You can't go wrong with Jack the Ripper. Anything about a case so popular is going to be worth reading.

I have read many stories on JTR but never so many in one place.
This is a great collection in one place of facts and fictional stories some I have read and some i haven't.
Over the years there have been so many put out and about people sometimes get them mixed up, this is a book where you can (if you wish) look to as reference as well as a read of gory murderous tales.
Well worth a read and certainly worth having around to dip in and out of whenever the fancy takes you ,

Why Jack the Ripper is still a mystery?
Why Jack the Ripper the infamous and still unknown man who with great incredible atrocities killed and sectioned the bodies of various prostitutes is still one of the most fascinating criminal cold case and his horrible "fame" always alive in the history of criminology?

First of all because at some point these homicides ended up brutally as they started, and because the atrocities committed at the bodies unusual and if I wouldn't have read the autoptic exams of the victims, unbelievable for atrocities, hate of women's body, and ferocity I wouldn't never believed that ferocity could have reached this level.

Jack the Ripper shouldn't be considered a human, shouldn't be considered a man but simply who he really was: a monster.


My Londoners colleagues, reporters of that times, started to following the case of Jack the Ripper with much gusto.




Jack the Ripper, or maybe someone else, who can know? started to write letters to Scotland Yard.
Press was excited.

Who was this man? The main question.


Why did he kill these prostitutes in this way?
What happened in his life for creating this strong unbalance able to let him commit atrocities like these ones?

No one had answers but some letters of this supposed-to-be Jack the Ripper still remain and
I will post them. I found them on Wikipedia.

One called From Hell inspired the movie with Johnny Depp. This letter was lost at some point but the words transcribed, says:


Mr Lusk,
Sor
I send you half the Kidne I took from one woman and prasarved it for you tother piece I fried and ate it was very nise. I may send you the bloody knif that took it out if you only wate a whil longer
signed
Catch me when you can Mishter Lusk


Jack the Ripper entered in the history of criminology because he didn't "just" stabbed his victims or killed them strangled but because he created horror in that bodies, and horror remains in the history of crime.
Horror can't go away.

As everyone else I have my own idea of the end of this story.
To me someone knew who was this criminal, killed him and put his body in the Thames, but maybe of course I am wrong.

Just it's differently inexplicable why this horrible serial-killer after a while decided to interrupt this series of homicides maybe re-starting to live his old life.
It's just difficult, difficult to believe.

If you are a passionate of the story of Jack the Ripper and that poor ladies killed so brutally there is a new tome published by Vintage last October 4:
The Big Book of Jack the Ripper The most Complete Compendium of Ripper Stories every Assembled. Edited by Otto Penzler. The same one wrote also the introduction

Passing through famous writers, intrigued by the story of Jack the Ripper, the book will take in consideration all the story, people, evidences, women murdered and their history, autoptic exams of the victims and you will find many other resources, articles and whatever you can like and appreciate of this criminal case.

With the time Londoners have created organized tours that you can find on the net for whoever wants to visit when you will go to London in vacation the places where Jack the Ripper killed his victims and there are websites specialized in the topic.

What we know for sure is that Jack the Ripper like many other mysteries and cold cases is still unresolved and plenty of psychological interest and immense sadness.


I thank NetGalley and Vintage for this remarkable book.

Why do we have such a fascination with Jack the Ripper? I've been enthralled by the murderer since reading what I know understand to be one of the many, many books suggesting the identity of the mysterious killer. But when I told my wife about some of the things I was reading in this, she asked me why Jack the Ripper was so infamous. Was it the number of people he killed? Other serial killers have killed more. The gruesome manner in which he did it? Jeffrey Dahmer ... need I say more? The way he taunted authorities with his letters? The fact that he was never positively identified? I suggest it was because of all of these things, along with the fact that media was just beginning to publicize these things in a way that had a far-reaching effect. But whatever the reason is - and it's probably different for everyone - Jack the Ripper is a popular figure in historical mysteries, thrillers, and nightmares.

Editor Otto Penzler has put together a tremendous volume of essays and fiction featuring this most infamous of killers. At over 800 pages long, the book is no light read and will likely take even the hardiest of readers a significant amount of time to get through this book.

The book begins with a series of articles and essays. Non-fiction writing about the murders. This is about one-fifth of the book and in many ways was more interesting than the fiction pieces. We often think we know the 'facts' of the case; some might be able to name the victims. But as with most crimes, there's much more behind what might get reported. "Mystery Solved" was one of the best pieces in the book.

The fiction section boasts an incredible range of stories, from Marie Belloc Lowndes short story "The Lodger" to her novel of the same title, expanding on the short story, to works by Robert Bloch, Harlan Ellison, Ramsey Campbell, and a host of others. Some I found quite compelling, and others not so much. But with a book of this size, with this many works included, that's to be expected. While most of the works here are collected from other sources and have been in print before some, such as Anne Perry's "Jack" and 'Jack Be Nimble, Jack be Quick' by Stephen Hunter, were written for this book.

