Well, not my usual thing, my first foray into historical fiction and boy this one was a blast.

The story, set in Victorian London during the time of the infamous Jack The Ripper, is told from two perspectives. Constance Piper,a flower seller from the slums of Whitechapel, she lives with her mother and her sister Flo in squalor. Constance and Flo go out daily earning their crust. Constance selling the flowers to the well to do clients while Flo pickpockets the customers to keep themselves in food and shelter.
Our other narrator is Emily Tindall, a Sunday school teacher, Constance's teacher. She has taken a shine to Constance and taken her under her wing. Constance has learnt how to speak "correctly" and more importantly to read under the tutelage of Miss Tindall. The whole of Whitechapel and indeed the country is gripped in both fear and excitement as they are in the grip of Jack The Rippers reign. Constance can of course read the news articles to her sister and friends as The Rippers rampage ensues.
When Miss Tindall goes missing, much to Constance's dismay, she decides to follow the clues of her last whereabouts to try and track her down and find out where she has gone or what has happened to her.

This one really took me by surprise. Not my usual read, I was apprehensive going into it, fearing I wouldn't like the genre at all. After an initial sceptical couple of chapters at the start from me(a story taking place in Victorian London, not me at all) it just all fell into place and I was taken in completely by the characters, the setting and the era. It's an intriguing read. Quite unusual and my synopsis above really only scratches the surface of the story.
It's a Jack The Ripper work of fiction of sorts, a detective style novel(with no detective) and a large supernatural element that works beautifully. A bizzare mixture that somehow works effortlessly.

This is the first in a series featuring Constance apparently and I'm delighted to hear it. This was a cracker of a read and I will most certainly be reading the follow ups when they are published.

I would most certainly recommend giving this a go even if it doesn't sound like your thing. To really is a fantastically fun read.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Kensington Books and Tessa Harris for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A bit gory so not for the faint hearted. I had to skip a few lines but I found the relationships were very written. The ending is a bit predictable so it's not a book that will keep you guessing.

** spoiler alert ** Set in London during the days of the Jack the Ripper frenzy, this book was both entertaining and creepy. The murders of Jack the Ripper, while important to the story, are mostly in the background.

The main story is told of two characters. One is Constance who thinks she may be clairvoyant as she keeps dreaming things and seeing things while in a desperate attempt to find her friend, Emily Tindall. Emily is the second major character who has become Constance's friend. She has been trying to educate her in all things regarding being a lady. In the meantime, Constance comes to be introduced to a lady of means who is looking for her sister and inquires about Constance's help in her journey.

Suddenly Emily disappears and Constance is on the hunt to find her friend. This leads to the start of Constance's dreams and sets her on a path of regarding a sixth victim who has been found murdered. This murder is much different than the one's left behind by Jack the Ripper. However, is he the culprit and two women are missing? Could the body be one of those people that Constance is looking for?

A creepy, suspenseful and tragic read that held my interest way into the night.

Huge thanks to Kensington Books and Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley to read and review with an honest, unbiased opinion.

The Sixth Victim
by Tessa Harris
Kensington Books
Kensington
Historical Fiction , Mystery & Thrillers
Pub Date 30 May 2017

I am voluntarily reviewing a copy of The Sixth Victim through Kensington Books and Netgalley:

This book takes us to 1888 London, when the city is being gripped by terrors of the murders by one man, Jack the Ripper. Prostitutes are being murdered in the Whitechapel District of London. For a time it seemed that every man in the district was under suspicion.

Clairvoyants seem to be everywhere during this time, and Constance's Mother finds comfort in contacting her late husband that way, but Constance is unsure whether or not she believes.

Soon Constance finds herself getting herself mixed up with what's happening around her.

What do Mediums, Seance's and Jack the Ripper have to do with each other find out in The Sixth Victim.

Four out of five stars.

