Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

People of Abandoned Character: A dark and addictive historical mystery about Jack the Ripper and his wife
People of Abandoned Character: A dark and addictive historical mystery about Jack the Ripper and his wife
People of Abandoned Character: A dark and addictive historical mystery about Jack the Ripper and his wife
Ebook399 pages6 hours

People of Abandoned Character: A dark and addictive historical mystery about Jack the Ripper and his wife

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

()

Read preview

About this ebook

What if you thought your husband was Jack the Ripper?

London, 1888.
Susannah rushes into marriage to a young and wealthy surgeon. After a passionate honeymoon, she returns home with her new husband wrapped around her little finger. But then everything changes. His behaviour becomes increasingly volatile and violent. He stays out all night, returning home bloodied and full of secrets.

Lonely and frustrated, Susannah starts following the gruesome reports of a spate of murders in Whitechapel. But as the killings continue, her mind takes her down the darkest path imaginable. Every time he stays out late, another victim is found dead. Is it coincidence? Or is her husband the man the papers call Jack the Ripper?

Reviews for People of Abandoned Character:

'A mistreated wife suspects her husband might be the Whitechapel killer... Compelling' Sunday Times
'An astonishing book' M.W. Craven
'A gripping and original take on the world's most notorious serial killer. A perfectly thrilling read for those long winter nights' Adam Hamdy
'This impressive debut builds up pace, pathos and intrigue superbly, with plenty of twists and turns' Woman's Weekly
LanguageEnglish
Release dateOct 1, 2020
ISBN9781838932800
Author

Clare Whitfield

Clare Whitfield was born in 1978 in Morden (at the bottom of the Northern line) in Greater London. After university she worked at a publishing company before going on to hold various positions in buying and marketing. She now lives in Hampshire with her family. Her debut novel, People of Abandoned Character, won the Goldsboro Glass Bell Award and is also published by Head of Zeus.

Related to People of Abandoned Character

Related ebooks

Thrillers For You

View More

Related articles

Reviews for People of Abandoned Character

Rating: 3.842105189473684 out of 5 stars
4/5

19 ratings1 review

What did you think?

Tap to rate

Review must be at least 10 words

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    WOW. Just wow. After ploughing through a slew of three star books, a random recommendation on Instagram completely captivated my imagination! Clare Whitfield's Victorian gothic mystery, based on the murders of Jack the Ripper and with shades of classic 'sensation novels' like The Woman in White, is the story of Susannah Chapman, a nurse who marries a wealthy doctor to escape the poverty and drudgery she was born to. Dr Thomas Lancaster is handsome and charming, and Susannah can't understand why he is interested in her, a plain, thirty year old spinster with a shameful background, but agrees to marry him anyway. When the confidence and authority of her husband's upper middle class position turns to vicious cruelty and abuse soon after she moves in to his Chelsea house, with his Danvers-esque housekeeper Mrs WIggs, Susannah fears that she has escaped the frying pan by jumping into the fire - but what is the dark secret Thomas is keeping from his new wife?The premise of the story is that Susannah believes that Thomas is Jack the Ripper, committing the horrific murders of 'women of abandoned character' in Whitechapel, where Susannah herself was born, but I actually found Susannah's own situation, and that of all Victorian women, to be far more disturbing. She marries Thomas out of vanity and ambition, but when she realises that he is not who she thought he was, she is trapped - her husband 'owns' her, legally and financially, and nobody would take her word over his if she spoke out, which she does try. There is also the very Victorian suggestion that Susannah is merely being 'hysterical' and imagining everything that happens to her at home - is she an unreliable narrator after all? The author had me doubting Susannah and her laudanum-fuelled 'hallucinations' at one point, skilfully unravelling the 'truth' about the characters at a constantly tense pace.Despite not fully being able to trust Susannah, I did sympathise with her and wanted her triumph over her slimy husband and his haughty housekeeper. And despite the historical setting of the story, she is a very resourceful woman. Whereas the revelations about Thomas and Mrs Wiggs didn't surprise me, I was shocked by a secret from Susannah's past - but by that point, I was strangely willing to accept that Thomas wasn't the only one with two sides to his character!I just can't recommend this book enough - the pages will fly, and there is also a lot of interesting historical fact about the women murdered by Jack the Ripper, brought to life far more vividly in this fictional account than Hallie Rubenhold managed in The Five. The memory of the Ripper's last victim, Mary Jane Kelly, is perhaps betrayed for dramatic effect, but I think she met a far worse fate in real life.

