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Hidden Suspect - The Whitechapel Murders [Kindle Edition]
Hi Zagreus,
One of the problems I have is that the documents alluded to are not reproduced in the research at all. Therefore what proof does the reader have that the author hasn't just picked a random Whitechapel local and worked from there with the research?
Interestingly the suspect appears to have signed a petition from the tradespeople of Whitechapel to the Home Secretary requesting an increase in Police in October 1888.
The facts about the suspect appear to check out OK on Ancestry.
Looks like a hoax though (details of the Nichols murder aren't quite right, for example)
Yes, Not a lot of detail on the murders themselves but Sawyer supposedly claims to have cut Nicholls' throat while she was still upright - it is my understanding that the evidence overwhelming points to this having happened when she was on the ground.
I'll read the book properly later, only had a two minute scan through so far.
Clearly if it is to be taken seriously then the original letter is going to have to be produced. The research looks pretty good, I don't know if it will stand up to close scrutiny ... I already have a few niggles: -
- The Nichols murder as mentioned above
- Sawyer met the other members of the occult lodge above a pub in Shoreditch in 1888. Whilst the internet reveals that one of them was previously the landlord, it also reveals that he then moved to a different pub, and was dead by 1887.
- Sawyer claims to have spent the time between the double event and the Kelly murder 'in solitude' and to have been unaware of the fervour that his crimes had caused, and yet during that time he signed the petition I mentioned in a previous post
- After committing the crimes as some kind of initiation, Sawyer never hears from the others again, and seems content to leave it at that (even though he knows where one of them lives)
Having said that, it's more convincing than Maybrick - if you've got a kindle I recommend you download it and make your own minds up!
It's a worthy read and appears sincere. It hardly seems riches could be the motivation at a buck a book. It also invites research to back up his findings so the gauntlet has been thrown. Unfortunately, very little is mentioned of the murders themselves or how a hairdresser could so quickly acquire the mutilation skills ad hoc. I wonder if any photos of this fellow exist?
It seems we can't get rid of the mason-ettes whether we want to or not.
I second all David Knott's points as well. Overall, I don't know what to think...
Amazon allows one to download a pc version of the Kindle, a nice idea. One can then get a feel for the gadget before taking the plunge...
Hi Zagreus - I have just read Hidden Suspect. It's very short on detail but it does provide a very credible account of a hitherto unidentified suspect. I would like to hear if the author is planning to take his research any further.
All the best
TQ
It's a shame all self-published e-books aren't written this well. Half of it was fun to read, the other half very boring non-Ripper minutia. Of course the entire thing is fiction. That should have been obvious to one and all. Monetary gain is virtually never the motive for perpetrating a literary hoax. It's the fun of sitting back and watching others make fools of themselves over it. I should know, I wrote this diary back in 1990...
And welcome Zagreus. Any details would be appreciated.
Since I support the unknown man from Whitechapel hypothesis, I'd give this a go. Problem is I'm a Luddite and don't own a Kindle or anything remotely related.
I have friends who insist I must accept the inevitable as resistance is futile. Perhaps I should start a technology thread but can anyone in a few words tell me about Kindles or other devices and which are best and cheapest etc.
Thanks.
For a minute I thought it was being suggested that Tom Sawyer was the ripper, adding to our fictional literary suspects...
Greg
Hi, Greg,
I am just getting back to this thread, so perhaps someone has already pointed you in the same direction I have taken with Kindle.
You can simply download it to your desktop, then order e-books to read on it. There is no charge for adding Kindle to your current computer.
It is easy and the price is exactly right -- free.
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