Shadow of the Knife

Immediately you are pulled into the dark, dismal world of late 1800's East End London and it is quite riveting. Great attention to detail from research. There are just a couple scenes of gore meticulously described, so if you're the queasy type, prepare yourself. But other than that, a great read for this spooky time of the year!

Very much in the vein of Ripper Street, "Shadow of the Knife" by Richard Ayre explores the "what if" scenario of Jack the Ripper murders carrying on after the documented five victims. An interesting book that carries off the atmosphere and investigations that may have taken place at the time. An good plot twist at the end. Good East End fun!

Still reading it. I am in LOVE! I think that I am going to have a fictional husband by the end of this book.

Full review will be posed on my Goodreads account.

This is a Victorian detective thriller set in London after the Ripper murders. When another woman is murdered Jonas Handy of the police begins to investigate and is helped by surgeon Carter Jackson. The gruesome murder makes them wonder if the Ripper has begun his terrible activities again but as they pursue enquiries Jackson queries the method of the murder.
The atmosphere of the East End of London is well described and shows the terrible surroundings of its inhabitants and the lack of choices for women and children to escape abject poverty. As Handley and Jackson dig deeper into the murder the gap between poor and wealthy is exposed with terrifying consequences.
The novel is quite gory in parts and violence features frequently but this reflects the era and events portrayed. It comes close to being a melodrama but the well rounded characters save it from this. I hope the pairing of Handley and Jackson will lead to a new crime series to be enjoyed.
Thanks to NetGalley and Burning Chair Publishing for the ARC..

It has been two years since Jack the Ripper stalked the streets of London. Two years in which the East End slowly returned to normality. And then the killing starts again. When Detective Jonas Handy finds himself faced with a terrifying spate of new murders, he has nowhere to turn except Doctor Carter “Jigsaw” Jackson: a man whose knowledge of the criminal brain is unmatched in Victorian London. The two men find themselves in a desperate race against time to find the murderer before any more people die. A race that will take them from the murky world of the East End to the even more shady world of the Victorian upper classes.

This is an entertaining, dark and atmospheric book with an excellent plot twist. Recommended for thriller fans, especially historical thrillers. Perfect for the time of year and dark, cold nights. If you are a strict fan of historical facts then this may not be for you, some of the real truth has been altered, if you don't mind then it is a worthy read!

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

3.5/5.

Thank you netgalley. the publisher and the author. The front cover was attractive but what pulled me into this was the writing style as much as I really did enjoy the book I thought it was well thought out well planned greatly paste I think overall I fell in love with the writing style of Richard he has a very smooth detailed indulgent description of places and atmospheres and people and I fell in love with his writing style I will definitely be looking into more of his work

The mutilated body of a woman has been found in Whitechapel, & Detective Jonas Handy is called in on the case which has similarities to the Ripper murders two years previously. Handy turns to surgeon Dr Carter 'Jigsaw' Jackson who is a self-styled criminologist, the best in London, & the two men race to find the killer before there are more deaths.

"Ripper Street meets Sherlock Holmes" - if there was anything guaranteed to draw my attention it would be this line. I love historical crime fiction set in Victorian London & this is a great example of the genre. It moves at breakneck speed & takes the reader on a journey through the streets of late-19th century Whitechapel. Although it is set after the Ripper murders there are some mentions of the victims along with a cameo appearance of Inspector Abberline. I thought it was very atmospheric - the author had obviously completed a great deal of research about the East End, & the two main characters, Handy & Jackson, are fairly likeable so would be good protagonists for a series.

TW: There are some very gory scenes, but that's to be expected in a book about this subject.

My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Burning Chair Limited, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

Shadow of the Knife might be described as Jack the Ripper "spin-off" fiction, in that it's set in the East End of London a couple of years after the notorious real-life murders, references the details of those crimes and theories around the killer's identity, but maintains a primary narrative thread that is entirely fictional.
Having read a reasonable amount of "true crime" and historical material related to the 1888 Whitechapel series of murders, widely attributed to an unidentified serial killler best known by the press moniker of "Jack the Ripper", I was curious to see how historian - speculative fiction author Richard Ayre would approach the subject matter. He freely admits in his Historical Note at the novel's conclusion to the use of "artistic licence" with some historical material and the inclusion of several anachronisms, necessary for the purposes of his own narrative. Some purist "Ripperologists" will no doubt throw their hands up in horror at this concept, but I really didn't feel that this detracted in any material way from the quality of Shadow of the Knife. So much of the historical record is either absent, the subject of significant conjecture or otherwise ambiguous in its potential interpretation that a little fictional "tweaking" is hardly going to hurt, over 130 years since the events in question. I'd recommend any reader who wishes to clarify for themselves what is known and unknown about the Ripper crimes obtain a copy of either Donald Rumbelow's The Complete Jack the Ripper or Philip Sugden's The Complete History of Jack the Ripper, both of which contain comprehensive analyses of the evidence, such as it is, without spouting wild personal theories about the identity of the killer.
Shadow of the Knife is set in 1890, two years after London was rocked by the murders of at least five (possibly eight or nine) women in the city's impoverished Whitechapel district. (Fictional) Metropolitan Police Detective Inspector Jonas Handy is called to investigate the discovery of a murdered woman, found near the same site and on the anniversary of the first "canonical" Jack the Ripper victim, Mary Ann "Polly" Nichols. Having had tangential involvement with the 1888 crimes, Handy is immediately on alert that the unknown killer may have returned.
Handy makes the acquaintance of surgeon Doctor Carter Jackson, a Holmes-like character who combines practical knowledge with an intuitive understanding of human psychology. Together, and with the assistance of Handy's sergeant, Frank Callow, and Jackson's valet-coachdriver-factotum, the gloriously named Curmudgeon, they set about investigating the crime, with a view to identifying the miscreant and preventing further death and terror in the East End.
Almost immediately, their investigation is stymied, both by political interference high in the Metropolitan Police hierarchy and by the purloining of the dead woman's remains before they can be fully examined. Before long, another woman has been murdered and the resulting riot in the street of the East End turns deadly. Handy and Jackson find themselves locked in a race against time against a deadly and powerful foe, not only to protect the women of Whitechapel, but their own lives and reputations.
Richard Ayre's depiction of the East End of London in late Victorian times is masterful, and the reader gets a real sense of the sights, sounds and smells - particularly the smells! - of this overcrowded, poverty-stricken and crime-riddled setting. His prose is well-crafted and immersive, providing a nuanced backdrop to his fictional narrative. I was interested by his reference, again contained within his Historical Note, to Hallie Rubenhold's 2019 non-fiction bestseller, The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper. Unlike virtually all other titles on the subject, her book focusses on the lives of the victims, rather than the activities of their notorious murderer. Certainly, Richard Ayre's setting and characters in Shadow of the Knife reflect a sensitivity to the plight of women, particularly those born into or subject to poverty, in the late 19th century.
While the subject matter was sometimes confronting, I found Shadow of the Knife an enjoyable and engrossing read. I'd recommend it to any reader who enjoys gritty historical crime fiction - this is no cosy and refined parlour mystery - and/or has an interest in the early history of modern crime investigation.
My thanks to the author, Richard Ayre, publisher Burning Chair Limited and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this title prior to publication on 19 November 2021.

A dark, gritty and gripping historical mystery that kept me hooked till the end.
Well researched historical background, good storytelling, solid mystery and a cast of fleshed out characters.
It's the first book I read by this author and won't surely be the last.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine