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Brian L. Porter

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A Study in Red: The Secret Journal of Jack the Ripper (The Ripper Series) Paperback – Large Print, December 3, 2015

by Brian L. Porter (Author)

3.7 41 ratings

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A Study in Red - The Secret Journal of Jack the Ripper by Brian L Porter tells the story of Robert Cavendish, a modern day psychiatrist who is bequeathed a strange set of papers which purport to be the journal of the long-dead infamous Whitechapel Murderer whose crimes gripped the hearts and minds and instilled terror on the streets of Victorian London. As he begins to read the journal, Robert becomes convinced of it’s authenticity and finds that the words of the Ripper have a strange and compelling effect on him. Unable to cast the pages aside he finds himself being drawn into the dark and sinister world of the killer until he is unable to distinguish what is fact and what is fantasy. In short, Robert Cavendish begins to feel as though he is being taken over in some way by the soul of the long-dead Ripper. What happens as he progresses through the journal will disturb and shock the reader as the close dividing line between sanity and madness is explored to the full.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Double Dragon Publishing; First Edition (December 3, 2015)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 240 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1554045274
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1554045273
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14.1 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.6 x 9 inches

Customer Reviews:
3.7 41 ratings

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Brian L. Porter

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Winner - The Critters.org Best Mystery Novel Award 2021, The Mersey Ferry Murders

Winner - The Readfree.ly Best Indie Book, 2021 Award, Muffin, Digby and Petal, Together Forever

Winner - The Readfree.ly 'Best Book We've Read all Year, 2021 Award, June 2021 (Pestilence)

Winner - The Readfree.ly 'Best Book We've Read all Year, 2018 Award, June 2018 (A Mersey Maiden)

Writing under three different names, Brian L Porter is an Amazon best selling author, with numerous best sellers to his name, so far, titles as follows:

Sasha (As Brian L Porter), the illustrated true-life story of the author's own, very special 'Miracle Dog'. Winner of The Preditors & Editors Best Fiction Book Award, 2016, and also a 7th place finish in the 50 Best Indie Books of 2016 Awards. #1 bestseller in the UK, Australia and Italy. Sasha has also been a Top Ten bestseller in its category at Amazon in Canada and France.

Sheba, From Hell to Happiness, sequel to Sasha, the true-life story of a dog rescued from a life of hell as a bait dog for dog fighters, then left to die on a rubbish tip.

Remembering Dexter is the winner of 3 literary awards

After Armageddon (As Brian L Porter), A Post-Apocalyptic short story anthology. #1 in the USA and UK.

The Italian translated version of After Armageddon, Dopo L'Armageddon, e Altri Raccontri was a #1 Amazon bestseller in Italy.

Lest We Forget, (As Brian L Porter), an evocative collection of remembrance poetry.

Alistair the Alligator, (As Harry Porter), a pre-school children’s book, illustrated by Sharon Lewis.

Charlie the Caterpillar, (As Harry Porter), also for pre-school readers, illustrated by Bonnie Pelton.

Wolf, (As Harry Porter), a young adult/teens adventure story.

Of Aztecs and Conquistadors, (As Juan Pablo Jalisco), a superb collection of romantic poetry with a Latin American theme.

He was the winner of The Preditors & Editors readers poll for Best Author Award, 2009, and a number of his books have also received awards as follows:

A Study in Red – The Secret Journal of Jack the Ripper, Preditors & Editors Best Thriller Novel Award, 2008.

Requiem for the Ripper, Preditors & Editors Best Thriller Novel Award, 2010.

Glastonbury, Preditors & Editors Best Mystery Novel Award, 2010

You can find information on the works of Harry Porter and Juan Pablo Jalisco on their individual book pages.

He is a dedicated dog lover and rescuer and he and his wife share their home with a number of rescued dogs.

Customer reviews

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Customers find the story intriguing and fascinating. They enjoy reading the book and find it hard to put down. The characters are described as interesting and well-developed. However, some readers feel the journal entries are brief and uninspired. Opinions differ on the writing quality - some find it well-written and easy to read, while others consider it descriptive and weak.

