In 1888 London, a woman’s grief over her husband’s murder in Whitechapel turns to investigation as she uncovers his secret life and a dangerous web of deceit, putting her own life at risk amid the terror of Jack the Ripper.

Penny Green is back, and with a new partner! Emma Langley is a sweetheart, but also smart and strong-willed. The mystery is atmospheric and engaging, with plenty of twists. I loved the audiobook narration.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

The Whitechapel Widow is the first book in the Emma Langley Victorian Mystery Series, and it is a winner. By Emily Organ this convoluted murder mystery had me staying up long into the night trying to solve Emma’s husband’s murder right along with her. Then there are the killings attributed to Jack the Ripper and scariest of all, the letters written in red. Much to keep one’s attention riveted while reading this book. All being well-plotted and well-written.

Victorian Historical Fiction readers will find Emily Organ, an author not to be missed. The Whitechapel Widow is highly recommended.

This book is set in London against the backdrop of the hunt for Jack the Ripper. Emma's husband abandoned her on a train after and later ends up murdered. Emma, in the course of trying to find out what happened to him, finds that there is a lot she didn't know about her husband. She enlists the help of Penny Green (now Penny Blakely) a former writer for the local newspaper. This is the first book of the Emma Langley Mysteries.

WOW! This book had me from the first page. I did not want to put it down. There were plenty of twists and turns and lots of secrets! I loved that Emma and was such a strong female character in spite of all that had happened to her. I also like the feistiness of Penny Blakley and her refusal to stay in the mold society (and sometimes her policeman husband) wants to keep her in. Two strong women in an excellent Victorian mystery perfect for an afternoon on the couch under a blanket and with a cup of tea. Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the chance to read this book and give my opinion.

I had not read any of this author's books before, but this certainly won't be my last.

I love historical fiction, and this book does the genre justice! It centers around where Jack the Ripper was, but does not focus on that case. Thus felt very much like Sherlock Holmes. Very prim and proper, but still willing to do what needs to be done to solve the case. I did figure out the killer, but only 1 chapter before they revealed it. This was a cozy-ish read, and would be great for anyone just wanting an enjoyable read.

Thank you NetGalley and Storm Publishingfor this eCopy to review

Diving into The Whitechapel Widow was like stepping into the foggy, gas lit streets of Victorian London. The story follows Emma Langley, a widow whose life is upended when her husband, William, is found murdered in the notorious Whitechapel district during the height of Jack the Ripper's terror. As Emma grieves, she uncovers shocking secrets about William's hidden life, leading her on a perilous journey through the glittering drawing rooms of high society and the grimy gambling dens of the East End.

Emma's determination to uncover the truth about her husband's death is both admirable and heart breaking. With the help of Penny Green, a former reporter with a knack for trouble, Emma pieces together a web of blackmail, corruption, and betrayal. The tension builds as she edges closer to the truth, but the danger lurking in the shadows of Whitechapel is never far behind.

The atmospheric writing, and historical detail kept me engaged, and Emma's resilience and journey of self-discovery added depth to the story.

Overall, The Whitechapel Widow is a solid historical mystery

The Whitechapel Widow is a perfect cozy mystery for a drizzly day at home. Cozy up and settle in for a historical setting (Victorian England circa late 1800s?! yes please!) with just enough whodunnit to keep you turning the pages.

This book started off on a great opener and quickly settled into a pace that kept me engaged and interested. I also really enjoyed that there were shorter chapters and multiple glimpses into sub-characters lives and thoughts. I will say, this book can be read as a standalone, but there were multiple references to what must have been previous characters and books that left me hanging a little bit. All the better though! That just means I have a new fun series to tap into!

