After watching the ITV series, I was keen to learn more about the murderer that, the Yorkshire Ripper was. Serial killers are wired differently to that of the rest of us, and I've always had a morbid fascination with them. This title acted as a tremendous deep-diving tool surrounding the man's psychology, and it examined what his life was like and the potential factors as to why he became what he became. He hated women, especially those going against what was the grain in society. I recommend this for a great informative view of the man and the subsequent deaths he caused.

From the title I expected an in-depth investigation into why Peter Sutcliffe committed his crimes and got away with them for so long. As a young woman I remember him terrorising the country, keeping us in fear for our safety. The book starts with detailed descriptions of the credentials of the authors, so again my hopes were high.

However, it soon became clear that the book, by the authors' own admission, wasn't going to offer anything new - they only had access to documents in the public realm. The assumption was made that the reader had already read all the other books about the Ripper and was now going to be offered a new insight. Instead we got a breakdown of all his crimes, including all the crimes they think he committed but were not necessarily acknowledged as his. The book is hard to read on Kindle as there were long lists of attacks by geographical area that didn't really mean much. There was repetition, and some crimes were not chronologically noted but linked with others in the area, that didn't really make much sense.

The authors obviously liked the idea of being 'police investigators' so used acronyms wherever possible, which as a reader I found either confusing or just annoying. The writing style was not very good - the text leaped about in parts with different subjects within the same paragraph with no apparent link.

The book did not live up to its title - Sutcliffe was almost incidental to the catalogue of crimes, rather than 'getting inside his mind' as we were promised. The final chapter hit hard at the police investigation - which clearly had not been well handled, even given the limitations of that time. It certainly was shocking how many opportunities to stop him had been missed, but hindsight is a wonderful thing and they were working within the technological limitations and prejudices of the time, and one hopes lessons were learned. The book then goes on to mention other serial killers and how the police didn't stop them quickly - which really had nothing to do with this book's remit and was not relevant. The serial killers weren't dealt with in detail or with any background, but shoehorned into the story to make the point the authors were trying to hammer home, that the lessons still had not been learned.

Overall a disappointing read, which did not deliver anything new. Thank you to NetGalley and Ad Lib Publishers for allowing me access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

An interesting read and after watching The Long Shadow and having been a teen in Bradford was a must read
It wasn't so much inside the mind of Sutcliffe though but more other crimes he could have done and the many failures of the Police on investigating these as well as the documented ones
Was pleased the focus was on the victims and not him all the time
Lots of research gonbe into this book and a definite read for true crime readers

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication date: November 23, 2023
Peter Sutcliffe was known as “The Yorkshire Ripper”, responsible for killing at least twenty women between 1975-1980. His victims met grisly ends as Sutcliffe often stabbed them repeatedly, strangled them and violated their dead corpses. The police investigation into Sutcliffe was flawed, causing Sutcliffe to go undiscovered for more than five years, and it wasn’t until Sutcliffe’s death in 2020, when the true horrors of his crimes have been revealed.
“Inside the Mind of the Yorkshire Ripper: The Final Investigation” is a misleading title. It is presented in such a way that one would think the story by Chris Clark and Tim Hicks will provide a psychoanalysis of the evil human and the dastardly deeds he committed. Instead, “Ripper” is a deep-dive into all of the failures made by various police officers and forces, and is indeed a critical analysis of the investigation around Peter Sutcliffe.
Clark and Hicks highlight the victims of Sutcliffe (real and assumed), and respect can be given to the authors for their honest portrayal of Sutcliffe’s victims as human beings first, and serial killer victims second. Each and every woman is named and their background and history are touched on, to ensure the reader understands that a real person lies behind the headlines. This is unique in true crime fiction, and I absolutely give props to both authors for this aspect of their writing.
Clark and Hicks identify women who they believe were victims of Sutcliffe’s, even though the police forces at the time did not. I cannot say whether these women were indeed Sutcliffe’s victims, obviously, but in some cases I found that Clark and Hicks made massive jumps based on circumstantial evidence in order to tie some women to Sutcliffe and continue to criticize the police force.
I am not ignorant to the fact that police forces can make massive mistakes when it comes to high-profile, high-pressure investigations (Karla Homolka and Paul Bernardo murdered only miles from my home, and there were massive screw ups in that investigation as well) and I respect Clark and Hicks for wanting to bring justice and peace to the families that have, so far, been ignored. However, the case-by-case, page-by-page critique of what the police forces did wrong did not, in my opinion, provide any solace to those who suffered.
“Ripper” is a deep dive into the investigative part of the Sutcliffe serial killings, and those who are fascinated with police procedures (aboveboard or not) will be fascinated by this non-fiction novel. “Ripper” does go into graphic detail, so it’s not something for the faint of heart, but don’t expect to learn much about who Sutcliffe was or what was going on in his twisted mind. “Ripper” is a unique true crime novel that takes an interesting perspective, however the title had me believing it was something different and I was disappointed.

Inside the Mind of the Yorkshire Ripper by Chris Clark & Tim Hicks

Peter Sutcliffe , serial killer , Yorkshire Ripper , madman .
Who was he ?
This book goes deeper than any previous book ever written about him , very well researched .
I can't say I enjoyed reading it , obviously due to the subject , but as the title suggests , a great insight to the man himself.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for a review.

Having just watched ‘The Long Shadow’ about the crimes of this heinous man, my interest in the case was ignited. While I remember it, k was young at the time.

This book is well written and well researched. It is easy in hindsight to see failures of the relevant departments in catching this man, but what this book does is honour the victims by telling their stories and allowing their voice to be heard.

There are parts of this book that are very interesting because they reveal details about the people involved in the crimes, that I haven't read elsewhere. Searching out those parts of the book is my challenge.
Why do I say that? Because there are repeated sections of ??? Data? What is it? Please allow me to give an example:

23A Child D, Child E, 06/11/74
Abducted
24 Child Mid Oct 74
2.4 Albeton/Deptford Bingley
30 Lynne
etc
And there are many notes that are far more inscrutable than this. So I don't know why they're in here. I skip them. And then I read the narrative.
And last but no lest, the title is completely misleading. I chose to read INSIDE THE MIND OF THE YORKSHIRE RIPPER because I wanted n analysis of his mind. But the authors say themselves in the beginning of the book that it's not about Peter Sutcliffe! It's about the development of the case.

Best book I have read on this case yet, covers a bunch of things I wasn't aware of until now and I am starting to think there are a lot of things this man hasn't been charged with. Even if you are not familiar with this case this book should not be a huge problem to get into.

It was really interesting to learn more information about the Yorkshire Ripper (Peter Sutcliffe). documented, this book shows the victims in a respected light which is always a positive when researching such horrible crimes as those of Peter Sutcliffe.

Carefully researched and documented, this book leaves no gaps in exploring the crimes of Peter Sutcliffe. The facts are presented in detail but always with respect to the victims, taking care to remind the reader that this is about a just recording of history for their sake rather than to glorify a monster. The authors also highlight the challenges of the times at which the crimes took place, including flaws in police procedures and information sharing. Truly enlightening, the book exposes the true extent of Sutcliffe’s crimes for perhaps the first time.