Sherlock Holmes and the Hunt for Jack the Ripper

By: Gerard Kelly

Narrated by: Kevin Theis

Many people have asked why the paths of Sherlock Holmes and Jack the Ripper never crossed, since the two men were contemporaries in London in 1888. There have even been some scurrilous suggestions that Holmes was himself the Ripper. The paths of the two men did indeed cross. Holmes and Watson knew precisely who the real Ripper was and even where he lived. They also knew exactly what happened to him. If you have the stomach for it, listen and all will be revealed!

©2014 Gerard Kelly (P)2016 MX Publishing

Very Engaging

Interesting take on a grisly mystery! Also insight into 19th century medical practice in a very entertaining story.

Great Way to Spend an Hour

From the first few words, I decided that the narrator, Kevin Theis, could well do the voice of Snidely Whiplash. The clarity and timbre of his voice made listening to Sherlock Holmes and the Hunt for Jack the Ripper enjoyable indeed.

With that observation out of the way, I was drawn to the story because Holmes and Jack were contemporaries, and I had often wondered why Arthur Conan Doyle never tackled this gruesome crime spree. The name Jack the Ripper was known worldwide, as was that of Sherlock Holmes. I would add that these two figures from history are a bit of an obsession of mine. When in London in 1999, I went on a Ripper tour and was lucky enough to have Donald Rumbelow as my guide. For those who don't share my Ripper obsession, Mr. Rumbelow is a former City of London police officer and a recognized expert on the Whitechapel murders. He has also written several books on policing in England and on Jack the Ripper in particular.

In Sherlock Holmes and the Hunt for Jack the Ripper, Holmes receives a letter postmarked Liverpool, signed “FM,” claiming to have information about the Ripper. It seems strange for such a letter to come from so far outside London. Is it a hoax? Ultimately, Holmes agrees to meet FM in Liverpool. FM is Florence Maybrick.

The story embellishes upon Shirley Harrison’s book The Diary of Jack the Ripper: The Chilling Confessions of James Maybrick, in which the journal of James Maybrick is reproduced and analyzed. Harrison’s account was met with skepticism, leaving historians and document analysts divided over its authenticity. (Yes, I've read her book. No, I've never reviewed it.)

After swearing Holmes and Watson to confidentiality, Mrs. Maybrick shows them the journal in question, which certainly reads like the confession of a guilty man. She asks for their discretion to protect herself and her children. Florence Maybrick doesn’t want to believe her husband is the Whitechapel murderer and implores Holmes to try and clear his name.

The age-old question of Jack the Ripper’s identity still haunts crime buffs 137 years later. The list of suspects is long and includes tradesmen in Whitechapel, an artist, and even royalty. Policing and forensics in 1888 were limited. Fingerprints as a means of identification were proposed in a paper written by Scottish surgeon Henry Faulds in 1880—a mere eight years before the Ripper killings. Curious bystanders often trampled crime scenes. To say we’ve come a long way since then is an understatement.

If you have an interest in Sherlock Holmes and/or Jack the Ripper, Sherlock Holmes and the Hunt for Jack the Ripper is a perfect way to spend an hour on a rainy afternoon.

Not very Holmesian

As a fan of Sherlock Holmes and having considerable interest in Jack the Ripper, this was a no-brainer for me. While I found the story to be engaging, I felt that it lacked in the portrayal of Holmes. There were no discoveries or deductions that I would consider to be of a typical Holmes adventure, and he really played no part in the resolution of the story. Overall, I was disappointed.

This was a fun hour

This was a short tale, but well told. I enjoyed this author’s vision of how Sherlock Holmes might have found Jack the Ripper.

The reader did an excellent job, making Holmes sound somewhat like John Rhys-Davies or Brian Blessed. All in all, the story just flowed right through my ears and into my brain.

I heartily recommend this to everyone!

Narration is strangely paced

I had to listen on a slower speed just to be able to follow the story. Even still sentences run together without pause. The narrator seems to be on a race to finish. It substantially distracts from the story (which is just ok). I honestly can't get past the breathless speed reading. A period at the end of a sentence is a lovely thing... you just won't hear them in this one.