patricia cornwell or sophie herfort ???

[Brahman]

Club

Cher Lionel,

When you refer to that superb novelist, Mme Herfort, are you referring to her recently published thriller, Club? Since Club only appeared in October, you joined the Casebook in October and now you have started a poll to see which author is better, Mme Herfort or Ms Cornwell, one may be forgiven for thinking you may not be a disinterested party in this matter. I stand, of course, to be corrected.

For those who are not aware of it, Mme Herfort's editors have announced her new book as follows:

C'est sur un carré de verdure de Notting Hill qu'Ethel lui a dit oui pour le meilleur et pour le pire. " Le meilleur " les ennuyait, ils ont donc envisagé " le pire " : une distraction spéciale, un concept antisocial. L'été 1892 créerait ou ne créerait pas l'Événement. On leur offrait un présent de mariage singulier... Homme d'affaires londonien, Max Heron a l'intuition que la violence alimente un commerce très juteux. Le couple, sous l'impulsion de Max, s'organise et s'associe à la création d'un cartel spécial pour happy few déjantés : un club ultra fermé, destiné à former des tueurs en série. Bientôt, le Club croule sous les demandes d'adhésion.

Briefly, it is about a recently married couple in London in 1892 who found a very exclusive Club dedicated to the training of serial killers. The blurb doesn't explain how the Club selects its members, or how it advertises, but apparently it is soon flooded with applications for membership. Lionel, will you kindly let us know a bit more about Mme Herfort's novel?

Cheers,
Hook

Hello Captain Hook,

In brief, "Club" is a a very exclusive & victorian club of Covent Garden dedicated to the training of serial killers. This immoral community of interest is devoted to organized crime, it's the perfect place where the corrupt gentry can develop his evil ambitions...

How to train in crimes ? How to become a perfect killer ? That's the main concept of her book (close-attack, manipulation, criminal strategy, handling weapons, simulations on consenting victims). "Club" includes a great program for killer's apprentice with special trainings & lessons. Members are selected according to their social prestige, financial contribution and criminal appetite. In this special club, secrete sessions are organized. Special End-of-life contracts (better-known as "Ready-to-die") are offered to these future "human guinea pigs", suffering from incurable diseases and agree to act as consenting victims during trainings. These last - poor people - are originally from The East-End. Mostly, they're agree to die for finance and a precious respite of 3 months. They sign special contracts, helped by a corrupt Dr who assesses their remaining time of life.

In this brilliant intrigue made of rules, two spies from the secrete Branch of Scotland Yard are sent to infiltrate the "Club" in order to dismantle this organization from inside. Before, they will have to be accepted in secret sessions, headed by Professor Kidney (the meloman killer, fan of Bizet)...

[DVV]

Hi Brahman,
for somebody who "keeps the silence", you must admit you talk quite a lot.
Not enough or too much.
Anyway, if Lionel II is the author of "MJK, La dernière victime" (L'Harmattan, 2002), as I think you are suggesting, let me tell you that his booklet, at least, is a honest essay, which Herfort's book is not.
I hope her novel is better (thanks for your comments on it).

Amitiés,
David

ps: Are you sure that the "famous EUROPE 1" journalist, as you put him, is a Ripper expert? If not, what kind of argument is it?

[DVV]

In this brilliant intrigue made of rules, two spies from the secrete Branch of Scotland Yard are sent to infiltrate the "Club" in order to dismantle this organization from inside. Before, they will have to be accepted in secret sessions, headed by Professor Kidney (the meloman killer, fan of Bizet)...

This "brilliant" intrigue seems to me very much inspired, to say the least, by Stevenson's suicide club.

[Brahman]

Pretentious authors are only inspired by themselves !

Anyway, if Lionel II is the author of "MJK, La dernière victime" (L'Harmattan, 2002), as I think you are suggesting, let me tell you that his booklet, at least, is a honest essay, which Herfort's book is not.
I hope her novel is better (thanks for your comments on it).

I repeat again. "Jack l'Eventreur demasqué" is a remarkable ESSAY. Her work was validated by french experts (honorary Commissioner & member of Interpol (D. Perron) + expert-criminologist by the supreme court of Appeal in Paris (M. Agrapart) + Forensic Dr from Garches Hospital ( Dr C. Rambaud), etc...). Her theory was even exhibited in the Museum of Docklands (London) very recently, during a year, with the more credible suspects of this case...

SO, You've just said about Mr Welte that his theory was "honest" ? Ok if you can tell me who is Vincent ? (the french lover of a "shakespearian masterpiece" ?). No information exist about thim. Not the slighest clue he had ever existed ! Nevertheless, he's the JTR of his novel if I can't call it an essay, forgive me (see the Casebook's comment).
Mr Welte's thesis is the following : the fifth victim (MJK) would have killed other prostitutes with Vincent (her french lover) and run away with him at the end of the story.

NO COMMENT ABOUT THAT.