Clearly, you need to be prepared to read articles and stories (and novels) about one of the most infamous murders in human history when you tackle this book, but if you have any interest in the subject matter at all, this is a collection you won't want to miss.

This book includes:

Introduction by Otto Penzler

THE TRUE STORY

Victims in the Night - David Abrahamsen
The Jack the Ripper Murders - Anonymous
Key Texts:
(Witness Statements)
(Autopsy Reports)
(The “Ripper Letters”) - Maxim Jakubowski and Nathan Braund, eds.
London’s Ghastly Mystery - Anonymous
The East End Murders: Detailed Lessons - Anonymous
Blood Money to Whitechapel - George Bernard Shaw
Who Was Jack the Ripper? - Peter Underwood
Mystery Solved! - Anonymous
“Frenchy” —Ameer Ben Ali - Edwin M. Borchard
Jack Be Nimble, Jack Be Quick - Stephen Hunter
Copy Murders and Others - Robin Odell

MYSTERY, CRIME, SUSPENSE—STORIES

"In the Fourth Ward" - Theodora Benson
"Jack" - Anne Perry
"Spring-Fingered Jack" - Susan Casper
"The Uncertain Heiress" - Isak Dinesen
"Knucklebones" - Tim Sullivan
"A Kind of Madness" - Anthony Boucher
"The Sparrow and the Lark" - Lyndsay Faye
"The Decorator" - Boris Akunin
"Guardian Angel" - Gwendolyn Frame
"In the Slaughteryard" - Anonymous
"The Lodger" (short story) - Marie Belloc Lowndes
<em>The Lodger</em> (novel) - Marie Belloc Lowndes
"The Sins of the Fathers" - Scott Baker
"Don’t Fear the Ripper" - Holly West
"The Mysterious Card Unveiled" - Cleveland Moffett
"Jack Be Quick" - Barbara Paul
"A Matter of Blood" - Jeffery Deaver
"A Study in Terror" - Ellery Queen

RED JACK—AN INSPIRATION

"G.I. Jack" - Loren D. Estleman
"The Legacy" - R. L. Stevens
"Jack’s Little Friend" - Ramsey Campbell
"The Stripper" - H. H. Holmes
"The Ripper Experience" - Daniel Stashower
"The Treasure of Jack the Ripper" - Edward D. Hoch
"The Hands of Mr. Ottermole" - Thomas Burke

SAUCY JACK—TIMELESS

"Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper" - Robert Bloch
"A Toy for Juliette" - Robert Bloch
"The Prowler in the City at the Edge of the World" - Harlan Ellison
"Gentleman of the Shade" - Harry Turtledove
"The Adventure of the Grinder’s Whistle" - Howard Waldrop
"Sagittarius" - Ray Russell
"The Demon Spell" - Hume Nisbet
"My Shadow is the Fog" - Charles L. Grant
"By Flower and Dean Street" - Patrice Chaplin
"The Final Stone" - William F. Nolan
"The Gatecrasher" - R. Chetwynd-Hayes
"A Punishment to Fit the Crimes" - Richard A. Gordon
"From Hell Again" - Gregory Frost
"An Awareness of Angels" - Karl Edward Wagner
"A Most Unusual Murder" - Robert Bloch
"Jack the Ripper in Hell" - Stephen Hunter
Permissions Acknowledgments

Looking for a good book? True crime lovers, historical fiction lovers, fans of mysteries, and anyone with even a passing interest in the legendary 'Jack the Ripper' will want to read The Big Book of Jack the Ripper edited by Otto Penzler.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Another in the Big Book Of series edited by the renowned Otto Penzler. Jack the Ripper endlessly fascinates as do the stories in this huge and flavorful compendium of Jack the Ripper stories, novelettes and tidbits about the historical Ripper. Stretching across the twentieth century there is something for everyone--from Ellery Queen t Lyndsay Faye. And the good thing about a book like this is that you can read one or two stories at a time, put the book down, and then come back and read a few more. Fun.

I have read, and seen, several things surrounding the great mystery of Jack the Ripper. This is something that is totally unique. This is different in that it presents many accounts of Jack the Ripper and are not all factual. I gave this book a terrific rating because I love the subject matter, even though I may not have enjoyed every single story. I think it was a great introduction for someone who does not have as much knowledge of the case. I loved reading the different points of view and seeing authors who were outstanding in their field writing in this anthology. This was a fun book, despite the story being told, and I would recommend it to anyone who loves a good mystery and thriller!

Penzler has collected a large group of wide-ranging short pieces on Jack the Ripper, including non-fiction essays, famous stories like The Lodger, and less well-known speculative fiction.

Penzler did a brilliant job of curating this collection. There are some really strong pieces in this book, and there were a lot of stories and authors I had never heard of before, even though I had previously read a lot on Jack the Ripper.

As in any anthology, there will always be some pieces that read as weaker than others. But there were very few of those instances in this collection.

If you are interested in Jack the Ripper, I highly recommend this book. It's a great mix of fact and fiction, including everything from essays stating the facts to stories involving time travel.