Synopsis
In the year 1888, London is horrified by a series of brutal killings. All the victims are discovered in the same district, Whitechapel, and all are prostitutes. But they aren’t the only murders to perplex the brains of Scotland Yard; in Brighton, psychical researcher Edmund Gurney is also found dead.
Foremost among the Yard’s top men is the young Inspector Sholto Lestrade and it is to his lot that the unsolved cases of a deceased colleague fall; cases that include the murder of Martha Tabram, formerly a prostitute from Whitechapel – and the death of Gurney.
Leaving no stone unturned, Lestrade investigates with his customary expertise and follows the trail to the minor public school of Rhadegund Hall. It is his intention to question the Reverend Algernon Spooner. What he finds is murder.
As the Whitechapel murders increase in number, so do those at the school. What is the connection between them all? To add to his troubles, Lestrade is hampered by the parallel investigations of that great detective Sherlock Holmes. Who is the murderer of Rhadegund, and is he also the man they call Jack?
‘Barrowloads of nineteenth century history… If you like your humour chirpy, you’ll find this sings.’
Daily Telegraph
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About the Author
M J Trow is a crime writer, historian and biographer who for many years doubled as a history teacher. Now retired, he is the author of three successful crime fiction series – Lestrade, Maxwell and Kit Marlowe, the latest written in collaboration with his wife. He lives in the Isle of Wight, and as well as writing lectures on cruise ships has appeared many times on television in historical and crime documentaries.
From Publishers Weekly
Here's an unlikely novel: an amusing mystery about the Jack the Ripper murders. Like the other Lestrade books (Brigade, etc.), this one is permeated with sharp historical detail, delightful humor and wordplay, plus a large gallery of characters. Among its players are, of course, Sherlock Holmes ("The epitome of a man inches from neurosis") and Dr. Watson ("with the unmistakable stoop of a man who had been hit by a jezail"), who provide no small amount of comic relief. Lestrade's patience and expertise are tested to the fullest when he inherits the men and caseload of a recently deceased inspector. Continuing those cases takes him to Rhadegund Hall, a public school where, by chance, young, pregnant Maggie Hollis is discovered drowned in a laundry tub. That night, back in London, the mutilated body of Mary Ann Nichols, the first of the Whitechapel murder victims, is found. Soon, Lestrade is investigating the Ripper murders as well as the rising body count at Rhadegund Hall, and in doing so the long-suffering inspector must contend with both the incompetence of his superiors (who destroy vital evidence) and the quirks of the school's masters. Despite the distractions of an attractive matron and interference from Holmes, Lestrade perseveres to the endAas will grateful readers. (Sept.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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