Philip Sugden (1) (1947–2014)

This is probably the best overview of the case to date. He is very well researched and always tries to go back to the original source (that is to say he is not a fan of newspaper stories on the stories and avoids them if he can) and most often goes back to police protocols, obduction protocols and similar. For example if there is one account of what a witness said in the police protocols or inquest he goes with that and not with newspaper versions about what the witness said. He also handles show more later recollections from various police chiefs with a certain distrust. He points out that they were written often many years after the crime and sometimes spot definite fact faults in them (a lapse of memory perhaps which is human even in police chiefs). He also notices the very different view these Police chiefs held when compared to eachother and therefore is careful with and not using them as primary sources . He goes through some of the usual suspects (Druitt, Kosminski, Ostrog, Chapman) and finds that the most glaring fact is that there are no really hard proof pointing towards them. He is not convinced by any of them but consider Chapman as the least unlikely. He is at least a proven murderer of multiple women and lived in the area but the type of crime is completely different from the ones we know he committed. He doesn't mention a favourite suspect which i see as one of the books big strengths, he is focused on presenting all the existing evidence for the reader as clearly as possible. He does not, which far to many books about the case i read do, try to bend facts to make them fit a particular suspect. He just presents the facts, the background and the inquieries made. That he does very well. Warning for some stomach turning black and white photos of the victims. If you're at all interested in Jack the Ripper this is the book to read. show less

I had to stop reading during lunch break because I couldn't stomach the descriptions of the mutilations. The book is quite a heavy tome on the Whitechapel murders. The only other Jack the Ripper book I read was Patricia Cornwell's Portrait of a Killer (http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/5216258).

This book was much better researched, going back to original police records as opposed to newspaper stories. He argues consitently and quite convincingly for certain suspects and against other show more suspects, and most importantly, against various conspiracy theories.

I can't get my head around the fact that there are several periodicals on the topic of Jack the Ripper coming up with new findings all the time. But still the Ripper hasn't been identified. show less

If you are interested in Jack the Ripper but don't have the time to wade through all the material on him, just read this book. It's a comprehensive study of the Ripper murders and the best book written on the subject, in my opinion. Sugden is one of the few Ripperologists who is also a trained historian, and he puts his skills to good work here, dissecting the available evidence. Also, unlike many other Ripper writers, he's not trying to propogate one "solution" theory or another -- he show more simply presents the facts and lets the reader make up their mind. This is top-of-the-line history, as good as it gets. show less

Mr Sugden really puts in the time to investigate and comb through all the evidence that is available about one of the most famous unsolved serial murder cases in the world. He puts things in a concise way to make it easy for the casual reader to understand the conditions of London in the late 19th century and the contemporary police doing the best they could with what little technology was available to aid them in solving crimes like these at the time. You will not find any theories on who show more actually Sugden thought did it, because the evidence doesn't point to any clear suspect.

As other reviewers have stated, this is probably the best book out there for someone who is not an expert to read about the Jack the Ripper case. Many people have only the limited knowledge of the murders happening in London and the killer was never caught. This work definitely sheds light on all the known facts of the case.

Fair warning that there are several pictures of the victims that are rather graphic, so you may want to keep it out of the hands of young children. show less