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Suspenseful story Readability Character development Writing quality Journal entries

11 customers mention "Suspenseful story"11 positive0 negative

Customers find the story intriguing and fascinating. They describe it as a chilling tale that draws them in with its realistic scenarios and depiction of actual murder scenes. Readers appreciate the author's skillful blend of fiction and true crime, creating a well-conceptualized tale that makes them forget it's a fictional account of a true story.

"...In this wonderfully conceptualized story Brian L. Porter has breathed new life into the story of "Jack the Ripper." The author postulates a..." Read more

"...care for who JtR turned out to be, but that aside, the story itself was very intriguing...." Read more

"...I'm really surprised this has received so many good reviews. The idea was a good one & it held potential but fell flat for me." Read more

"...Ripperologist alike, A Study in Red is all at once entertaining, suspenseful, and downright creepy! Diana Rubino [...]" Read more

8 customers mention "Readability"6 positive2 negative

Customers enjoy reading this book. They find it interesting and hard to put down, with a mix of fiction and true crime. The book holds their interest throughout and is described as an exciting, suspenseful thriller.

"...Filled with illusion, I began reading and found a very exciting, suspenseful thriller...." Read more

"...The plot dragged a bit, at times, but the book was interesting enough to forgive this and keep reading!..." Read more

"...It quickly became boring. I was surprised to find some errors also, for instance a glass of scotch later became a glass of whiskey...." Read more

"...I'm not really sure anymore. I've enjoyed reading this book. It's a cross between a "fiction" and a "true crime."..." Read more

3 customers mention "Character development"3 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the character development.

"...scenarios that seem so real, so "now," so filled with the characters he creates. His characters are people, not just words on a page...." Read more

"Jack the Ripper is an intriguing character who has been written about in many ways by many people...." Read more

"...murder scene details the Author spent years researching, and interesting characters that actually put you back in 1888 in each scene as if you are..." Read more

13 customers mention "Writing quality"8 positive5 negative

Customers have mixed reviews about the writing quality. Some find it well-written and easy to read, with characters that are not just words on the page. Others mention that the writing is descriptive, repetitive, and difficult to understand. Overall, opinions vary on the writing style and how intense the novel is.

"...This book is extremely well written. It deals with difficult emotional and psychic problems that are exceedingly hard to understand by all...." Read more

"...Overall, this was a GREAT book and a quick read as you will NOT want to put it down...." Read more

"...who likes to read because they are interested in characters, artful language, and novel ideas will most likely feel the same way." Read more

"...While not the most impressive writing and as mentioned in some other reviews a bit weak in parts this book did manage to keep me entertained right..." Read more

3 customers mention "Journal entries"0 positive3 negative

Customers find the journal entries in the book brief and uninspired. They also mention that the entries are followed by endless pages of analyzing from the man reading the journal.

"...These entries were brief followed by endless pages of analyzing from the man reading the journal...." Read more

"...But, Jack the Ripper's actual journal entries are so brief and uninspired..." Read more

"...The Ripper's journal entries are too short to keep my attention and they don't give any depth or background to him...." Read more

