I, Ripper

Written by Stephen Hunter

Narrated by Michael Page

The electrifying new thriller from New York Times bestseller Stephen Hunter takes you deep inside the mind of the most notorious serial killer of all time: Jack the Ripper.

In the fall of 1888, Jack the Ripper slaughtered five prostitutes in London’s seamy Whitechapel District. He did not just kill—he ripped with a butcher’s glee—and then, after the particularly gruesome slaying of Mary Jane Kelly, he disappeared. For 127 years, Jack has haunted the dark corners of our imagination, the paradigm of the psychotic killer. We remember him not only for his crimes, but because, despite one of the biggest dragnets in London history, he was never caught.

I, Ripper is a vivid reimagining of Jack’s personal story entwined with that of an Irish journalist who covered the case, knew the principals, charted the investigation, and at last, stymied, went off in a bold new direction. These two men stalk each other through a city twisted in fear of the madman’s blade, a cat-and-mouse game that brings to life the sounds and smells of the fleshpot tenderloin of Whitechapel and all the lurid acts that fueled the Ripper headlines.

Dripping with intrigue, atmosphere, and diabolical twists, this is a magnificent psychological thriller from perennial New York Times bestseller Stephen Hunter, who the San Francisco Examiner calls “one of the best storytellers of his generation.”

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio
• Release date: May 19, 2015
• ISBN: 9781480533745

Stephen Hunter

Stephen Hunter has written over twenty novels. The retired chief film critic for The Washington Post, where he won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Distinguished Criticism, he has also published two collections of film criticism and a nonfiction work, American Gunfight. He lives in Baltimore, Maryland.

Reviews for I, Ripper

[pennsylady · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The publisher has a worthy description of this novel. "I, Ripper is a vivid reimaging of Jack's personal story entwined with that of an Irish journalist who covered the case, knew the principals, charted the investigation, and at last, stymied, went off in a bold new direction"--Publisher. -- Fiction....Jack the Ripper...Serial murderers -- London (England) .... 19th century Suspense fiction/mystery fiction. Notes: Includes bibliographical references

[thereadingmermaid · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Okay so I'm all pumped up, I'm ready to read this book, I've got my popcorn and I'm ready to dive in! I got about halfway through this book and it just falls flat on its face. I'm serious folks. I am a huge fan of the times and of Jack the Ripper stories. This one just didn't do it for me.The book was extremely gory which was a pleasant surprise for me but I felt like the author tried to make up for the flat parts by being overly detailed in the gore. The characters were, dare I say, drab to say the least. Even Jack the Ripper wasn't very interesting in this book and that is sad ☹️This book may be for some people but it definitely is not for me.

[sumisbooks · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Okay so I'm all pumped up, I'm ready to read this book, I've got my popcorn and I'm ready to dive in! I got about halfway through this book and it just falls flat on its face. I'm serious folks. I am a huge fan of the times and of Jack the Ripper stories. This one just didn't do it for me.The book was extremely gory which was a pleasant surprise for me but I felt like the author tried to make up for the flat parts by being overly detailed in the gore. The characters were, dare I say, drab to say the least. Even Jack the Ripper wasn't very interesting in this book and that is sad ☹️This book may be for some people but it definitely is not for me.

[baileybrown-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I, Ripper was great fun to read. Hunter does a masterly job of alternating the narrator's story with that of Jack's diary, bringing you inside the heads of the serial killer and the man determined to catch him. Although Jack was known for gruesome murders, Hunter doesn't subject the reader to gratuitous gore and violence. It was entertaining, fast-paced, and steeped in Dickens' London. Jack's identity is revealed at the end and, although it was initially surprising, Hunter tied up the loose threads very nicely. But we know that Jack was never found, so the ending wasn't as satisfying as one would expect. No fault of Hunter's for trying, though.

[jenzbaker · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Have we had enough Jack the Ripper? Good enough, creepy. Reviewed for Booklist.

[jmoncton_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Everyone knows the name Jack the Ripper, and we all know that he murdered poor London prostitutes and was never caught, but what we don't know is what type of person he was, Was he upper class? What made him kill all those women? How did he escape and what happened to him? Stephen Hunter takes us to the dank and foggy streets of Whitechapel where we follow a reporter in search of the story of the day. Through his eyes, we feel the excitement of the chase and the fear that something wild and menacing is threatening the city. In alternating chapters, Hunter then puts us into the mind of Jack the Ripper and we see both sides of a very tense cat and mouse game. Excellent story!