Praise for The Hangman's Secret:
"With delectably gruesome details, rapid-fire dialogue, an unpredictable plot, and well-developed characters, this top-notch third installment is sure to please fans of Carol McCleary's Nellie Bly and Rhys Bowen's Molly Murphy. Or, to put it another way, think Phryne Fisher meets Constance Kopp in Anne Perry’s London."
—Booklist
"Rowland's engaging team of sleuths and a colorful rogues' gallery of suspects make her third Victorian mystery a genuine page-turner."
—Kirkus Reviews
"[Rowland] hits her stride in her third mystery featuring photographer Sarah Bain."
—Publishers Weekly
“Rowland definitely picks up the pace and crispness...A delightful and suspenseful page-turner that is both engaging and keeps readers guessing.”
—Historical Novels Review
"The author does a fine job of recreating Victorian London physically and culturally. She captures the various London inhabitants very well."
—Deadly Pleasures Mystery Magazine
Praise for A Mortal Likeness:
“A winning team of outsider heroes and a colorful first-person narrative.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Interesting...Rowland has a certain gift for bringing places in the novel to life. It’s easy to immerse myself in her stories, and I feel as if I’m there.”
—Tulsa Book Review
Praise for The Ripper’s Shadow:
"The whopper of all serial killers, Jack the Ripper, like fire, is to be handled with care, and luckily Rowland knows just how to do it, putting a new twist on old tropes with her witty sleuth, while never sacrificing historical integrity."
—Library Journal starred review
“There are so many fine things about this novel that it’s difficult to enumerate them all. The characters are beautifully drawn; the dialogue sparkles; the setting is vividly rendered...This is sure to delight followers of Ripper-themed fiction and all who cherish Victorian-era mysteries.”
—Booklist starred review
“Close calls, a surprise ending, and the suggestion of further adventures...Rowland has assembled an appealingly ragtag collection of amateur sleuths and keeps the suspense high.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“This is one author who should be given an A+ for a new take on a very old subject. From the brilliant, unique characters to the frightening fog filling London’s alleys, this is one tale you will not want to put down.”
—Suspense Magazine
"Attention to atmospheric detail, original characterizations, and escalating conflict...This is a fresh, modern take on the streets that produced a murderer 'From Hell.'"
—Strand Magazine
"[Rowland's] wildly diverse cast...brings a special focus on the forgotten and ignored of Victorian society, and provides a fresh, and refreshing, point of view to the otherwise morbid proceedings."
—Mystery Scene Magazine
"Easily one of the best things I’ve read all year... This is a vivid, enjoyable novel with a likable cast of characters and plenty of intrigue and suspense... I’m keen to see what Sarah Bain gets up to next."
—Ripperologist Magazine
“Great detail is given into the personalities and look of each actual historical victim, therefore easily blending actual history into a believable historical mystery...This book is a good beginning into what looks like a great new series with a female protagonist.”
—PCA Mystery & Detective Fiction Reading List, Winter 2017, 4.5 stars
“Laura Joh Rowland reinvents the story of Jack the Ripper in a wholly unexpected way. Gritty, imaginative, and full of nail-biting suspense, The Ripper’s Shadow is a triumph.”
—Tasha Alexander, NYT bestselling author of A Terrible Beauty
"Please let this be the start of a series. I went into The Ripper's Shadow wondering if I could care about another Jack the Ripper novel, and emerged at the end of it thrilled, off-balance, and astonished at how Laura Joh Rowland was able to bring Victorian England into such vivid life, and a story we all know into new relief. This is a fantastic read."
—Charles Finch, bestselling author of The Inheritance
“Laura Joh Rowland has penned an imaginative, chilling reinterpretation of Jack the Ripper’s bloody reign of terror. A dark, seductive peek into the dangerous underbelly of Victorian London.”
—C. S. Harris, bestselling author of the Sebastian St. Cyr mysteries
“Tense, pacy and compelling; Laura Joh Rowland commands empathy for the Ripper’s victims and sincere affections for her characters.”
—Stephen Gallagher, critically-acclaimed author of The Kingdom of Bones and The Bedlam Detective
2018-10-15
A Victorian sleuth's probe of a suspicious suicide leads to a deeper mystery surrounding a notorious serial killer.
London, 1890. Photographer Sarah Bain's success as an amateur sleuth (A Mortal Likeness, 2018, etc.) has led to a job as a crime-scene photographer for the Daily World. Together with her handsome sidekick, Lord Hugh Staunton, and street urchin and factotum Mick O'Reilly, Sarah's summoned to a grisly scene. Pub owner and sometime hangman Harry Warbrick appears to have hanged himself. His severed head rests in a noose above a pool of blood. But evidence at the scene convinces Sarah that this was not suicide but murder. Malcolm Cross, Sarah's rival at the World, mocks her account. In announcing an in-house contest to ferret out the truth before the police, Sir Gerald Mariner, the paper's shrewd owner, pits Sarah against Cross (not to mention law enforcement). An interview with the not-so-grieving widow reveals that she's taken a secret lover, whom Sarah unmasks on a visit to Newgate prison as handsome prison surgeon Dr. Simon Davies. The investigative trio has visited Newgate in response to the discovery that a rope Warbrick had on display in his pub has been stolen. The stolen rope had served in the execution of notorious "baby farmer" Amelia Carlisle, believed to have killed countless children. Could the two cases be connected? Backstories of the protagonists add texture to Rowland's tale, from Hugh's estrangement from his family because of his homosexuality to Sarah's fractious relationship with her criminal father to Mick's desperate crush on beautiful actress Catherine Price.
Rowland's engaging team of sleuths and a colorful rogues' gallery of suspects make her third Victorian mystery a genuine page-turner.
Victorian London is the setting as listeners join newspaper photographer Sarah Bain and her two sidekicks as they set out on a race against the police to solve the mystery of a murder disguised as suicide. The strong narration by Alex Tregear helps to create the atmosphere of the murkier side of London and its secrets. Her clear portrayals of all the characters from the upper crust to the street urchins bring a feeling of authenticity and make it easy to differentiate them during the many plot threads that are woven together. Tregear paces her narration to keep listeners engaged throughout this unusual mystery. K.J.P. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
