Jack the Ripper and the Case for Scotland Yard's Prime Suspect

De: Robert House, Roy Hazelwood - foreword

Narrado por: Joe Barrett

An investigation into the man Scotland Yard thought (but couldn't prove) was Jack the Ripper....

Dozens of theories have attempted to resolve the mystery of the identity of Jack the Ripper, the world's most famous serial killer. Ripperologist Robert House contends that we may have known the answer all along. The head of Scotland Yard's Criminal Investigation Department at the time of the murders thought Aaron Kozminski was guilty, but he lacked the legal proof to convict him. By exploring Kozminski's life, House builds a strong circumstantial case against him, showing not only that he had means, motive, and opportunity, but also that he fit the general profile of a serial killer as defined by the FBI today. This book:

• Is the first to explore the life of Aaron Kozminski, one of Scotland Yard's top suspects in the quest to identify Jack the Ripper
• Combines historical research and contemporary criminal profiling techniques to solve one of the most vexing criminal mysteries of all time
• Draws on a decade of research by the author, including trips to Poland and England to uncover Kozminski's past and details of the case
• Includes a foreword by Roy Hazelwood, a former FBI profiler and pioneer of profiling sexual predators
• Features a PDF containing dozens of photographs and illustrations

Building a thorough and convincing case that completes the work begun by Scotland Yard more than a century ago, this book is essential listening for anyone who wants to know who really committed Jack the Ripper's heinous and unforgettable crimes.

Download the accompanying reference guide.©2011 Robert House (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Interesting.

Would you consider the audio edition of Jack the Ripper and the Case for Scotland Yard's Prime Suspect to be better than the print version?

I would not know. I do not have and didn't read the print version, Silly question Audible.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The narrator. Another idiotic preset question. Which mass murderer do you like best, Audible?

Which character – as performed by Joe Barrett – was your favorite?

Sigh... The intelligence level of Audible's pre-set questions' This is narration about serial killers.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

No

Any additional comments?

Yes, Audible; don't pose inappropriate questions for a book.

YMMV

How many witnesses who saw the victims with a man shortly before their demise used language that could even plausibly be applied to Kosminski? Oh, that's right - none.

A very good book.

This book is well researched and written. It makes sense that the original investigators had a better idea of who the killer was than modern armchair detectives.

A lot of nothing

It’s a lot of info and reports that lead to nothing significant. It’s too much to expect they’d have a ton of insights so long after- especially considering the impact of anti-Semitic sentiment and media during the time. I felt I learned much more about the evolution of modern anti-semitism than about the case, so still valuable.

Excellent book. It's got me convinced

This is a must read for all Jack the Ripper buffs. I'm convinced that it's got the right guy and love how it ends.

Logical and Thorough Examination

Would you listen to Jack the Ripper and the Case for Scotland Yard's Prime Suspect again? Why?

No, one listen through gives plenty of examination to the case and why Kozminski was the real Jack The Ripper.

What other book might you compare Jack the Ripper and the Case for Scotland Yard's Prime Suspect to and why?

The Complete History of Jack The Ripper.

If you could give Jack the Ripper and the Case for Scotland Yard's Prime Suspect a new subtitle, what would it be?

And Why The Case Will Remain Unsolved

Any additional comments?

This book does a very fair examination that Aaron Kozminki was Jack The Ripper, but is also honest enough to demonstrate why the case will never be solved.

Ripper is always fascinating

Would you listen to Jack the Ripper and the Case for Scotland Yard's Prime Suspect again? Why?

I would listen to this book again. I've always been one to keep my mind open to possible suspects in regards to the identity of Jack the Ripper. This book has come the closest to making me believe in the guilt of the proposed suspect, albeit still leaving me with a slight shadow of a doubt. The reasoning is plausible however, as most readers will probably agree, there is a major key aspect that makes the logic just as implausible.

Writing is great. Overall good book.

The narrator was spot-on for almost all of it. At times though the accents he tried to employ we're weak and felt unpolished. otherwise completely solid.

I was very appreciative of the way that the writer frequently pointed out the difference between the evidence and the speculation. As a skeptic I found it reassuring. as a reader it confirms the high quality of research done. I was fairly interested through the whole book and did not get bored.

A restrained and humane account

Robert House presents a restrained and plausible reconstruction of the Whitechapel murders. His candidate for Jack the Ripper is Aaron Kosminski, a Polish Jew who was hospitalized for insanity not long after the Ripper's last and most vicious murder.

The fact that the murders stopped around the same time Kosminski was put away is only one of many suggestive facts House presents. Kosminski was, in fact, on the CID's list of suspects. FBI profilers who have reviewed the case have concluded that the Ripper was a "disorganized lust murderer," a schizophrenic and psychopath; and have also identified Kosminski as the suspect most closely fitting that description.

But House is careful to note that this is a matter of hunches and probabilities rather than certainties. Does he think Kosminski was the killer? Yes. Does he claim that he's proved it, and that the case is closed? No. Mostly what he tries to do in the book is explode some of the myths and mystique that have grown up around the case, and to demonstrate that the Ripper wasn't so much "good" as incredibly lucky.

Joe Barrett's gravelly narration is perfect for the story. One possible pitfall is the variety of English and Irish accents he's called on to provide: I think they sound pretty good, but then again, I'm an American whose main experience of English accents is in other audiobooks. In any case, Barrett gives a consistently interesting performance, maintaining the pace of the narrative despite its legal and psychological complexities.

And now, after a brief foray into the world of Ripperology - I watched two movies on the subject and read a Ripper-inspired novel while I was listening to this - it's time to put this topic back on the shelf. It's a disturbing and haunting subject, the terrain of nightmares and nausea. It's not so much that the women suffered: if the police surgeons were correct, they died very quickly, and what followed was not torture killing but the abuse of a corpse. What's disturbing is contemplating the mind of someone who would want to do that. House is a sane and humane guide, but one trip down this lane is enough for me.

Thoughtful and Well Researched

I found this to be a very well-balanced and thoughtful consideration of the possibility that Aaron Kozminski might have been Jack the Ripper. House is careful not to attempt too much - he can neither prove Kozminski's guilt nor even claim there was a consensus among those at Scotland Yard about the prime suspect - but he makes a good case for not dismissing out of hand the comments of former Assistant Commissioner of the CID, Sir Robert Anderson, or the marginialia of former Chief Inspector Donald Swanson.

The particular strengths of this work lie in 1) its exploration of what Kozminski's schizophrenia might have meant in terms of his behavior and compulsions, and why descriptions of his habits years later should not lead Ripperologists to ignore Kozminki's candidacy as the Ripper; and 2) his consideration of the geography of the murders and how they fit with what we know of Kozminki's whereabouts during the Autumn of Terror. Most of all, I especially appreciated how House put the Ripper killings and Kozminki's life experiences in the larger context of the antisemitism of the time and the particular prejudice against the "sweating" professions such as tailoring. This sheds light not only on House's main argument, but also on other aspects of the murders, such as the actions taken by authorities regarding the Ghoulston Street Graffito.

This is an able analysis of the murders with a fresh perspective and conscientious introductions of new information along the way; whether or not Kozminksi is "your" suspect, I recommend this to all who are interested in the historical period and the mystery itself.