What is the worst Ripper book you've ever read?

[Mike Covell]

But the list continues.....

"The Jack the Ripper walk" by Louis London Walks is a little red book, filled with big red errors

"Jack the Ripper Infamous London Serial Killer" is a copy and paste job, with GIANT FONT and only 52 pages long (most of which are legal jargon) has to be up there with the worst!

Whilst I did say that "Black Magic Rituals" was on my list, I do have fond memories of reading it. I had it packed in my hospital bag for several visits, alongside Paul Beggs "The Facts", and Evans and Skinner's "Ultimate JTR Sourcebook"
All three books helped me through a very dark period, and for that I am greatful.

[halomanuk]

Patricia Cornwell ,'Portrait of a Killer'
I couldn't get half way through it and tossed it in the bin,it was so inaccurate on many things !!

[JustForJolly]

I'm truly sorry to've started this thread now because I've never heard about some of these books and most sound so dreadful that I must read them, just for jolly wouldn't you?. Epiphany, Plimmer and JtR Revealed, Revised, Reserved, whatever to begin with. I'm not buying them tho', I may be stupid but I'm not dumb. You see this is what happens when you post a non-serious thread, it comes back to bite you. I won't've learnt my lesson tho'.

Elizabeth

[Graham]

Tom Cullen's 'Autumn of Terror' is, as Suzi says, a damn good read and very entertaining.

I only got through the first chapter of Plimmer's rubbish before I binned it - a former detective, was he??? Gordon Bennett! At least Cornwell's nonsense is well-written nonsense, but again I only magaged the first few pages. The TV documentary she financed was even worse.

Oddly enough, when it first came out, I thought Stephen Knight's book was exceptional, but when I tried to re-read it last year I couldn't believe how naive I must've been. Hey ho...

Cheers,

Graham

[Bailey]

Poor old Eddy and JK do seem to attract the most... interesting... kind of authours, don't they?

B.

[Ash]

Melvin Harris critiqued Wilding's first book so in Revisited Wilding takes the opportunity to take a pop back at Melvin.

If there's a third edition, no doubt Tom Wescott may be coming in for some stick. Check out the comments Wilding left on his review of the Revisited book on RNE (also note the link to the additional page at the bottom of the review before the comments.)

http://extra.rippernotes.com/?p=46

[Ash]

John Plimmer gets my vote for The Whitechapel Murders Solved? as well. Admittedly Epiphany is a worse book, but it was privately published through Lulu. Plimmer's book was published not once, but twice, by reputable publishers playing on his reputation as a former West Midlands police detective, and I once played a game of trying to find a major error on every page and was succeeding until I got bored and gave up.

One nobody else has mentioned, possibly because it's in French, is Sophie Herfort's effort Jack l'Eventreur Demasque from last year. Complete and utter pile of toss from beginning to end. I never got round to reviewing it in the end because I accidentally left my review copy in a taxi and there was no way I was actually going to fork out hard earned cash for a replacement.

[Rob Clack]

In Hull "The Ripper Code" was dumped in the Fiction section in several bookshops, and quite rightly so!

Yeah that sounds about right. Shame really, it's taken about 20 years to come out which probably explains why it reads like it was written in the 1980s.

Rob

[Cap'n Jack]

Have we all forgotten the Duck, and the clunk of his Samsonite briefcase?

[Khanada]

One of the 'oddest' has to be Murder and Madness' by Dr David Abrahamsen not to say it's THAT bad.

That's my pick. Probably the smallest, shortest Ripper book I have ever owned or read, and it is the worst of the lot by far, IMO. That's the only one I've ever picked up that I could not finish, and instead threw at the wall every time I tried... Absolute dreck.

Mind, I'm quite open to Trenouth being worse -- I've not read that one, and frankly, I won't be reading it ever.

[Suzi]

Bizarre as it can be at times The R & the R isn't that bad- especially if you're not that interested in the history /research of the case and just fancy a 'cocktail party' type -'Did you know' conversation -I suppose...

Now for facts... we ALL know where we should be looking- and this isn't the thread for this -but as I posted earlier Tom Cullen's 'Autumn of Terror' masterpiece takes a LOT of beating for sheer NON fiction enjoyment (but with tantalising little bits of 'Oh I know who that's supposed to be' [hehe] moments!! -If you haven't read it- get hold of a copy (tricky at times- try ebay and take your chances ) buy it -and read it!

If I wasn't reading something else at the mo (Pratchett's new one 'Nation'!)..I'd pick it up again- and again!

Suzi x

[Captain Hook]

The Ripper and the Royals

The Ripper and the Royals, for me, is the worst book I've ever read. I don't know if it's because that Melvyn Fairclough is still credulous enough to believe anything Joseph Gorman says...

Hello Elizabeth,

Melvyn Fairclough may have believed Joseph Gorman Sickert once, but not anymore - not for a long time. As far back as 2001, when both Melvyn and Gorman attended the UK Ripper Conference at Bournemouth, Melvyn seemed quite disenchanted with Gorman's theories.

All the best,
Hook

[Suzi]

Good answer, Nunners, and a good choice. "Autumn of Terror" is still one of the most enjoyable books on the subject ever to have been written, even after all these years.

OMG Cheers Gareth!!! I didn't dare post that!!! It's still one of my all time favs!!!...Must be the 4th or 5th time I've read it but it never ceases to entrance me!!.... May say more about me than Tom Cullen maybe!

* Are you sure 'the first is always the best' Richard N (Can we safely say Nunners now??) ??? (eeeeeeeeeeeeeek!!)

As to 'enjoyment' I don't think The Epiphany' comes into that bracket- but it kept us all going for a bit 'eh and raised a few bob- Cheers Jeremy!!!!..

....(At least I didn't take to reading it out loud on the streets though Rob 'eh!)

Hopefully it won't be just a matter of time......... 'A Matter Of Time'.........Mind you -that sounds like a good title 'eh!

Suz x

[John Bennett]

Why did you waste your time reading some of these books in the first place?

Well, it's always good to try. That said, some are so bad that one may not get round to finishing them! Or they're so bad they just HAVE to be finished, just for entertainment value.

Actually, Bob, that's a fair comment. Epiphany did make me laugh out loud a few times (when I wasn't cringeing).

[Mike Covell]

Terence Sharkey's 'Jack the Ripper: One hundred Years of Investigation' is utter drivil and full of errors.
'The Ripper Code' by Thomas Toughill isn't far behind.

Rob

In Hull "The Ripper Code" was dumped in the Fiction section in several bookshops, and quite rightly so!