Book preview

People of Abandoned Character - Clare Whitfield

" dbook_preview_excerpt.html}]FUЯkɚ&ٽͦd%V7)Df"P4dIw}ؽ5(:GdÚXU@|yԷipwu/῿6Mc߽Wջ*֟xO߿W?󟟿竟󖗭}]mǛwMtSN>!iyۆtMj:_zG|?՛ _4a.o'?38.>j~ rKqt#1Bq|&qucW0MOaߧMMT=}&/ykL~Ʃb_u~c3^8ڢl=M%Fק.LyűïDgʷƉz#?N˵j8)ֲ7l QcH~CAy,1/?v!%,\6&e<~(Rя1,+?sz:]! ҔUlWJN{G)tA~xLj[FQt8ek1r݈޻MVs=w$q TCŞjlELLTY)W(yDG]~wj_S4ɚ!X7y´9Q(f!yNhxI['/n !5&c/-H@{L%Xk1Dn+!NN%1ħ8V'?YV I$Hzy!єgv'UFn/oȂE :q&=iF>vIZJ7`n+UE{y.:qLTWM0:sl {ZQPH~қ,Iz9Z},t@(9e^u''^>wUW"qb!YGc=QYɩT/3@"9]y F'Xž_(T"aFwAwɛJW7Е*;I}"<5Nh%EaQAhNaƘ^ Ü\߻C9i}TБPĽXpVM"kщ6"5XiPz6NjpbYXQW6xz(@yF!P>('QGЋM\\ABQ6:Y LZx3Y f~~4.b\sA"= X\+.1PI"<(!jq;:"Wp;9Ȉ%KFKCy0V1,}'+v˶|oy׳j]Hڤ 1ñ|ܠ,,x*':04ԙ!pmr.gOi =SMbu~7ٱm *xVP߇i|D],끏w$H.8=c'-e]dg b*.6eEJ@+D>VYW]QmOR@}Z\K"/ᵦ]ʖH7(Zz4?>NѤZ_HmH+rDqh] Yc)ZKAŇs53wDU&Ed<04[3!fՕD6խGƖ5`. @8Ў'FҎa\R_m[T͵RQ`΢۴،H_\F,iw~GYK pqXS(B6ej=cQUp <@)*``hL0Ht]Ow ᇳ0y:WY0@ZWbWE%rG."{]i\YwbZ\F =)AJ$%a:`l%Lx}Xw*lw=5|%/7?{BڊG$4FI a֩%W.6@gUr x?!nՈ/hfE2P; 6G)ksu?TXVMzCwB}F8u?Y)&3ImDda复/*'{jͭ%9sp:wR~tJlw\K4XDɴCMM~n6hd҉9oۍ!F|F@^I>M0+zvۖX3"rud``wл>)/)/E2Uq9x_ Ggէ5b#Iʎ' f薗 EV 6Dcgkx4޴]]ɰEY+6κPȪjBWG^z [+~F,x"9yx -ȏD0t[X4F;IR f-RPABO@|OQJX9D“zJY;c '{l2^Gy9a`PNP'l V$hX.k6}d"nB9r$@h XN Op~G?,GV8"H:*C:E8ߠƾLL ˏ'PYXtKa֕(?-4x Zِ[ф3):+u?#z@uuMhUk}u)%1zqɀ+7B."ֺ=Ɯ>.ddgX7ೈ@ ;OhTtEi]&R%U9pѰY,4SP_2&i$*zb6k#;xp`;rhUtlT:@ZJGe'BXH.v yTC0w4HHޫ`VEH1bv"KթX4+-ln0+A~DUh"(G?D~`GWˑP5ʪ ECSI/Q\v3 _Dy+m3T-!bVwvStVضm,TdUVmyy)Q/k;+JjHR',R5Mz v'a$ZBa ob7JC}{"S?(GGH98Ȏ3[Uɵ EG:y4wQωgvh ҩB4-/C,GH:q$+9&,+4=|3V4`19]oQZҞxT.P=c I$TԌ4υk쉰{K*hsX/%,Qe8o߆MwI QWE IQ(SО"L]K' >DkN=wn$\|\sK ԡn <Ri ,آ+Md!zft -W H--}e|(t1󒋗7%7 ʛ ,#3nDYQbltOi3$>E1/JH@e %& k$#!*TX 0xzh(5(O͍玊3>eji'SϺJ}" !?6޶RpS옐k`9G_ę̬<>r}K"M29llu 3 wF}XY@>TZeb|7!'YܶFYN@`dȆʗ8OZ`eNdr58}Y&ox.S|ie qCimܞU3z~oG]'1՛.DrmꈎA@ N|v4-fxElYj9 óV3;!B3}O sD|4B}nkcbnnBk4~̊dXajtn`D{Fr< .?mհkdY9*,sAAYd$wZvR@Y> CuB@`\,($OyjL۴"gH`אdžXAi"O%ExӊX^ >y Єzn9/оe0&ErmDb(Qvg`7D-xcS5E\%OЦ Q>C@vx ]Pڅօ&ˈg<ޱot ps(eFcvAhagT9. fRu w'D ߷nӃ?pcnYIs F4a(NU4cpغB/"|?FWQT㘽TaPvZzv10Gع`Egd5uۘ$ 4pimy5Osj^& "]` /PՄ9:LdO~:Ec*%2+l]m"0"[Uv\ـd0 Q*˳ vN^;FbG^46)F@~]}si$J=[W̺R%S]zri\PU=vԙ|r.