• Dust and Shadow

  • An Account of the Ripper Killings by Dr. John H. Watson
  • By: Lyndsay Faye
  • Narrated by: Simon Vance
  • Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (3,516 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Dust and Shadow  By  cover art

Dust and Shadow

By: Lyndsay Faye
Narrated by: Simon Vance
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $15.56

Buy for $15.56

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Breathless and painstakingly researched, this is a stunning debut mystery in which Sherlock Holmes unmasks Jack the Ripper. Lyndsay Faye perfectly captures all the color and syntax of Conan Doyle’s distinctive 19th-century London.

In Dust and Shadow, Sherlock Holmes hunts down Jack the Ripper—the world’s first serial killer—with impeccably accurate historical detail and without the advantage of modern forensics or profiling. Sherlock’s desire to stop the killer who is terrifying the East End of London is unwavering from the start, and in an effort to do so he hires an “unfortunate” known as Mary Ann Monk, the friend of a fellow streetwalker who was one of the Ripper’s earliest victims. However, when Holmes himself is wounded in Whitechapel attempting to catch the villain and a series of articles in the popular press question his role in the crimes, he must use all his resources in a desperate race to find the man known as “The Knife” before it is too late.

Penned as a pastiche by the loyal and courageous Dr. Watson, this debut signals the arrival of a tremendous talent in the mystery and historical fiction genres.

©2009 Lyndsay Faye (P)2010 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Impressive…Sherlockians will hope to see further pastiches of this quality from Faye.” ( Publishers Weekly)
“An exciting and grimly vivid tale that confronts the murderous Jack the Ripper with A. Conan Doyle’s immortal detective better than ever before.” (Conan Doyle Estate)
“At long last, an author of rare talent combines a thorough, enthusiastic knowledge of the Sherlock Holmes canon with truly rigorous research into, and respect for, the Jack the Ripper killings.” (Caleb Carr, New York Times best-selling author)

What listeners say about Dust and Shadow

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,684
  • 4 Stars
    1,216
  • 3 Stars
    453
  • 2 Stars
    113
  • 1 Stars
    50
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,956
  • 4 Stars
    760
  • 3 Stars
    205
  • 2 Stars
    41
  • 1 Stars
    29
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,459
  • 4 Stars
    974
  • 3 Stars
    402
  • 2 Stars
    101
  • 1 Stars
    41

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Excellent "Doyle Imitation" as good as an

This is an excellent Sherlock Holmes adventure - as good as any of the "Non Doyle" written Cannon. In fact it would be very hard to distinguish this from Doyle- excepting that the subject matter and treatment would have been to gruesome for publication by Doyle (Faye sidesteps this by having "Watson" write and publish this in his very old age in the late 1930's as the World nears the Second War).

The feel, language and plot are vintage Holmes - but in a relaxed manner- it never veers into conscious imitation that can in turn become parody like. There are some inconsistencies- but that actually makes it seem authentic because as every Holmes fan knows Doyle would frequently change things about Holmes and his setting behavior that were at odds with previous stories and adventures. Oddly enough these minor inconsistencies (which are noted in Doyle's work by fans) work to make this seem part of the canon (the subject matter issue aside).

It also avoids the spectacular "Crown Prince or Consort" plot that bedevils some of the Ripper theories- and is Holmesian in its conclusion (a slight surprise ending but well done).

When I realized that this was the author's first effort I was even more impressed. A great investment and I actually plan (as soon as I finish other Audible Book series I have in the que) to try her series on Turn of the Century New York City Police.

Well done and well worth it if you are a Holmes fan or a mystery buff.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Loved it!!!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

It was wonderfully refreshing. Having Dr Watson narrating was different in that you felt you were more involved than with the normal naration. Loved it so much that I have now downloaded another Sherlock book!

What was one of the most memorable moments of Dust and Shadow?

When he revealed the identity of the Ripper. After all the books that I have read on Jack the Ripper the author has come up with someone new who possibly could have been the Ripper!

Have you listened to any of Simon Vance’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, but he made the book with his Watson and the other characters. He moved from

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

A Very Good Holmes...

Enjoyed this book...and the weaving of fact and fiction. The Sherlock and Watson characters are lovingly and beautifully drawn and the plot clips along at a good pace. It gets a wee bit silly at the end...but overall a good read. Wonderful narrator.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic

An exciting, brutal, and riveting new Sherlock Holmes mystery with a spot on performance by Simon Vance.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Entertaining

Entertaining story that revisits the famous characters of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson. The plotting is a bit thin, but the great narration by Simon Vance makes it interesting.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Narrator unbelievable; story very well-written

Any additional comments?

I really enjoyed this book. The narrator does a wonderful job and makes you feel like you are right there, standing alongside Holmes and Watson. The writing is so meticulous, you have a hard time believing it was not written by Doyle. The story was very interesting -- and plenty of SH deduction to keep you impressed. I thought the ending was a little rushed -- but please do not let that stop you from giving this a listen!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Well Done!

Lovely job of intertwining the details of what is known about Jack the Ripper with the fictional world and characters of Sherlock Holmes. I went to Wikipedia to read about the Ripper. Lyndsay Faye did an excellent job with research. It is quite believable.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing and thrilling!

This book carries the spirit of Sherlock Holmes beyond Doyle's original work. Many times during my listen I was amazed at how well Faye was able to capture Watson's voice. The last five chapters are as exciting as I've ever encountered in a book and the narration gives the story a cinematic feel, in my opinion. There were so many characters to keep track of, which made Simon Vance's voice work an amazing addition to the story. Give this a listen, I picked it up on a whim and I'm so glad I did!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

One of the better Sherlock Add-ons

The story, involving the attempt of Sherlock Holmes to track down and apprehend Jack The Ripper, was probably the best non-Doyle Holmes story I have read. There is mystery, a long and drawn out investigation, the chance that Holmes himself might be arrested for the killings and the final resolution of the mystery, all well done. The author even managed to tie up why no final announcement of The Ripper's capture was ever done. All in all, a good job.

I have not generally cared for non-OEM Sherlock Holmes stories as they never really seemed to be in the spirit of the originals. I know some are very popular but I, like many others, "discovered" Sherlock Holmes as a young boy and fell in love with the whole idea. In the end I became a devoted fan and read most, if not all, of the originals and watch occasional TV and movie interpretations. Unfortunately many portray characters that are very different from those in the Doyle books and thus never seem real to me. This are much better.

An interesting story, characters that fit into the mold of those in the original stories, an interesting mystery and a satisfying resolution. Hard to beat.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

interesting possibility

Jack the Ripper has intrigued me since childhood and I have seen and heard quite a few ideas about his identity. this one is well written in the style of the original Holmes adventures and I find particularly fun and thought provide, the emphasis on the infancy of psychology as a disciplines and the complete unimaginableness of the socio or psycho-path.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful