The Ripper Case Files

by Tim Dedopulos

Ten specially commissioned cases set in the dark alleyways and hidden lairs of Victorian London, each designed to test your powers of perception, logic and deduction... and the strength of your stomach. The mysteries are divided into three parts, at the end of which the reader is asked to answer a question to move on to the next part, or, in the case of the final section, to identify the sinister culprit!

224 pages, Hardcover

Published May 1, 2020

About the author

Tim Dedopulos, a British writer, editor, publisher and game designer with nearly 100 works to his name in areas ranging from horror and sff, through music and art, to games, puzzles and jokes.

Tim lives in Spain with his wife and the ghost of his murdered bromeliad, grimly acclimatising to his new-found and unwelcome mid-40s. A shameless INFJ, he usually tries to avoid thinking in the third person.

Reviews

[Iva Habrnálová · Rating 2 out of 5]

Za mě tato kniha byla spíše zklamáním, vložené hádanky a hlavolamy jsou často postaveny tak, že je
čtenář nemůže sám vyřešit, protože v textu není klíčová informace zmíněna a ani naznačena.

[Dylan Cheesman · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was very excited by the premise of this book, but was entirely let down by the end. This is presented as a solve it yourself mystery, but none of the clues matter in any way whatsoever! It really feels like the author just wanted to write very gruesome scenes of mutilated corpses with no idea how to tie them together into a plot or mystery.

Spoilers ahead:

There are a lot of details in each of the murders that seem really interesting. Messages carved into the bodies, some with misspellings such as "Miss Mee" and "Best Regard." There is religious symbolism with how the bodies are positioned, and one of the bodies has Celtic or Norse symbols carved into her skin.

What does all of this mean? Absolutely NOTHING. Here is a quote from the book about the cryptic designs cut into the body, "The designs carved into her raised alarmed eyebrows amongst particular specialists in the employ of the Crown, but in the end it was decided that there was little advantage to burdening the Inspector further with their implications. Even if there was a correlation, it would have been of little use in his hunt for his quarry."
The book seriously says none of the evidence about the body itself is relevant to the case.

So if piecing together clues and evidence isn't how the case is solved, then how IS it solved? Well, it's solved when The Ripper drops out of a tree and attacks the inspector. Yes, I'm serious. The two fight, and the inspector pulls off the ripper's fake beard, revealing that the ripper was a woman! Gasp! Then she kicks him in the balls and escapes. The end.

[Jane Rain · Rating 3 out of 5]

Knížka obsahuje celou řadu "utajených" vražd Jacka Rozparovače. Každá kapitola je ze tří částí a na konci každé části je malá hádanka pro vás. Hádanky jsou spíš takové otázky, zjišťující, jak jste dávali pozor. Jestli jste si všímali popisu okolí a obsahu výpovědí svědků. Hádanky mě trochu štvaly, protože mi nedává smysl, aby inspektor takto hádal, místo aby vyvozoval věci až ze všech důkazů. Také se dost opakovaly, nebo bylo řešení na velmi podobném principu. Kniha graficky vypadá krásně, má pevné desky, pěknou obálku, uvnitř je barevně tištěná a plná obrázků. Obsahuje hodně a až zbytečně explicitní popisy mrtvol a toho, jak se na nich vrah vyřádil. Přišlo mi to pro tento typ knížky zbytečně morbidní. S hádankami to nesouviselo. Na jedno přečtení to bylo fajn, ale mohlo by to být lepší.

[Ian A · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pros: Really well written, flowing narrative on a very interesting subject. Giving a new spin on familiar topic. Illustrations are beautifully drawn. Cons: This reader felt let down by a conclusion that did not make sense or resolve anything. Also the descriptions of the murder felt like they were done with a relish that was not needed.

[Andrew Hixson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great depiction of a frightening time.

[Franziska Leitner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Das Buch war mega schön und kreativ gestaltet. Die Geschichten sind eindeutig nichts für schwache Nerven und ich mochte die Polizisten gerne. Allerdings konnte man manche Fragen wirklich schwierig lösen bzw waren die Lösungen unlogisch.

[Foxglove · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don’t feel like the writer knows very much at all about Jack The Ripper, as much of these murders do not even truly follow the Ripper’s MO. Many of the supposed ‘facts’ about the Ripper — such as his ‘surgical knowledge’ can be disproved by a quick Google search, not that this was truly needed for someone who adores true crime. The way these cases were set up are not realistic in the slightest, and do not mirror the actual cases from 1888. Furthermore, the puzzles are not intriguing and do not advance the case nor lead it further. In fact, you do not have to solve a single puzzle to follow the story and it reads very much like a poor fiction book. In actual fact, this book is not a mystery to solve, and is simply a poorly-told and unrealistic adventure that serves only to capitalise on horrific historical events, without having the knowledge or accuracy to deserve such.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Meine ausführliche Rezension folgt demnächst auf dem Blog!