The Whitechapel Widow started off strong in that Emma’s husband goes to buy a newspaper and doesn’t return. Leaving Emma to travel to Sussex on her own to find that her husband’s aunt does not exist. Her husband turns up dead and Emma is left penniless and trying to solve the mystery of who her husband is and why he was killed.

As this is Victorian London, specifically Whitechapel Jack the Ripper lurks on the outskirts of the plot. Was her husband Jack the Ripper?

I really wanted to love this novel but from the start I felt that I had missed something in that this is the second novel with Emma and Penny solving mysteries, and the plot often referred to the first novel which made me feel that I had missed something.

I also felt that the plot was going round in circles and some characters which left me feeling a bit uninterested.

Thank you to the publisher and to Netgalley for the ARC but for me this novel didn’t hit the spot.

This book was so well written and it hooked me in from the beginning! Emma Langley finds herself investigating her husband’s death in the time of Jack The Ripper. The author seamlessly blends the Ripper investigation into a personal narrative involving Emma and her new friend Penny. I can’t wait to read the next book involving the dynamic crime solving duo of Emma and Penny! Thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC!

A historical mystery that kept my attention and was generally enjoyable. I would have liked to see a bit deeper into the characters themselves and felt a bit teased by the Ripper of it all

This book is set in 1888 in London during the reign of Jack the Ripper. Emma Langley’s husband has just been murdered. The police don’t seem to be too interested in finding the guilty party. Emma decides to contact Penny Green an ex-reporter. Penny has married and had 2 babies since Emma last saw her. But Penny is missing her investigative life. The two team up to solve this mystery. This was an interesting mystery and was well-written. I enjoyed both the characters and story. I would recommend to those who love a historical mystery. #NetGalley

This was a well worked Victorian murder mystery with the East End of London as a backdrop. Set at the time of Jack the Ripper, the book used his deeds as a reason why the police were ineffectual. The book focused on a recently married woman who was leaving London to start a new life in Suffolk, only to find that her husband used this event to abandon her. When she finds out, she investigates only to find her now murdered husband lived a life of criminality and deceit and that he married her to gain access to her inheritance. She uses a former Fleet Street reporter, now a struggling m7m to aid her and together they solve the riddle. . The book makes a point that opportunities and equality for women were fanciful ideas compared to today. All in all, an enjoyable read

The chapters of 'The Whitechapel Widow' I read were a well written historical mystery. It turns out, the subject-matter is actually too sinister for me to continue, because Jack the Ripper is truly despicable. However, Emily Organ has great pacing and engaging storytelling! Additionally, Emma is a great lead. I recommend this to readers who appreciate a compelling mystery who can handle the seriousness of the murders.

Special thanks to Storm Publishing and NetGalley for a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I love historical fiction, especially when it is mixed with mystery. This is book 1 in the Emma Langley series. I absolutely loved being dragged into this story.

The story takes place in London and is set in the late 1880s. The world-building was absolutely stunning and you could tell the author had done lots of research. I have always been intrigued by Jack the Ripper and having this story played out when Jack is roaming the streets is an extra plus.

Emma and Penny are delightful characters and I enjoyed their investigation. They were relatable and likeable. I also liked their ‘modern’ way of thinking.
The suspense and tension kept me on the edge of my seat and I read this book within a couple of hours.

I definitely recommend this book to mystery and historical fiction fans.

4.5 rounded up to 5 stars

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you, NetGalley, and Storm Publishing for this copy.

Emma's husband William disappears when they are meant to be moving from London to Suffolk to start a new life. He is then found murdered and she discovers that he is not the man she thought he was. She decides to investigate his murder, aided by Penny, a former newspaper reporter that she knows .
This is a spinoff from the Penny Green murder mysteries series, of which I've only read one but did really enjoy, but is the start of a new standalone series. The atmosphere that the book creates for me is reminiscent of the TV series Miss Scarlet, with dirty, crowded streets with impoverished inhabitants and at the time of Jack the Ripper. Emma and Penny have to try to unravel the mystery of who William really is and his background. There are many seemingly unrelated clues which they have to try to unravel, with minimal help from the police who are swamped by the search for Jack the Ripper. A book that I really enjoyed and am looking forward to reading more in this series.
I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley, however this did not influence my review of the book.

This one is sadly just not my keep of tea,

The widow just felt too naive and really made some strange and questionable decisions. She, fortunately, was lucky in terms of the kindness and support of others.

The need to go into the depth of Penny's home life seemed gratuitous and , considering who she is married to, it all just felt a bit off.

I ended up skipping along to see if the storyline strengthened as it went. But it didn't.

I am sure there will be others who enjoy this style and structure, but I can't see myself progressing with this series.

My thanks to Storm Publishing and Netgalley for my advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really really wanted to love this. And there are some aspects which I did love, I loved the mystery, I lovvve that it was two strong women in the lead with one juggling the ups and downs of motherhood. However that’s where it ended for me. I don’t know, maybe I’m just so used to fantasy books but I really felt that there was no world building, aside from a few references to Jack the Ripper and steam trains you wouldn’t really know that you were in Victorian London. The potential Jack the Ripper’s story was rushed and came to an unstatifying ending.

As I said, I loved the premise of it, I love the idea but I don’t think it was executed as well as it could have been.

Excellent, the start of another great series!
A very enjoyable novel set around one of England's greatest mysteries- Jack the Ripper.
Great plotting, great characters and great detail - the close-ups of people in different echelons of society at that time were really interesting.
Looking forward to the next one!