This "brilliant" intrigue seems to me very much inspired, to say the least, by Stevenson's suicide club.

Not at all inspired by someone else that I know but it wouldn't be a "crime" if it was. I'm surprised you don't refer to "The bureau of assassination" by Jack London. I'm afraid you neglegt to mention it.
To sum up, don't you know that great artists had a master ? Sometimes, confusion was there because their work were quite similar but more often better for the adherents. More oftenly, pupils exceed the masters! That's the talent's law !
Giorgione & Titien...Klimt & Shiele...Janicaud & Heidegger... Nietzsche and Goethe...May I follow ?

[Captain Hook]

Hello all,

I might add Chesterton's The Man who was Thursday and half a dozen novels by Paul Féval. But I don't have a problem with a novel or play being inspired by a previous one. I haven't been enthused by Mme. Herfort's Jack l'Éventreur démasqué, but I have no reason to judge her thriller - which I haven't read - by the standards of her non-fiction work. In Brahman's summary, it sounds fine, and I wish her well.

Cheers
Hook

[DVV]

Mr Brahman,
thanks for endorsing my views. Now you realize that the "intrigue" is so "brilliant" that it has been used and copied many times.
As to your "master and disciple" theory, I have really no comment...
The fact that Herfort's intrigue is nothing new, of course, doesn't mean that her novel is bad. As I already said, I hope it is a good one, and I'm pretty sure that it can't be worse than what you call her "essay".
This has already been discussed, and everybody on these boards put Cornwell, Trenouth and Herfort within the same category.
Whatever, I wish a good luck to Herfort for her present and future novels.

Let me clear a last thing: I don't know the guy you are talking about, and I know nothing about his theory.
As far as I know, "MJK, la dernière victime", L'harmattan, 2002 is authored by one Didier Chauvet, who lives in Bordeaux, and it provides no theory about the Ripper identity.
But whoever is Lionel Jospin II, what is the purpose to come on these boards to claim that he is a "jalous" writer? I disagree with almost all LJII posts, but who is concerned with his identity and alleged "jalousy"?
Rather, ask yourself where does your taste for unecessary gossip come from, my friend.

[Brahman]

Misunderstanding..

Mr Brahman,
thanks for endorsing my views. Now you realize that the "intrigue" is so "brilliant" that it has been used and copied many times.
As to your "master and disciple" theory, I have really no comment...
The fact that Herfort's intrigue is nothing new, of course, doesn't mean that her novel is bad. As I already said, I hope it is a good one, and I'm pretty sure that it can't be worse than what you call her "essay".
This has already been discussed, and everybody on these boards put Cornwell, Trenouth and Herfort within the same category.
Whatever, I wish a good luck to Herfort for her present and future novels.

Let me clear a last thing: I don't know the guy you are talking about, and I know nothing about his theory.
As far as I know, "MJK, la dernière victime", L'harmattan, 2002 is authored by one Didier Chauvet, who lives in Bordeaux, and it provides no theory about the Ripper identity.
But whoever is Lionel Jospin II, what is the purpose to come on these boards to claim that he is a "jalous" writer? I disagree with almost all LJII posts, but who is concerned with his identity and alleged "jalousy"?
Rather, ask yourself where does your taste for unecessary gossip come from, my friend.

Mr DVV,

I was talking about Philippe Welté : "Le secret de Mary Jane Kelly" (Albans) and didn't mention the good work of Mr Chauvet Didier : "MJK la dernière victime" (L'Harmattan). It's a misunderstanding. According to Welte, all his bad and silly stragegies don't surprise anyone...There's no gossips here, only poor obsessions from someone who tries to discredit author(s) by simulating to be a fan. It's clear, LJII is not a fan but more surely a pathetic author...One more.

[Celesta]

Hello Paddy,

Sophie doesn't look like I imagined her, but then authors almost never do!

[DVV]

Brahman,
is Welté the one who talks to MJK and smells violet whenever the ghost is ready to come?
Brrrrr!
Must be worse than Herfort, this one, if possible.

[Brahman]

Olfactory hallucinations ?

Brahman,
is Welté the one who talks to MJK and smells violet whenever the ghost is ready to come?
Brrrrr!
Must be worse than Herfort, this one, if possible.

P. W. suffers probably from olfactory hallucinations. It seems that it's a frequent illness when one's ego is too much sniffed.

[Admin]

The sock puppet issues that occur whenever Sophie Herfort's book is mentioned is becoming ridiculous. Most recently, we have Strong/Teramoud-whomever/Brahman.

I want to make it incredibly clear. Sock puppetry is not allowed.

Anyone who engages in Sock Puppetry, earns a permanent ban. You can sign up, but as soon as it is discovered, you and all your posts will be deleted.

[DVV]

Aaaargh!
I will miss Sophie's sock puppets and their staggering nicknames.
SHE STRONG !
BRAHMAN !

....what would have been the next? BIG MAC ? THOR-THE-WARRIOR ?