I was also slightly dissapointed that it did not interweave with Jack the Ripper in a more detailed manner. While the murders are mentioned quite often, based on the description I was expecting more. Instead, a brief "oh someone accused your husband of looking like Jack" and a picture framer uses red ink left me wanting much more.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and had a job to put it down. I had read a number of the Penny Green books and always enjoyed them. I was good to catch up worth her life. Now Emma Langley had asked for Penny’s help in discovering her husband’s murderer. I loved the way the two worked together and the way life had to be organised around Penny’s two children. Her husband, James, also features in their quest for the truth. The case involves a number of people and secrets. It had me guessing until the end. I will certainly look out for the next in the series. I received a copy and have voluntarily reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own. However I did preorder my own copy.

Disappearing husband!

When Emma Langley’s husband fails to get on the train, having hopped off to buy a newspaper, she’s alarmed. What has held him up? They have decided to move out of London and relocate in Suffolk close to where William’s aunt lives.
When Emma reaches Lavenham she leaves her luggage at the station and catches a return train back to London hoping to find William. That doesn’t work out so she returns once more to Lavenham only to find there is no aunt’s house. She stays at the local inn overnight. Puzzled and distressed Emma journeys back to Liverpool Station, London once again and is taken in by her kindly previous landlady.
Together they report her missing husband to the police who open up the possibility that William has deliberately planned his disappearance.
More distressing news follows when William is found murdered. His death pushes open the door to his perfidy, which Emma discovers more of as she continues to investigate aided by ex reporter Penny Green.
Tied up in this are letters written in red ink to various people pertaining to be from Jack the Ripper. Emma is pursuing a dangerous route than runs from high society to seedy gambling joints.
An enquiring Victorian mystery that satisfies.

A Storm ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.

This historical mystery first in series revolves around a woman determined to discover why her husband was murdered and the details of his secret life.

I found this story well written and the plot fairly interesting. But overall, I felt it was a bit too easy for our heroine in her reasoning and unearthing of aspects of the mystery. I felt that there wasn't enough depth to her thought process. I was told rather than shown in some instances. And her partner and friend, a former news reporter turned stay-at-home mom, stole the show for me. With her spunky attitude and general know-how, Penny pretty much stole the show from Emma. I was also bothered by the almost constant condescension from the male characters over the females not being smart enough or too delicate to participate in almost everything. I realize that those were different times for women, but I felt like I was being bombarded with it too often.

So, while it had its good points, I was not pulled in enough to read further for now.

My thanks to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for providing the free early arc of The Whitechapel Widow for review. The opinions are strictly my own.

Title: The Whitechapel Widow
Author: Emily Organ
Publisher: Storm Publishing
Release Date: March 27, 2025
Rating: 4⭐️

The Whitechapel Widow combines all of my favorite elements - a female lead with a surprisingly steely strength, a mystery, the 19th century, with a hint of Jack the Ripper tossed in for good measure. Emily Organ manages to perfectly capture the fear, the darkness, and the seediness that surrounded Whitechapel during Jack the Ripper’s reign of terror.

I love Emma - she has so much grit and even as her husband’s secrets began to unravel, she never fell apart or let her nerves be shaken. She is bold and persistent.

The one thing keeping this from a 5 ⭐️ review is the slightly weak dialogue - it was occasionally used to tell rather than show but this wasn’t so jarring that it took me out of the story. Even with this minor complaint, I couldn’t put the book down. I had to know what happened!

This was the first of Organ’s books I’ve read and I will certainly be picking up the sequel as well as Organ’s other series.


Thank you @netgalley and @stormbooks_co for the ARC.

I thank NetGalley and Storm Publishing for an advance reader copy of “The Whitechapel Widow.” All opinions and comments are my own.

Emma Langley and her husband were supposed to be on to a wonderful new chapter in their life, away from congested London. But very soon it’s apparent that the husband has run off and left her. And young women have been turning up dead in Jack the Ripper’s old hunting grounds. Is it possible that her husband…? And then his body is found. Enlisting the help of a female reporter who had been instrumental in finding the murderer of her brother several years before -- Penny Green -- Emma is determined to solve two crimes; prove her husband wasn’t the serial killer and find his murderer at the same time.

