have survived in exactly the same manner as the one in the movie.. After the turning events halfway through it (which came as no surprise), the story started to drag a bit for me, in a series of near-miss encounters with the ripper which ended in an unconvincing manner.

I really wanted to like the story, some of its parts were interesting which is the reason for the 2 stars, but i was annoyed by the parallel between it and the movie. The general idea of the ripper crossing the Atlantic and continuing with his gruesome murders to deliver a message was interesting, but i felt that its execution lacked originality.

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher and the author for this copy in exchange of an honest review.