What's its about:
London s East End, 1888: When darkness falls, terror begins...
The foggy streets of London s Whitechapel district have become a nocturnal hunting ground for Jack the Ripper, and no woman is safe. Flower girl Constance Piper is not immune to dread, but she is more preoccupied with her own strange experiences of late.
Clairvoyants seem to be everywhere these days. Constance s mother has found comfort in contacting her late father in a seance. But are such powers real? And could Constance really be possessed of second sight? She longs for the wise counsel of her mentor and champion of the poor, Emily Tindall, but the kind missionary has gone missing.
Following the latest grisly discovery, Constance is contacted by a high-born lady of means who fears the victim may be her missing sister. She implores Constance to use her clairvoyance to help solve the crime, which the press is calling the Whitechapel Mystery, attributing the murder to the Ripper.
As Constance becomes embroiled in intrigue far more sinister than she could have imagined, assistance comes in a startling manner that profoundly challenges her assumptions about the nature of reality. She ll need all the help she can get because there may be more than one depraved killer out there...

My thoughts:
Five stars
First off I want to say it took me awhile to get into the story, and that it wasn't the story fault or how it was written, because I had to keep putting it down , and the reason is because I kept having a migraine headache, and with those I just don't feel like reading, but once it was gone and I re picked it up ,I was instantly pulled into the story, so.what did I love about:

1: the point of views from Emily Tindall and Constance Piper
2: time period 1888 London
3: the twist on the Jack the Ripper case
4:of anything that deals with Jack the Ripper I knew I'm going to love or at least like.
5: Clairvoyant aspect

What I hated: no thing
This story has everything I love about a thriller, it's reach's out and grabs you and pulls you in and won't let go, it.keeps you on the edge of your set .With that said I would love to.say thinks to NetGalley as well as to Kensington Books for giving me a.change at reading​ what turned out to be a really great book in a change for my honest opinion which this is.can't wait to buy a copy.of it.

Like the rest of Whitechapel, Constance Piper is living in fear of the unknown killer that roams the streets at night – Jack the Ripper. After witnessing a stage hypnotist perform his act, however, Constance has not been feeling herself and begins to think that she has somehow acquired the powers of second sight. She is soon contacted by a lady who fears that the latest victim may be her missing sister – can Constance use her skills to unmask the killer? Just when she needs her help the most, Constance’s teacher and friend, Emily Tindall, has also gone missing. Is her disappearance linked to the man known as the Whitechapel Killer?

The Sixth Victim is a fictional tale set during 1888 when the infamous serial killer, Jack the Ripper, was striking fear across the whole of the east end of London. I originally thought that this was going to be another take on this age-old mystery but was pleased to discover that it merely provided a backdrop for the main plot and the focus was placed on the missing women and a torso that had been found in another part of London.

I warmed to Constance very quickly – a girl who, although living amongst abject poverty, longs to better herself in order to find a way out of the slums of the east end. In The Sixth Victim, the author has managed to create a very colourful image of Whitechapel, showing a stark contrast between the lives of the unfortunate inhabitants to that of the more well-to-do who live in the grand houses and hotels of London. It was easy to imagine (even with out the aid of Constance’s second sight) the sounds and smells of the area and understand why the women of that time lived in constant fear.

I was not sure what to expect when a supernatural element was introduced to the story as this is not my favourite genre of writing, but I felt that it was written well and allowed the plot to move on at a steady pace. It also appears to show how other subsequent books in the series could take shape. Overall, the plot was a good one and I liked how the author has seamlessly merged fact with fiction.

A great read which promises to be the start of a fascinating new series.

The Sixth Victim

I was offered the chance to read this book by the publisher and I'm glad I took the chance on it as it's a great read!

This is a really interesting read about Jack the Ripper and how no woman was safe. It's really well written, I loved the atmospheric visions and feelings it conjured up. I'll definitely look out for the next one!

With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher, 4*.

3.5 stars

The Sixth Victim, the first book in a neo-Victorian mystery series, offers an entertaining take on the Jack the Ripper murders.

While Jack the Ripper is reaping fear and havoc on the streets of Whitehall, Constance, a poor flower girl, is searching the streets for her missing teacher, Emily.

Told through alternating POV’s of Connie and Emily, the streets of Whitehall come alive. The fear is pervasive, as women are constantly looking over their shoulders in fear that they might be Jack’s next victim. Harris plays around with the origins of “the sixth victim”-- a woman’s corpse found on the construction site of Scotland Yard that was never fully determined to be as one of Jack’s victims. The corpse plays a pivotal role.

