Nearly every available important newspaper story, witness testimony, court hearing, autopsy testimony, letter, investigation memoir and police report relating to the case are used to piece the history of the Whitechapel murders together. Unprecedented attention is paid to the victims, the circumstances of their death, their martial status, boyfriends, education, children, parents, work and place of dwelling before their death. All makes for an exceptional record of the Whitechapel murders which is as unsparingly in detail as you will likely find in any book of its kind. It is not until page 164 that the night of the double murder is dealt with. Make no mistakes about it, this IS the reference manual to which all other works will likely be derived from and compared too.
Sugden unearths some fascinating suspects that most of us knew nothing about. Lunatics that where unaccounted for, having absconded from the eyes of the law and their asylums, where at the forefront of the investigation and a lot of these characters are explored in the book. Characters that where seen with blood stained hands at the time of murders are tracked down and revealed for first time.
Surprisingly, the book doesn't really ever get off the ground like other ripper books. When dealing with probably the most infamous serial killers of all time you would expect much more electrifying passages and comments by the author but instead Sugden opts for a history lesson and data exploration.
Essentially this is a book about a changing Victorian London, the rising of the press, Jewish expansion of the East End, social conditions and the poor, the victims and their unfortunate past, the early years of CID and how the city responded to the Whitechapel murders. Sugden even goes into detail with relatively suppressed topics like the bloodhound trials at CID, undercover investigations involving officers dressing up as prostitutes, innocent but violent vagabonds being hunted through the streets seeking refuge with the police and the creation of vigilante groups who raised reward monies and patrolled the streets.
The book is written in an extremely flat way but like we have said this all goes to prove a point - that Jack the Ripper was no talent. He was no boogeyman and he is certainly undeserving of the personality that he seems to have been accredited with throughout the ages. Yes he was a monster, a sexual serial killer, but one who could easily slip away with a prostitute at the height of the murders without attracting much suspicion - although one important witness (of the very many that are covered in this book) may have actually witnessed an attack and the suspect. In many instances Jack took chances and in all probability he should have been caught. What you are left with is a feeling that the investigators probably had their man, had seen their man, had probably interviewed their man, but didn't recognize him for what he was. The more you play down the hype the more you begin to see what conclusions Sugden is trying to draw. That the investigators had not a single scrap of good evidence to go by and didn't get the break that they so sorely needed.
In the final pages of the book Sugden covers four Ripper suspects, - Druitt, Kosminski, Ostrog and Chapman. He gives Chapman good coverage and names him as the best suspect but the reader is left feeling that that there is a good case against Kosminski because he was identified as Jack the Ripper by a witness.
Pros:- Meticulously researched, especially the victims.- Extremely detailed account of everything connected to the case.- Levelheaded approach to profiling Jack the Ripper.- Everything is kept real and factual. Very limited guesswork and theories.- Highly detailed bibliography and references including police files and their locations.
Cons:- Needs more pictures, especially of the investigators, more Mary Kelly crime scene photos, more Eddowes morgue shots, photographs of the alleged Ripper letters, some pictures of news articles would be good too.- Not everyone's cup of tea. This is not something that will grip you throughout from start to finish.- Index is extremely limited to names and places. Could be much better.- Not all the modern day suspects are considered or covered.- Does not delve into the investigators' backgrounds as much as the victims.