[Review]—On the Trail of Jack the Ripper by Richard Charles Cobb

Call it strange if you must, but ever since I was a young child, I have been captivated by "Whitechapel Murderer" Jack the Ripper. I don't remember how or when I first became aware of the Whitechapel serial murderer, but like many other amateur sleuths, I was curious about who Jack the Ripper was. Was he a baron-born schoolmaster? A bootmaker? A hairdresser? A physician? A medical student? Sadly, we will probably never know Jack the Ripper's real identity. (And no, I don't think Aaron Kosminski was Jack the Ripper, despite some reported DNA evidence.)

Richard Charles Cobb's book On the Trail of Jack the Ripper, with illustrations by Mark Davis and an introduction by renowned historian Neil R. Storey, has just been published in the UK by Pen and Sword Books. Amazon puts the book's release date in the United States as early to mid-November, Goodreads as October 31st, and Barnes & Noble as December. Which one is it? Who knows? To me, it is a mystery. Just be on the lookout for it. 

The book discusses the suspects in great length, covers all of the "canonical five" victims (Mary Ann Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes, and Mary Jane Kelly), the "allegedly" sixth victim, Martha Tabram, and other unsolved Whitechapel murders. The author paints a picture of what each murder site looked like and how it appears now, which distinguishes the book from other "Ripper" works. When I say the author "paints a picture," I don't simply mean with words; the book also contains illustrations and both old and new photographs.

I found On the Trail of Jack the Ripper to be a fascinating book overall. However, I do have one little criticism: at 160 pages, the book is far too short. Nevertheless, true crime lovers will like reading it.╌★★★★✰