This was a fun, light read with an interesting take on the Jack the Ripper murders. There’s a supernatural element that I wasn’t prepared for, which added an intriguing layer of strangeness.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

It was interesting book because it was written in diary form similar to that of Bram Stokers Dracula. Great characterization.

For anyone fascinated about the timeline of Jack The Ripper this is a humananising look at the life of the women he killed.
Tessa Harris has gotten into the nitty gritty daily life of the working class people he terrified and the mystics used to find clues.
The story is powerfully told with heartfelt joy, pain and the terror of the times.
Masterful!

Another day on the street.........

Excitement touched with the heavy weight of fear spreads through the winding streets of Whitechapel. Neighbors clutch at one another and gawking becomes the likely pasttime for those afflicted with poverty and hopelessness. It's September of 1888 and ol' Jack has claimed another unfortunate victim from among the throngs who shutter their doors or hold up in dark alleys.

Constance Piper and her sister, Flo, know these streets only too well. Constance engages in trade as a flower girl selling her wares outside theaters. Flo has the swift hand that reaches into pockets with the delicate swirl of silk. They both live with their mother in a shanty of a tenement not given to the likes of visitors.

But Constance benefits from the tutelage of Emily Tindall who teaches at the local church. Miss Tindall has taught her to read and this skill comes in handy when perusing the newspapers for the latest on Jack the Ripper. When Miss Tindall doesn't show up at the church, Constance sets her mind to following her trail.

Across town, Dr. Terence Cutler engages in an activity that benefits the women of the streets, their benefactors, and his pocket. When his wife finds out, she leaves him. Trouble shows up on his doorstep when his sister-in-law, Pauline, demands to know where Geraldine is. And oh, dear reader, the heaviness of the situation is upon us now..........

Tessa Harris presents a brash and bumptious storyline unlike any other that you've engaged in with Jack the Ripper. at the wheel. She brings the flavor of the streets to life with the ol' Cockney dialogue that rings true to the times and creates suspicion where every man in Whitechapel seems to embody the likes of Jack the Ripper. The pace is spot-on as she purposefully swings the hammer of the storyline back and forth to her chosen characters with their explicit point of view. We get deftly inside of their heads and that can bring out a rash of goosebumps and wide-eyed vision for sure.

Although Jack's serial reputation is attributed to five victims, this "sixth" may or may not be his or are there many, many more that had suffered from the laying on of hands by Jack? Makes you turn your head slowly in a different direction hearing his footsteps echoing with catlike precision.

I received a copy of The Sixth Victim through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Kensington Books and to Tessa Harris for the opportunity.

A totally different slant on a old mystery, True Ripper fans may be hard to please but makes a good story with plenty of atmospheric writing and spooky twists. Great stuff .

A most interesting book on the murders of women in England in the 1880s. The characters and their lives were woven together very well.

This series debut, set in Victorian London during the terror of Jack the Ripper's killing spree, is strong and atmospheric. Young flower girl Constance Piper is sensitive and idealistic, despite her poverty and lack of education. She sets out to discover what has happened to her friend Emily Tindall, a lady dedicated to helping the children of Whitechapel, who has mysterious disappeared.

The action is narrated by both Constance and Emily, each peeling away the many layers of interconnecting mysteries. The darkness of Victorian society and its mores form the perfect backdrop for the disturbing events that unfold. Along the way, Piper discovers that she is a spirit medium, a development that both frightens and fascinates her. Readers will need a strong stomach for the graphic descriptions of the violence perpetrated on the murder victims.

Despite this, the book is compelling and not to be missed. I will be looking for the second title in this series.

Full Disclosure--Net Gallery and the publisher provided me with a digital ARC of this book. This is my honest review..

It’s 1888 and jack the Ripper is terrorizing London. Women are terrified, and flower girl Constance Piper is worried, but she’s even more concerned about the visions she’s been having lately. Constance’s mother always professed an ability to see the dead, but Constance isn’t sure she believes. When a wealthy woman contacts Constance, hoping the flower girl can help her find her missing sister, Constance must learn to trust her instincts and her ability to contact the dead. The combination of spiritualism and the Jack the Ripper mystery make this a bang up story