This is a spin-off of the author's Penny Green series. I haven't read those novels and hadn't even heard of this author until I found this book on NetGalley (and am so glad that I did), and you don't miss anything from not reading that series first. Other than the fact, that, if they are anything like this novel, they are amazing cozy mysteries. Side note, I kinda hate Penny's husband.

Emma has only been married for a couple months to a wonderful man when he is suddenly married. After he dies, she finds out that he was, in fact, not wonderful. He was so horrible she is afraid he might actually be Jack the Ripper.

I am anxiously awaiting the next book! Adding the Penny Green series to my to read list, not that it doesn't already have about a million books on it! Definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves historical cozy mysteries.

This historical mystery is set in the time of Jack the Ripper frightening Whitechapel residents and monopolizing the police's time and resources. Emma Langley becomes frustrating by how little attention her husband's murder is receiving and decides to investigate it herself. I was unaware the author had written other mystery series, and this novel overlapped with characters from her other work.

"London hunts the Ripper. A widow hunts her husband's killer.

London, 1888. While Jack the Ripper's reign of terror grips the city, Emma Langley's world shatters when her husband is found murdered in Whitechapel. But grief is quickly overshadowed by a startling discovery: William Langley was not the man she thought she knew.

As panic fills London's streets, Emma delves into her husband's secret life, uncovering a web of lies that stretches from glittering society drawing rooms to the seedy gambling dens of the East End. Aided by Penny Green, a former reporter with a nose for trouble, Emma follows a trail of blackmail and corruption.

But exposing her husband's killer could make her the next victim and in the shadows of gaslit streets, a murderer waits, ready to strike again...

From the bestselling author of Penny Green comes a spellbinding new Victorian mystery series introducing Emma Langley."

I think Emma is safe from Jack the Ripper and any other killer as she's being proudly "introduced."

Emily Organ writes such great entertaining novels. I thoroughly enjoyed the Penny Green series and was delighted that she has turned up again in another series. This book, like all of the others give such a great sense of period and place. I look forward to more.

What an absolutely great story that had me hooked from the beginning. It was very clever how it combined real historical events like the Jack the Ripper case with an intriguing story of its own. I found it hard to put down and wasn't expecting the end it had. I have not had the opportunity to read from this author so will be looking for more. Great book and great story which was thoroughly researched. Thankyou to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read and give a review

I just finished this book 'The Whitechapel Widow' by Emily Organ.
I was really happy to see Penny Green again (from a previous series by Ms Organ)!
In this story, a woman's (Emma Langley) husband has gone missing and she is in a desperate search to find out what happened to him. She enlists the help of the now married and retired Penny Green, who had helped Emma when Emma's brother was murdered. Penny used to be an investigative journalist and is missing her career so is more than happy to help Emma.
Together, along with Penny's Scotland Yard detective husband, they must solve the murder of Emma's husband along with a few other murders that happen along the way in the story.
This book had several twists and turns and was very well written in terms of the atmosphere of the times and nicely done place descriptions and many historical details along the way.
I haven't read a book by Emily Organ yet that I didn't like and this was no exception. I definitely recommend it.
I was given an ARC by the author and NetGalley and am leaving my honest and voluntary review.

The Whitechapel Widow is an excellent first-in-series spin off from Emily Organ’s Penny Green series. Emma Langley and Penny Green are reunited in this book, and Emma starts to spread her sleuthing wings with Penny’s help. Penny started her detective work when she was a newspaper reporter, and that seems to be a slightly more fitting long term transition than Emma’s long term (series of books) detective career being launched by the death of her husband. Emma’s quest and involvement in the mystery is certainly plausible, however.

One of the joys of reading an Emily Organ book is being able to readily visualize the scenes, locations and social structures in place during the time of the story. Descriptions of places and characters bring the reader right into the environment and story. Also, Emily is skilled at including historical background events and locations, without the reader becoming bogged down in slogging through facts about yesteryear. There’s no slogging, just interesting local color, issues and events that are integral to the story. In this case, Jack the Ripper and his Whitechapel murders play a role in Emma’s story. We really don’t know a definitive identification of who Jack the Ripper was, and that lends itself to Ms Organ’s clever weaving of doubts and worries surrounding Jack the Ripper that are associated with Emma’s story.

I like that Emily goes beyond the story with providing historical information that’s pertinent to her book. She included notes and explanations after the conclusion of The Whitechapel Widow. She also provides pictures and written information on her social media sites. Her attention to these details is one example of how dedicated she is to providing her readers with the best possible experience she can. It also points to the amount of research she puts into her historical mysteries. Her writings demonstrate her love for her craft and for her readers’ enjoyment of her work.

Some readers are put off by a book that ends in a cliffhanger. Rest assured that The Whitechapel Widow ends with resolution of the murder mysteries. There is no cliffhanger, just one little morsel of wondering “what about” that is mentioned as a teaser to pursue the next Emma Langley sleuthing adventure.

I’m a fan of all series written by Emily Organ, and under her pen name Martha Bond. This series opener certainly did not disappoint. I look forward to the next installment.

I haven't read any of this authors books before, despite being a fan of historical mysteries.
It's the first in a new series featuring Emma Langley. It was atmospheric and had likeable main characters.
I liked the background Ripper murders being discussed. The reason it loses a star for me is because I found it dragged after initially being an engaging read and there were a few too many characters being introduced which detracted from the pace.
I would be interested in reading more from this author.

What a super story. Sometimes you think that an historical story would be stuffy and slow but, this was written so that it was an easy and interesting read which I raced through. First time reading this author but it won't be my last. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.