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Jack Thomas Reid, nephew of Robert Cavendish who first appeared in A Study in Red - The Secret Journal of Jack the Ripper languishes in the secure Ravenswood Psychiatric Hospital, sentenced to confinement 'at Her Majesty's Pleasure' for a series of apparent 'Jack the Ripper' copycat killings in the picturesque English coastal resort of Brighton. Jack's defence at his trial, that he is a descendant of Jack the Ripper and that the crimes were conducted by an unknown 'mystery man' and that Jack was drugged and made to appear as the killer was regarded as so preposterous and unbelievable that his sentence was never in doubt. When one of the policemen who conducted the original investigation into the murders begins to doubt the truth of the case against Reid, Sergeant Carl Wright and Ripperologist Alice Nickels begin an investigation into his story. What they find is told through the voice of Doctor Ruth Truman, Jack's psychiatrist at Ravenswood, and through a series of events that take place as far afield as the beautiful island of Malta and in Warsaw, Poland. Slowly but surely and with the help of Wright's boss Inspector Mike Holland, the link between the events that shocked and terrorised Whitechapel over a century ago, and their link with the case of Jack Thomas Reid and the 'Legacy of Jack the Ripper' is revealed.
A Study in Red - The Secret Journal of Jack the Ripper was the winner of The Preditors & Editors 'Best Thriller Novel of 2008 Award' and is available from Double Dragon Publishing, Amazon and all good retailers.
Book Review/s to share:
Legacy of the Ripper: By Brian L. Porter
A legacy is defined as anything handed down from the past from an ancestor. Some bestow monetary awards, others furniture and some even jewelry. But, in the case of Dr. Robert Cavendish in the book A Study in Red the legacy bestowed upon him was quite different. His father, when he died, had his journals given to Robert by his solicitor and the end result was anything but rich, gratifying or happy.
Being a direct descendant of Jack the Ripper, Dr. Cavendish was presented with his journals and required to read them in order to understand the rationale behind his motives and mind for his killings. But, it destroyed him and left him in such a catatonic state that he became sick, ill and could not function or perform his daily routines.
In his second in his Ripper series once again the master of science fiction, mysteries and thrillers, Brian Porter, gives us more insight into the mind of another killer, or supposed killer, Jack Reid, Robert’s heir, or nephew.
Being the master craftsman he is the author switches between the past, the time period of the true Ripper murders and what we soon learn to be the present, in this book the early 21st century. Because a person is a descendant of a murderer, butcher and killer, does that mean that person’s genes are a part of you and if they are does that mean you will inherit them? Does that mean you will become one and the same with that person? We are about the re-enter the world and mind of one of the most elusive and creative killers that ever walked this earth: Jack the Ripper. Has he returned in the body of Jack Reid who is next in line and has received the dreaded journals which recount his killings and the ones in the present that mirror his exactly from the way the murders were executed and the days on which they took place? Only time will tell as you read this book and learn what horrors will befall the people now.
Perceptions are not always what they appear to be. First impressions and evidence in a crime an often lead to an arrest according to the evidence presented by the police and the prosecution. Appearances can often be deceiving and what might be right in front of your eyes is not always what is real.
Xerox machines are used to create exact copies of an original document. Imagine someone doing the same thing with crimes that were committed in the past and now xeroxing them in the present. In 1888 Jack the Ripper mutilated, maimed, killed, disfigured and disemboweled many young women because he thought they were not worthy of breathing life anymore because of their vocation. Prostitution was never legal in England though many young women resorted to that profession in order to live, feed their families and survive. Jack the Ripper was infected with a deadly venereal disease by one of these women and went on a rampage of hate, killing and destruction to rid the world of as many as he could before succumbing to the disease. We are not really sure because his identity remains unknown and he was never caught.
Jack Reid is in Ravenswood a maximum-security facility for the criminally and mentally insane. Insane and troubled yes, murderer, that has not been completely decided. After standing trial for killing three women he tries to relate his tale of horror and imprisonment that led up to his arrest and incarceration. The direct descendant of Jack the Ripper and next in line to receive his journals from his late uncle Robert Cavendish, he becomes entranced and mentally kidnapped by what was written in them and soon becomes one and the same with the events in them as his late uncle did.
What makes these crimes so unbelievable is that they are being committed on the same days and in the same exact locations as the first murders over 100 years before. Two police officers, and one Ripperologist re-read, revisit and rethink all of the evidence and come up with only one conclusion: Jack Reid might be innocent. The killer as Jack the Ripper was methodical, neat and did not even leave one piece of evidence behind to help the police identify him. But, in the third murder that Jack Reid supposedly committed he left himself covered with the victim’s blood and more. Even the way the murder was committed did not exactly match the third one in 1888. Added to that Jack’s description of his being held prisoner by a young man named Michael and repeatedly kept in a drugged stupor and a mystery man who claimed knowledge of all of the murders and held him captive so he could complete his goals, made it reasonable for the police to reevaluate their findings and try to get him free. But, was this the right decision?