+osw ֶB6~QֶٔbжsF:u>Ha9M!X{VBrx xf9Yi \+U8' kA[ܭC P"^nLʺŘVbZCSn42=ú4VNk &nȩ0V:A1.E&B@IxGFI V55ї_09?^A&8-E0)@K̎h/ӳ\>ùWGZ @c1彚VN:ur *n\v2rac`i!sr Z`W¼o60f]0E7g"[FR90-#^;V\- o$ml~]#@) ~㴆(ٶKweV9ݖ6LՑ% ] >)S*ƽt JvfKi/dnUaJ CR7ՇU1K{R~#R|Nz ) QzSnp'Ge\r`c֐jG;;''W-5S 29tlp-%q6C3cf=jP*&u ڌjDͬW9~NW*qE2k`;h\C"eZ6÷ѭA?Dc1B= P`* n(W#[I*L=zb&J1!@j(`CrʳāKa~/P&k*T1꺐2cJ1-[{"?qMrkbH1m_娉ճR9nyiw wz }% c(/@s R ]ʕK`TÚ$VR@e3uvGcON[.N]m֕`TFmUkB]925`r uê<(OALru8j#x%0wTLqeu@yvK8K }>RDWFRP%6ʖkk jlMK2%-HO(%I 3A%)HM[z{nZ. ˙xPI>)),iLߊ9f ]h=r`1Jv[K5ܔclfC ZxQƌ*zEPfb32 J2.ȖfX蛳0|ShH2W1 dE O4qUB^{-/Xx:+ViG RHaTbo:u1Gpgk}CC"|`|w^2%9->7Xuč vv24?]ؖypڬe|WJکrvrRm%k=5.)n9}wpԜA2ڐ>Bƀyj5xCG1f ƨW主R3Y~6E׽(7|SWnY/L.sDڥ69 ƕ8#BWR,"ۖt1B^XXl( 9E}=){$أ>KX0" e@,Ӛe/LmhA'qpu%zN8{WZOǠG y2gXZ1J@r+p{-Tyb'VrJxg$/Ix}P,sPWɺ[4h}xKqL]obRI@>? 8偑ڋemm|B>&VA? (=Sn78Ṟ2Ax_"T*YAI4ZDYFi@; ~5´K' 4#*za#SI$?:Tg!6Ӟ20uz<#6(ǼP=n|FUfZ4 ^ +=S\:bg,%N,su;~,`GI'cti  &k7ɗ¿yX7e{LLE݁KkNhj!p7ښjm%A:B/5⹴AѺ_5o\Okxcuk+)zŊ@an#$v|ˑVW,&͝?1R_5A'OZqR x_jJ\N?֥~Pv4hZ^hҵd fcx$s~S҅djڏs;Nmv9my/.MWKUsg=m})veCܷX;ZAϘ'c?&,Xb AfJQJ ^ܝdz3-fp$Qi\׆{p6 7fj7!j397+Et6aBÔ]B`Vg]e틞_r7w ~j];hn1bMc@QUx{% )%9]PB%0Eڜ ZWR9,dxe~p, v9ʅI?f0ޔ q(e=•bPI;PEND_*r_.qRL5^ mWU*,KUUoW+ ajPpIL+%>gq" VD;n`X,,UKKwU]V3K.eurZZ"đԻRLW ǼV$Ń3cªlmMQ8ki9 nuM[sdWV^LfwcQ&kv85ՁXbt77͡͡Km6w ffRJg˪ ovg D2eWk6 hEq`D.+<^2sejiZIjKn 9# ;XlON$ dr |}ע\"*1Bޔ+^Vבi!VǡS)Gga V Ɩh{ޯہ \U_CT݈UkvYcyrp)wYlfD3d\Xz{5UR̤n-!FK0rf,Kezn/CU^j'vKHv;)!d2 Ce7tк NHȦߞW=Ig<\_"Ip&y۴ .N;D ^Esoݾr.6^bI%p)ik&,9v I."F&f=u;w {RR8ԔHǯO=cۅ>9(|h:܇[\> =zqdQ}_vy^y)=v*%^%6#z$"?|+tombHw;7;)_#-nD='o~`\N?.8,d=CLv\k"p5djBkt/&6U59VX#`J獜GZ ;g{Lk^\ Q)wy_lhϮ+S 6ivtaV:nZYE-
Enjoying the preview?
Page 1 of 1