Patricia Cornwell

[Court Jester]

Hello! New here. I have been interested in the Ripper subject for many years and have read and own a few Ripper books. Have considered searching out a venue to discuss my interest but never took the time until now. I do not consider myself a "Ripperologist". I leave that title to others who are far more conversant in the subject.

What led me here, now, is that I had not searched out any new Ripper books for a few years and have only just read Patricia Cornwell's "Portrait of a Killer". My disappointment with this book compelled me to find a site to discuss it. So here I am - on this site and on this board.

I will not, at this time, remark upon the CONTENT of the book. I will leave that until later. I do want to comment upon the presentation. I found this book to be very disjointed and rambling. There is, in my opinion, no cohesive thought pattern. PC jumps back and forth in her time lines, plops a canonical murder in here, then talking about watermarks, then skipping to drawings/paintings, then hops to where Sickert may have been at any one time, then to the Virginia Forensics lab, now plop in another canonical murder, then talks about handwriting, then another murder (which may or may not be the Ripper), then.....

While I do not contest that PC has the right to propose a suspect and back that proposition up with research and reasoning, the least she could do is to present her findings and conclusions in a coherent way. This she has not done.

I sure picked a contentious thread to start posting! I read through the first 26 pages then decided to scroll through the last pages as I found most of the posts had degenerated into bashing other posters as well as presenting disparaging remarks about Ms Cornwell. While I am no longer a PC fan (of her fiction), I will refrain from commenting upon her person or character.

I will comment on her research and conclusions as she has put those to the public to review.

I do want to say that, having found this site, I feel like the proverbial kid in the candy store. What an amazing source of information and insight. What fun!

Court Jester

[Ally]

I do want to say that, having found this site, I feel like the proverbial kid in the candy store. What an amazing source of information and insight. What fun!

Court Jester

Savor that feeling while it lasts. Soon you'll be just as jaded and bitter and surly as the rest of us. Kidding. Welcome to the boards.

[Court Jester]

Thank you. Please forgive the double post. I thought my first post was lost so I wrote another one.

Newbie error. Mea Culpa!

The Jester

[SaraCarter33]

Welcome to the boards court jester, I also felt the exact same way as you do about being the perverbial kid in a candy store.

[Jeff Leahy]

Actually, I just finished Andrew's book--in 2 days sitting time--no less--and it seems to offer up nothing in regards to "close closed." If anything, it is a nice little primer on the role of the tabloids--(let's face it that's what a lot of them were)and JtR. But, no definately, conclusion.

My piont was simply that the original cover planned for Andrew Cooks book had the claim 'Case Closed' which was removed by the publishers.

I was suggesting that both decisions were driven by their publishers.

Pirate

[Celesta]

Hello! New here. I will not, at this time, remark upon the CONTENT of the book. I will leave that until later. I do want to comment upon the presentation. I found this book to be very disjointed and rambling.


I will comment on her research and conclusions as she has put those to the public to review.

Court Jester

Hello Court Jester, Welcome to the site. Enjoy yourself here.

I also found Patricia's book disjointed, but I put it down to her being more experienced at fiction writing, to my knowledge. My sense was that she was attempting to build suspense, but it didn't quite come off. I read the book at least twice, maybe 3 times, before I joined here. Frankly, I'm glad I read it, although I don't think Sickert was the Ripper. Some parts of the book were intriguing to me.

Anyway, have a nice time here.

Best,

Cel

[ChainzCooper]

Hello! New here. I have been interested in the Ripper subject for many years and have read and own a few Ripper books. Have considered searching out a venue to discuss my interest but never took the time until now. I do not consider myself a "Ripperologist". I leave that title to others who are far more conversant in the subject.

What led me here, now, is that I had not searched out any new Ripper books for a few years and have only just read Patricia Cornwell's "Portrait of a Killer". My disappointment with this book compelled me to find a site to discuss it. So here I am - on this site and on this board.

I will not, at this time, remark upon the CONTENT of the book. I will leave that until later. I do want to comment upon the presentation. I found this book to be very disjointed and rambling. There is, in my opinion, no cohesive thought pattern. PC jumps back and forth in her time lines, plops a canonical murder in here, then talking about watermarks, then skipping to drawings/paintings, then hops to where Sickert may have been at any one time, then to the Virginia Forensics lab, now plop in another canonical murder, then talks about handwriting, then another murder (which may or may not be the Ripper), then.....

While I do not contest that PC has the right to propose a suspect and back that proposition up with research and reasoning, the least she could do is to present her findings and conclusions in a coherent way. This she has not done.