Dr. Ruth Truman is the psychiatrist assigned to evaluate Jack and work with him in order to have him finally admit his guilt and more. She is relating the events in this book as she learns about them and narrates much of the book as Jack does too. How do all of the characters come together? The persistence of one Police Sergeant and one Ripperologist who would not give up until they found out the truth would help find out the truth behind the murders. Nor would lead Inspector Holland give up without a fight to find out just who was behind these heinous crimes and if what Jack related to them in their interview at Ravenswood was really fact or fiction. Did the journals really exist? Was there a man named Michael who worked with this mysterious man to frame him for these crimes? Was this person related to him and have the same mental disorder that seemed to run rampart in his family?
From Whitechapel, to Brighton to Warsaw Poland these elusive killers have left their mark. But what will astound you is the ending and not until the last paragraph of the last page will you learn the truth or think you learn the truth. The killer: Was he caught? Is he dead? Is he still at large? Only Brian Porter knows for sure and you the reader will have to decide for himself/herself. Can the pages of a journal carry something in it so powerful and so dangerous that it causes the reader to become tortured, tormented and terrorized by its contents? Can murders be carbon copies to resemble those from the past or even the present including the timing, the locations and dates of the murders? I won’t tell you. You need to decide the facts yourself and weigh the evidence. In the words of Jack the Ripper and the elusive Brighton Ripper: “I have important work to do, and I don’t have a lot of time to prepare.” Brian Porter prepare to receive my rating for this book and we hope you will not keep us in any more suspense and write the sequel so that we really know the ending to this outstanding novel. I am sure there is much more to come. Who will inherit this Legacy next? Who knows? Would you want it?
I give this book: 5 Ripperologists to help solve the crimes and Five Sergeant Wright’s to assist.
As the city of Paris swelters in the grip of a summer heat wave, a serial killer dubbed "The Butcher Beast" stalks the dark streets of the great metropolis, dispatching his victims with increasing brutality and savagery. Author Brian L. Porter goes deep into the mind of multiple murderer Anton Bouchard, revealing the thoughts and the events that have shaped the life of that most heinous of society's misfits, the serial killer! This definitive collection of tales from the pen of the author includes a second tale of multiple murder in "Breathing to Death," and also takes the reader beneath the ocean, beyond the stars, and deep into the cellars of an English country mansion. Finally, we are treated to a four chapter preview of Porter's latest novel Under Mexican Skies. A truly remarkable journey through the mind of an extremely talented author!
Book Review/s to share: 5.0 out of 5 stars Award Winning Material!!, June 28, 2009 By Barbara Watkins "Barbara Watkins" (Missouri) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME) What can I say about Brian L. Porter and his latest literary work known as 'The Voice of Anton Bouchard' other than to say in my opinion, it was a work of excellence! His works are known to provoke emotions of horror, terror and intrigue...and through 'The Voice of Anton Bouchard' {and other stories} the author managed to do just that.
I visited Paris in its darkest hour and traveled along side a psychopathic serial killer.
Aboard a submarine miles below the Pacific waves, I witnessed the destruction of the earth and mankind. I then took a journey along side detectives and participated in solving a murder.
I traveled through the Transylvanian Alps and ended up with 'Bodies in the Cellar,' only to find I had been abducted by Alien creatures no less!
Bravo to the author, Brian L. Porter, for giving his readers' yet another five star experience!
Author/Writer/Reviewer: Barbara Watkins
5.0 out of 5 stars Very Clever., June 26, 2009 By Ralph R. Deluca Jr. (USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME) The Voice of Anton Bouchard is a book of short, well written, and entertaining stories. I blew through the book in one short afternoon. The stories contain horror, brotherly love, natural disasters and more. You owe it to yourself to read it. Mr Porter has got me hooked.
5.0 out of 5 stars Get Ready to Enter the Twilight Zone, June 7, 2009 By Martha A. Cheves (Charlotte, NC) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME) Short story "Red Sky in the Morning"... 'Prior to surfacing completely, the submarine's commander, Captain Simon Merrick had ordered the periscope raised, and he knew as soon as he put his eye to the scope that something wasn't right. Although the submarine's chronometer showed the time as eleven o'clock in the morning it appeared quite dark on the surface. There appeared to be an incredible red tinge to the outside world. While he tried to make some sense of what he saw his communications officer, Mike Regan had been trying without success, to make contact with the base at Rosyth.'
What Merrick and his crew didn't know as their submarine surfaced from the deep waters was that they were about to "Enter the Twilight Zone."
Enter the Twilight Zone yourself as you read "The Voice of Anton Bouchard" which will have you wondering why a serial killer suddenly stopped killing. Read "Breathing to Death" to see how and why women with medical problems are being killed. "The Sound of Silence" will have you traveling with a young lady, who after a wreck, is carried off to what could be nothing less than the castle of Dracula. These stories and many more that make up this book will carry you into the "Zone.
Email to share: whitechapeljack@toucansurf.com
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