The Whitechapel Horrors [Paperback]

Edward B. Hanna (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2, 1993

This novel brings back to life Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's great character in atmospheric Victorian London as he is faced with a crisis of conscience when confronted with disclosing the identity of Jack the Ripper. "Intriguing and chilling".--New York Times Book Review.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Hanna's deft integration of Holmesian lore and Jack the Ripper mythology follows a trail of grisly murders from London's East End up to Buckingham palace.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 395 pages
• Publisher: Carroll & Graf (September 2, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 078670019X
• ISBN-13: 978-0786700196
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,694,591 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Highly Enjoyable!, March 26, 2000

By 

Michael B. Bruneio (Macungie, PA.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Whitechapel Horrors (Paperback)

As both a Holmes and Ripper enthusiast, I felt this book was an almost perfect marriage of fact and fiction, and undeniably the best battle between the Master Sleuth and the Master Psychopath in print. I said "almost perfect," and I must stress the word "almost." Like some other reviewers, I did feel somewhat let down by the ending and lack of resolution. However, by studying the case, I now know that this frustration is nothing compared to the emotions the REAL investigators surely felt when the Whitechapel Horrors simply stopped and nothing was ever heard from Jack the Ripper again. If Mr. Hanna intended to evoke this feeling with his readers, he has succeeded admirably! The suspense is well-maintained, the characters (especially Watson and perhaps the most amiable, verbose Holmes in print), reflective of their times, and the author's research commendable.I love the author's proposed solution as to how the Ripper eluded capture, but I question its practicality.All in all, "The Whitechapel Horrors" is a worthy continuation of Holmes' legacy, and deserves to be read by all interested in Holmes and the Ripper.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very well written novel, March 27, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Whitechapel Horrors (Paperback)

I just enjoyed reading this book. I got hooked from the beginning and couldn't put it down. The plot is very exciting and interesting which makes the novel easy to enjoy. Edward Hanna's first novel is without a shadow of a doubt a success. He should continue to write Holmes stories confronting him against maybe the Phantom of the Opera, Arsene Lupin, etc.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A new spin on a NOT original idea, January 30, 2002

By 

DARBY KERN (Green Bay, WI United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Whitechapel Horrors (Paperback)

The Whitechapel Horrors is one of the numerous pastiches involving Sherlock Holmes solving the Jack The Ripper murders. You'd think that it would be a great idea, mixing fact and fiction and winding up with a swell book. The thing is: it's been done too many times already! Never mind the films that have tread this ground (with another script by Brian Helgeland called "Elementary" waiting at Warner Bros.), this is at least the fourth novel covering that idea. Baring-Gould covered it, Ellery Queen covered it, Michael Didbin, in my absolute LEAST favorite Holmes book, covered it...
Don't get me wrong, Mister Hanna is a great writer who provides lots of detail and insight, but the idea has been done to death- so to speak.
Another problem I had with the book: The voice of the writer. This is not written as a first hand narrative of John Watson, and the book suffers because of it. Hanna explains that the book is taken from Watson's notes (essentially making it HIS story) but it's not enough. Many of the Holmes pastiches don't get Watson's "voice" right, but Mister Hanna didn't try.
Great writer, but the book has problems.