“The Whitechapel Widow” has a lot going on in its pages, and author Emily Organ makes sure that readers have plenty to ponder; no mid-book slow down here. There’s the husband’s secret life, Penny Green’s personal business (she’s married now to a police inspector who’s not at all happy about what she’s involved in -- we’re talking about Victorian attitudes towards women), and if that wasn’t enough, why not throw in a whole story line involving legal fraud and deception? Emma and Penny tie it up all very neatly, making sure that everyone that needs to be brought to justice gets found out; well, more or less, of course. There is that Jack the Ripper fellow that managed to elude the rope, after all. And we have one last little tidbit that probably will work into a future adventure for new friends Emma and Penny. Clever, that.

The Author’s Note contains info about Jack the Ripper and the real places that appear in the book, many of which still exist, and the real stories behind the fictional story. “The Whitechapel Widow” is an entertaining addition to Jack the Ripper whodunit theories as well as Victorian historical mysteries.

Quite the mystery! Emma's husband is murdered, and she is determined to find his killer since the police are extremely busy trying to find Jack the Ripper. There were many clues which led to different theories, but the ending was a total surprise!

Thank you storm publishing and Netgalley for this ARC

I was old the moment I realized this book revolves around Jack The Ripper.
The writing is superb and Mrs Langley is a character easy to like and root for.

I am now interested in reading Emily Organ’s backlist; I expect it to be a fun ride!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Emily Organ for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for The Whitechapel Widow coming out March 27, 2025. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I have several of this author’s books. I was definitely excited to check this one out. This was a fun spinoff series. I love Victorian murder mysteries. Of course solving the mystery about Jack the Ripper is interesting. I thought Emma was a strong character who goes through a lot with the death of her husband. I’m definitely excited to see what’s next in store!

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Victorian murder mysteries!

Emily’s husband misses the train he is supposed to be on with her on the way to their new life – to a place and an aunt of his that Emily has never encountered. She has no home, limited funds, and no family to help her figure out what is going on. This book is a testament to the fact that women can do more than they ever imagine when they find themselves in the circumstances that require it. I love that Emily is able to build a new circle of people around her who help her see things about her husband she had not understood, encourage her in her investigation, and support her as she finds out more than she bargains for. On the other hand, there could have been more nuance to the characters, including Emily; for instance, I did not get the sense of fear and despair that I know I would have been feeling from Emily at all. Nonetheless, I found the book a fun, fast, and interesting read.

Thank you to Storm Publishing, Netgalley, and the author for early access to a digital copy of this intriguing new series.

Emma Langley and her husband, of 4 months, William, are leaving London behind, for health reasons they are heading to the Suffolk country side.
Right before the train leaves, William decides to get off the train to buy a paper, the train leaves without him. Emma switches trains before reaching Suffolk and heads back to London, expecting William to be waiting for her, but he is not there, instead he is found dead near Whitechapel. Emma sets off to find out what happens, and contacts Penny Green, a once newspaper reporter, for help.
Could William be Jack the Ripper?
A great first book, in what I hope will be many. Penny Green has her own series, so I will have to look into those.

As a longtime reader of this author’s books, I was expecting another good read, and was not surprised that I thoroughly enjoyed this spinoff from her Penny Green series. The book caught my attention from the first pages and kept my interest throughout the book. The plot and character development did not disappoint. There were many twists and turns in the story and the maturing of the main character as the plot unfolded was engaging and well done. The inclusion of characters from the original series added well to the story and was a nice, familiar inclusion. I look forward to more books in this series and highly recommend this book!

