Jack the Ripper: Case Closed

By: Gyles Brandreth

Narrated by: Gyles Brandreth

Length: 9 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's Summary

London, 1894.

'I am not a detective, chief constable.'

'No, but you are a poet, a freemason and a man of the world. All useful qualifications for the business in hand.'

So says Police Chief Macnaghten to Oscar Wilde in a Chelsea drawing room, in the company of Arthur Conan Doyle. The business they are gathered to discuss is none other than the case of Jack the Ripper, the most notorious murderer in England. And thus the three men set out to solve one of the world's most famous mysteries - the ultimate truth about the identity of Jack the Ripper.

Case Closed is Arthur Conan Doyle's account of the events of 1894, the year of the return of Jack the Ripper. Based on Oscar Wilde's real-life friendship with Conan Doyle and the extraordinary but little-known fact that in 1894 the detective in charge of the Jack the Ripper investigations was Oscar Wilde's neighbour in Tite Street, Chelsea, this is a revelatory and gripping detective story, combining the intrigue of a classic murder mystery with a witty and compelling portrait of one of the greatest characters of the Victorian age.

©2017 Gyles Brandreth (P)2017 Little Brown Book Group

Gyles should narrate more

From the moment Mr. Brandreth spoke, I was immediately captivated. I couldn't wait to find out what happened next!

Wonderful!

I listened to this whilst exercising. He really made the characters come to life. I started to wonder if this is really what it would be like if Oscar Wilde and Conan Doyle did become detectives, the best detectives the world has ever seen 👍👍
love this book x

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Jack the Ripper unveiled at last?

Giles takes us on a memorable outing to a time of fogs and handsome cabs
He is a great narrator and brings to life both Wilde and Doyle as he would say - quite beautifully. I very much enjoyed it

5 of 6 people found this review helpful

Hack, cliched and self-indulgent.

Would you try another book written by Gyles Brandreth or narrated by Gyles Brandreth?

Doubtful

What was most disappointing about Gyles Brandreth’s story?

Its utterly self-indulgent and vapid characters.

Did Gyles Brandreth do a good job differentiating each of the characters? How?

Yes, by drawing upon every possible cliche he could muster.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Overwhelming disappointment and utter confusion as to how it could manage some good reviews.

Any additional comments?

This was little more than a lazy, campy bit of hollow fiction that nakedly soldered together Wilde, Conan Doyle and The Ripper in an attempt to cash in on those interested in any or all of the three. All it did was disappoint across three genres, which in itself is quite an achievement.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Excellent

I thoroughly enjoyed Jack the Ripper Case Closed, it was thoroughly engrossing and really brought the time in history to life. Gyles voice is as expected was calming and he brought life to the characters.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

An excellent listen...

I thoroughly enjoyed both the story and narration of Mr. Brandreth.
Reminiscent of old Sherlock Holmes and Charles Dickens novels.
Recommended.

A great Victorian yarn!

This isn’t high literature, nor is it part of the serious cannon of “Ripperology”. What this is is a wonderful Victorian murder mystery simply using the facts of the Ripper case to weave a fabulous story. Take it for what it is and you’ll be thoroughly entertained. The characters are likeable, and Wilde predictably entertaining. I’ve read some reviews complaining about Wilde’s famous aphorisms being inserted into dialogue as though normal conversation and there’s something in that criticism: it feel a little like a primary school introduction to Wilde and eyes might roll if you know the subject well. But it didn’t detract from what was nine hours of entertainment, enhanced by Brandreth’s jolly narration.

Self indulgent twaddle

Clap trap & cliche of a book!! Self indulgent meanderings pandering to the usual and well trodden path of ripperology, add in the cliches of Oscar Wilde & Conan Doyle make this book utterly ridiculous!! The ending is pure Colombo or brandreth maybe trying an Agatha Christie poirot finale but it really is an unsatisfactory end and conclusion to one of the worlds greatest mysteries!! Nothing new or original about this book!! Quite lazy writing

brilliant

perfectly read well worth listeng to i loved this book but is it case closed . we will never know

Runs out of steam....

.... but only a little in the last chapters and I'm really nit-picking. I know Brandreth is an *ahem* acquired taste but I personally think he is well worth the entrance fee and 'performs' his own writings with gusto and panache (take a drink every time he pronounces "gone" as 'gan") almost worthy of Mansfield himself. As a 'Ripperologist' I could appreciate the ret-conning of the case and suspects and the story interwoven around this is very good. Try not to see the Holmes/Watson comparison long before it is pointed out.

Highlights on twilight

A trip through the dark site of London's society of La Belle Epoque. Fascinating and cruel shortly before WW1. The best of crimes - the worst of crimes. Author Gyles Brandreth's talent - he brings the main characters around the Ripper's case into life based on rich knowledge and astonishing empathy. Arthur and Oscar - Holmes and Watson - but the roles are changed.
An excellent audio book- a MUST for friends of English literature, a phenomenal performance of the reader - Great cinema. Thx.