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Berk Rourke
In this wonderfully conceptualized story Brian L
Reviewed in the United States on January 7, 2016
Verified Purchase
How would you create a new approach to an old topic? How would you breathe new life into the story of a demented and murderous person who has been studied infinitely? In this wonderfully conceptualized story Brian L. Porter has breathed new life into the story of "Jack the Ripper." The author postulates a diary that comes into the hands of a psychiatrist in the late 1990's when his father dies in an automobile accident. And the diary consists of writings of the madman/murderer Jack. It also consists of notes left by the Great Grandfather of "Robert."
As Robert begins to read the diary and the notes of his Great Grandfather he is mesmerized by their content. He feels overwhelmed with the emotions of the killer, yet somewhat sympathetic in that Robert sees the dementia from which the madman is suffering. And Robert is frightened to the utmost by the tale of murder most foul written by the killer. Robert's own sanity, his own emotions, his own "involvement" become a matter of concern for him when suddenly several young women are killed and gutted in the same fashion as those crimes which Jack committed in the late 1880's. That moment of uncertainty in his own mind is calmed by the confession of a young man to the killings, a young man that Robert has treated as a psychiatrist. As Robert reads more, fighting the inevitability of the information of more and more killings, reviled by the incredible violence perpetrated by Jack the Ripper, he descends more into his own personal hell of uncertainty, feeling the presence of the killer, knowing there is no one there but yet "feeling" that presence.
Brian L. Porter is a master of the tale of the macabre. And his words, strung together so brilliantly, create scenarios that seem so real, so "now," so filled with the characters he creates. His characters are people, not just words on a page. They live, in the mind of the reader, almost from the first instant one picks up and begins to peruse the pages he has penned. Creating characters that live in the mind of the reader is a tremendously difficult and oft not very well appreciated attribute of a great writer. The author of this stunning book is amongst the best at this difficult proposition.
I enjoyed this book tremendously as I have all those written by this author which I have already consumed. I think this book is probably not suited for the very young and impressionable but I certainly don't see it as being out of the realm of an older teens ability to understand and enjoy. This book is extremely well written. It deals with difficult emotional and psychic problems that are exceedingly hard to understand by all. Most of all it is an attention grabber that demands you continue, just as the journal demands of Robert, that you continue to read, to understand and to see in the final analysis all that it is about. Another tour de force by a great writer.

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Deborah K. Dobbins
Worth it....
Reviewed in the United States on May 14, 2008
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I usually don't like Jack the Ripper fiction works, but I found "A Study In Red: The Secret Journal of Jack the Ripper" very different, yet sickeningly fascinating. I was unable to order my copy when it was first released so as you can imagine, I was very excited to order this work. Filled with illusion, I began reading and found a very exciting, suspenseful thriller. Dr. Cavendish speaks in the first person of a his fright filled days reading a journal handed down to him after his fathers passing. Dr. Cavendish soon realizes this is the journal of none other than Jack the Ripper himself.

As pointed out by another reviewer, it did seem to drag out... Especially some of Dr. Cavendish's ramblings between reading journal entries. I also found the over use of exclamation points a bit annoying, but that's just me. The entire storyline of John Terrance Ross could have been omitted and did little to fuel the already thrilling work. I didn't really care for who JtR turned out to be, but that aside, the story itself was very intriguing.

Overall, this was a GREAT book and a quick read as you will NOT want to put it down. Like Dr. Cavendish, I found myself unable to sleep peacefully until I was finished reading. I highly recommend "A Study In Red" and give Mr. Porter 4 stars on a job well done! I will be looking forward to Mr. Porter's next work, hopefully another tale about Jack.

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SDMartin
Not what I expected...
Reviewed in the United States on November 22, 2009
Verified Purchase
When I purchased this book I bought it primarily because of all the positive reviews. I'm always one for a good thriller & the idea of getting inside the mind of Jack the Ripper sounded like it was just what I was looking for. Unfortunately, I was left disappointed. The journal entries of Jack the Ripper were interesting enough, although they sounded like a text book lunatic. These entries were brief followed by endless pages of analyzing from the man reading the journal. Sometimes often repeating something that he had already said earlier in the book. It quickly became boring. I was surprised to find some errors also, for instance a glass of scotch later became a glass of whiskey. I had to go back & check to see if I had read right that he had indeed poured scotch & not whiskey. I'm really surprised this has received so many good reviews. The idea was a good one & it held potential but fell flat for me.

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Diana Rubino
A Bone Chilling Read for Any Ripper Fan
Reviewed in the United States on June 19, 2009
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Robert Cavendish is a psychiatrist who's inherited a package of papers which belonged to his great grandfather, a doctor. As he begins reading, he sees that it's a diary of sorts, and he's astonished to see that the diary mentions Jack the Ripper. He reads on, becoming convinced that this diary actually belonged to the never-apprehended serial killer himself, who brutally murdered several prostitutes in London's East End in 1888.
The diary's author goes into explicit detail about how he killed and butchered each of his victims, further disturbing and troubling Robert as he reads his great grandfather's chilling commentary interspersed throughout--he actually knew this killer!
The book ends in a surprising twist which also leaves the story open for the much-anticipated sequel which I eagerly await.
Author Brian Porter's extensive research on Jack and his explorations of the killer's motives shine on every page of this story that is impossible to put down. For the merely curious and the seasoned Ripperologist alike, A Study in Red is all at once entertaining, suspenseful, and downright creepy!
Diana Rubino
[...]