This was an intriguing start to a new series featuring a naive woman who finds out that her husband was living a totally false life and had deceived her while spending all of her inheritance. He abandoned her on a train with no money or home and then turns up dead. So Emma proceeds to try to figure out what happened. She’s helped by various people, especially Penny Green, a previous heroine of Organ’s historical mysteries. Penny is married now with two small children and finding herself constricted by expectations that a married woman in Victorian England should not do anything besides take care of her home and family. But she’s missing her job as a journalist who solves murders. She can help Emma get her start as an unexpected detective.

It looks like things are set up for Emma to solve more mysteries considering her sleaze of a husband’s shenanigans. And there’s a hint of a possible love interest for Emma to be introduced in the future when there’s a superfluous mention of a male journalist who is a dogged researcher. I’d predict that, when he’s introduced in person, he and Emma will eventually fall in love.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book that I received from Netgalley; however, the opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation for my review.

3.5 ⭐

The Plot: The story was quite interesting, especially with how the author tied the murders done by Jack the Ripper to the mystery surrounding Emma Langley’s husband’s murder. (Did that make any sense?) But I will say that the plot was underwhelming. Chapter after chapter, I was waiting for a fight-off or a chase through London’s wet, gloomy streets, but none of that happened. Maybe it’s my fault for having high expectations and thinking it would be like an Enola Holmes film, but I was wrong. I’m not mad about it, but it did take me a good minute to finish the 102 chapters. I will say, though, that I was shocked when I found out who killed William Langley. I was like “No, no. It can’t be so and so. It has to be that person.” And, yet again, I was wrong. 😂 What also turned me off about the story was how I felt like I was a new character in the last season of a show or a new friend in a group that had known each other for years. The author alludes to the previous encounter between Emma and the Blakelys. They referenced many things about their past and I felt like a bystander and not part of their friend group. Besides those things, everything else went on swimmingly. 😊

The Characters: Emma Langley was an okay character. She was smart, kind, and outspoken when the occasion arose. She was, however, kind of boring, naive, and too trusting, but she wasn’t annoying, insufferable, or arrogant. So she gets a thumbs up for not being like other FMCs. 👍 Penny was far more interesting than Emma and I wished I knew that Emily Organ had a whole series on Penny Green’s investigative work as a journalist. But, hey. Better late than never. 😉

The Writing: Emily Organ did a great job creating an eerie environment for her novel, leaving me guessing the entire time. As I said, there are 102 chapters, but they are short, which kept me on my toes. Her writing helped me visualize London and the pubs, offices, and homes, which set the stage for this story and the characters who told it.

Overall Thoughts: Although there were a few things I didn’t like about this book, I enjoyed myself. I can (for the most part) figure out the guilty party in mystery novels, but I am pleasantly surprised that I didn’t have a clue who killed Langley. I plan on reading more of Emily Organ’s novels and am excited for the second installment of this mystery series!

Thank you to Storm Publishing for gifting me this digital arc. All opinions and statements are my own.

#TheWhitechapelWidow #NetGalley

It's 1888 and Emma Langley, recently married to husband William, sets forth on a train with him, bound for a new life away from smoggy London. When William steps off the train briefly to buy a newspaper and doesn't return, Emma is frantic and she eventually returns to London to search for him

When he is found murdered in a seedy part of London, Emma is shattered and when the police are unable to find the culprit, she turns to her friend Penny Green, a former newspaper reporter, to help her find the truth. The trail takes them to the underground society of London exposing blackmail and corruption along the way with possible links to Jack the Ripper who is stalking women across the gaslit streets. During her search for the truth, Emma has to face the terrible question - just who was the man she married?

An interesting historical mystery set during the late 1800s and the 1st book in a series about Emma Langley. The book's pace is good and it builds the tension and story well. The setting of the story in Victorian London is described beautifully in a manner that makes it easy to imagine. Emma's character is well-drawn for a woman of her time seeking answers to her husband's death in a world with certain views about the role of women in society.

Thanks to Netgalley for my opportunity to read and review this book, which I enjoyed and would recommend for people who enjoy this genre.

Publication date 27 March 2025.