Customer Reviews

The Thames Torso Murders of Victorian London

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

Luckily I'm kind of interested in the Ripper case as well as the torso case; if I were not, the book would have been really annoying to read. About half of this book is really just about Jack the Ripper, who may or may not have been the torso killer as well (general thought is that they were not the same man since the MO is so different.) Furthermore, the author seems to firmly believe he has identified Jack the Ripper and only in the final chapters does he ever even suggest but vaguely that George Chapman might be at all in doubt by anyone as the killer.

Interspersed between chapters about the Ripper murders, are the known details about the torso cases. Since anyone buying a book called "The Thames Torso Murders of Victorian London" probably is most interested in these parts, I'll try to focus on them. Details are admittedly scant, more the fault of the circumstances (most victims never identified, many of the original police files now lost) than of the author's abilities. There is usually a description of the discovery of the body parts, and of the coroner's inquest. Other information is provided if available, such as the police reactions, what became of the bodies, and suchlike. Now, obviously as the case was never solved, there's not much in the way of closure or conclusion when you get done reading the book; but if you wanted to know more about the details of these cases, this is the best source I have found so far. (I've been interested in the torso killings for many years.)

As my star rating indicates, I didn't by any means hate the book -- in fact I rather liked it, and found it was the most exciting non-fiction book I've had the pleasure to read in some time. I was disappointed though, that the book wasn't more focused on the supposed subject of the Victorian torso killings.