I sure picked a contentious thread to start posting! I read through the first 26 pages then decided to scroll through the last pages as I found most of the posts had degenerated into bashing other posters as well as presenting disparaging remarks about Ms Cornwell. While I am no longer a PC fan (of her fiction), I will refrain from commenting upon her person or character.

I will comment on her research and conclusions as she has put those to the public to review.

I do want to say that, having found this site, I feel like the proverbial kid in the candy store. What an amazing source of information and insight. What fun!

Court Jester

Whats up Court Jester,
I'm from North Carolina too!
What part of North Carolina are you in?
Jordan

[Court Jester]

Whats up Court Jester,
I'm from North Carolina too!
What part of North Carolina are you in?
Jordan

Hello, Chainz! I live near the Raleigh/Durham area - Clayton to be exact. Just moved here from Michigan about a year ago. Was in Michigan for 24 years - before that, born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Nice to meet you. Now let me get my brain together and comment on this thread.

Later...

The Jester

[Hamrammr]

Hello Court Jester, Welcome to the site. Enjoy yourself here.

I also found Patricia's book disjointed, but I put it down to her being more experienced at fiction writing, to my knowledge. My sense was that she was attempting to build suspense, but it didn't quite come off. I read the book at least twice, maybe 3 times, before I joined here. Frankly, I'm glad I read it, although I don't think Sickert was the Ripper. Some parts of the book were intriguing to me.

Anyway, have a nice time here.

Best,

Cel

It's a common conceit with writers (especially successful ones) that they can jump from one genre to the next with no need to learn any new skills. They think their success and experience is enough. I've had problems moving from teen fiction to adult fiction. Once it's been pointed out to you that you need to change your style it's ok, but if no one points it out...

I haven't read PC's book, but I hope to get around to it, regardless of the fact that I don't believe Sickert to be the ripper. Having watched her documentary on TV, I do believe there are grounds to suspect he may have been behind one or two of the ripper letters, but that's likely to be the height of his involvement.

Dean

[claire]

My piont was simply that the original cover planned for Andrew Cooks book had the claim 'Case Closed' which was removed by the publishers.

I was suggesting that both decisions were driven by their publishers.

Pirate

absolutely...because how else could they publish more spurious books claiming to add another suspect to the bursting list?

[j.r-ahde]

Hello you all!

What a coincidence; I saw quite recently a Finnish edition of Pat's most recent book!

So, the Ripper book obviously hasn't paid it's dues... or even royalties lately!

All the best
Jukka

[ChainzCooper]

Hello, Chainz! I live near the Raleigh/Durham area - Clayton to be exact. Just moved here from Michigan about a year ago. Was in Michigan for 24 years - before that, born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Nice to meet you. Now let me get my brain together and comment on this thread.

Later...

The Jester

Hey Jester,
Wow, small world I live in Durham (unfortunately) Ah, Johnston County.....Thats cool your in Clayton home of the Comets.
Talk to you later,
Jordan

[Celesta]

It's a common conceit with writers (especially successful ones) that they can jump from one genre to the next with no need to learn any new skills. They think their success and experience is enough. I've had problems moving from teen fiction to adult fiction. Once it's been pointed out to you that you need to change your style it's ok, but if no one points it out...

I haven't read PC's book, but I hope to get around to it, regardless of the fact that I don't believe Sickert to be the ripper. Having watched her documentary on TV, I do believe there are grounds to suspect he may have been behind one or two of the ripper letters, but that's likely to be the height of his involvement.

Dean

Hi Dean,

Yeah, I think you've pretty much said it here. I could see what she was trying to do, but it frustrated me a bit because I wanted the meat and potatoes of the cases, and the technique she used was not as conducive for that. I had read her earlier mysteries and enjoyed them, but I did eventually lose interest in them. I wouldn't be at all surprised to know Sickert had done a couple of the letters.

[Celesta]

Hello you all!

What a coincidence; I saw quite recently a Finnish edition of Pat's most recent book!

So, the Ripper book obviously hasn't paid it's dues... or even royalties lately!

All the best
Jukka

Hi Jukka,

There are tons of her Ripper book on Ebay. It's as if everyone is trying to unload it. I'm keeping mine though.

Take care.

[Court Jester]

Hi Jukka,

There are tons of her Ripper book on Ebay. It's as if everyone is trying to unload it. I'm keeping mine though.

Take care.

I'm keeping her book also. Just because I always keep books on this subject. Heck - I even kept Murder and Madness and that was pure hocum.