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Top reviews from other countries

CLynn
Devastatingly powerful and thoroughly factual!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 8, 2009
Verified Purchase
ATTENTION RIPPEROLOGISTS and those of you who would like to learn more about the infamous Jack the Ripper!
This is the book for you!
From the opening page until the shocker-laden ending, I was hooked.
The author is thoroughly knowledgeable on his subject (Jack the Ripper and his horrific crimes).
He has presented a cleverly written story, which most of the time, doesn't seem like fiction at all!
The effect on the reader is, at times, devastating.
The main character is sent a journal that was penned by the Ripper himself. The sheer malevolence and evil contained in those pages affects him and frankly it also affects the reader.
I was there with the main character--feeling what he felt, sensing and dreaming what he dreamt--throughout.
The protagonist is a psychiatrist who is analysing the Ripper.
That in itself I found highly original and interesting.
A great deal of the time it was very upsetting!
It is hugely exciting, unpredictable and filled with shocks and surprises.
If the subject is of any interest to you, and let's face it--we all are interested in history's most intriguing murderer--this is the book for you!
Wow!

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Clare London
Great entertainment!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 6, 2008
Verified Purchase
This book was such great fun, and facinating on several levels - I learned a lot about the actual cases, which I really should know better about, coming from London! - but even if I'd known all the history, I loved the way the author blended the old in with the new, drawing the reader along with the narrator's own discoveries. It was a great, easy style to read, and I think the book's strength was the way Brian L Porter rolled out the storyline at the same pace as the narrator's own reading of the journal, letting us 'be' him as we read on...
But no more from me or I'll give the shocks and excitement away to you all! :)

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Anne Chambers
A great spine-tingling read!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 5, 2010
Verified Purchase
I purchased the Kindle edition, and as I have an interest in The Whitechapel murders, I thought this novel would be a good read. The main plot centres around the reading of an old journal, and seems to unfold in a real-time way. That is to say the author cleverly leads us through the historical facts, the reading of the journal and the main characters reactions and feelings throughout. I felt I was there, in fact, reading the journal over his shoulder. Not at all action-packed but it is a gripping read and the final twists and turns had me on the edge of my seat, literally. If you have any interest in the Jack the Ripper story then this is a must-read. Very clearly expressed and well researched, and no I didnt guess the outcome! But then you just need to read it yourself. Stunning!

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N Welburn
... found "A Study in Red" to be quite an amazing book. From the very first page
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 25, 2014
Verified Purchase
I found "A Study in Red" to be quite an amazing book. From the very first page, the writer draws you in, and you find yourself suddenly inside the head of 'Jack the Ripper'. The writing is so visual and captivating that you actually feel you are being taken on this nightmare journey with Robert Cavendish, through the streets of East London back in the Autumn of 1888. The twists and turns in this book completely took me by surprise, and the final pages were so unexpected, it left me desperate to read the next installment in this fascinating trilogy. I cannot recommend this book highly enough, it is so dark, vivid and exhilarating. It truly is a journey into the depths of Hell - fantastic!!

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Mr. Michael Covell
A Thrilling Study in Red!!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 11, 2008
Verified Purchase
I was lucky enough to win this excellent book, otherwise I would have bought it anyway!! It grips you from the off slowly building up pace until it becames like a rollercoaster ride, one which keeps you entertained and unable to escape! The plot steadily builds up to a great crescendo and all the charectors are well written. If you read only 1 Jack the Ripper Fiction book, make it this one!

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A Study in Red: The Secret Journal of Jack the Ripper (The Ripper Series) Paperback – Large Print, December 3, 2015

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Brian L. Porter