The Passion of the Ripper

by Nicholas Nicastro

In the chilly summer of 1888, the city of London was introduced to an innovation in evil. A brutal series of prostitute murders cast the city into a frenzy of fear and suspicion, pushing it to the brink of ethnic strife not seen in centuries. Jack the Ripper had arrived."'The Passion of the Ripper' is a different kind of Ripper story: not a whodunit, but an unflinching exploration of the killer, his city, and his times. It tells this well-known story from the inside out, from the points of view of the cops, his final victim, and the man who--years later--became the case's prime suspect. Contrary to legend, Jack's career didn't end with his last mutilation. After chasing a phantom for years, will Scotland Yard see Jack's handiwork in a series of seemingly unrelated murders? Will the world's most notorious serial killer be brought to justice at last?"A disturbing, engrossing tale. Nicastro takes you to hell and back with the larger than life mystery--and the man--behind the name Jack the Ripper."--Doug Clegg, author of "Neverland""A strong new entry in the world of Ripper fiction..."--Ripperologist Magazine

Genres: True Crime

186 pages, Paperback

First published June 23, 2010

About the author

Nicholas Nicastro was born in Astoria, New York in 1963. His education includes a B.A. in English from Cornell University (1985), an M.F.A. in filmmaking from New York University (1991), an M.A. in archaeology and a Ph.D in psychology from Cornell (1996 and 2003). He has also worked as a film critic, a hospital orderly, a newspaper reporter, a library archivist, a college lecturer in anthropology and psychology, an animal behaviorist, and an advertising salesman. His writings include short fiction, travel and science articles in such publications as "The New York Times", "The New York Observer", "Film Comment", and "The International Herald Tribune". His books have been published by Penguin, St. Martin's, and HarperCollins.

Reviews

[Carol Butler · Rating 3 out of 5]

A different look and perspective to Jack the Ripper, as I think everyone knows the story by now, listening to this I was none the wiser as to who actually killed all those prostitutes and displayed them, putting them on show and after all this time we will never know as I'm not sure that any DNA would ever survive and who could you match it too if there was any. However, I did find the ending more exciting than the actual ripper story in this instance.
The narration was by Melanie Crowley lovely clear voice but I thought a male voice perhaps would have been better with this type of story but that is purely my opinion.
I have read a couple of the Ripper Books this my first of an audio version, now I believe it's time to put it to rest as it just keeps going round in circles. and how many versions of the same story can one take.

[Anne Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting and very different presentation of the facts surrounding the murders of “Jack the Ripper”. Exactly as the author set out to present. It’s as credible a theory of who “The Ripper” actually was as any other I’ve read. But sadly we’ll probably never truly know for sure. So along with that fact and a small part of the narration I’ve given an overall rating of three stars. The narrator Melanie Crawley has a lovely voice and her characterisations were excellent, especially Mary Kelly and Bill. But her delivery of the book’s narrator was definitely not for me. It undoubtedly distinguished the narrator from the participants, but I found it stilted and uncomfortable. A small highlight of the book was the touching ending.

[Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

AUDIOBOOK

I loved this audio. If like me you love delving into the story of Jack The Ripper and still hold on to the hope we will one day get to the bottom of this mystery then this audio is for you. It’s a fascinating and well researched story’s with an exciting conclusion and did not disappoint.

[MS Meagher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gripping, well researched version of the Ripper story. A good read, and although I’ve read several non-fiction accounts of the Ripper murders, I still learned new information from this. Excellent narration.

[Trevor Becker · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh

It was ok. I won’t go out of my way to read again which is why I gave it a 2 star rating.