Ripper

The Secret Life of Walter Sickert

By: Patricia Cornwell

Narrated by: Mary Stuart Masterson

From New York Times bestselling author Patricia Cornwell comes Ripper: The Secret Life of Walter Sickert, a comprehensive and intriguing exposé of one of the world's most chilling cases of serial murder - and the police force that failed to solve it.

Vain and charismatic Walter Sickert made a name for himself as a painter in Victorian London. But the ghoulish nature of his art - as well as extensive evidence - points to another name, one that's left its bloody mark on the pages of history: Jack the Ripper. Cornwell has collected never-before-seen archival material - including a rare mortuary photo, personal correspondence and a will with a mysterious autopsy clause - and applied cutting-edge forensic science to open an old crime to new scrutiny.

Incorporating material from Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper - Case Closed, this new edition has been revised and expanded to include eight new chapters.

©2002, 2016 Cornwell Enterprises, Inc. (P)2016 Brilliance Audio, all right reserved.

A great piece of detective work.

Excellent narration. Masterson is wonderful at telling a story. I believe Patricia Cornwell followed the evidence and it led her to Sickert. She had nothing personal to gain from naming him as the Ripper. Be it a dockworker or the royal family she would have followed regardless of where the evidence led. I commend her work and determination.

Detailed history

Great, detailed history of Jack the Ripper and his victims. Cornwell has done her homework! However, the narrator's mellow monotone voice nearly put me to sleep. She paused at awkward moments, as if trying to vocalize "air quotes" and that was a little distracting.

Not mysterious enough for me

Ive read a lot of books about the ripper and I thought I might learn something new but it was not to be. She is a fantastic writer though. I've read lots of her other books and was very impressed.

About as close as you can get!

I love crime history, not a big true crime watcher. I love the history, the compelling arguments, the evidence, etc. Sickest isn't guilty he is a very serious and disturbing Ripper junkie. That would have been possible given his status in society and various skills and attributes he had. Chief among them is his Sociopathy and Psychotic personality. The arguments and facts laid out are so impressive. The narration and timing are excellent too! Didn't want it to end.

Interesting theory & Good Research

The Narrator sounded like AI, it made it hard to engage in the story.

Ignore the detractors...

provocative and compelling, relevant and important work to combat the deniers of science and apologists for sociopaths.

long but interesting

Long but interesting. Got a bit tedious. Was ready for it to finish before it did.

Reading a little robotic. Good book!

Great book but parts were read a tad robotic and appeared to be edited parts.

Interesting Research

I have been a Patricia Cornwell fan for many years. I'm not into true crime stories as a steady diet. What impressed me most about the book was the obvious time and research that the details required. As a high school senior, I had gone to the local newspaper to pull up articles that made it to America about Jack the Ripper for an English project. Cornwell's research made a convincing argument for the identity of Jack the Ripper. I didn't give it 5 stars because of the defensive tone about her critics. I do admire her attempting to bring some truth and facts to the legend.

The author has invested a lot of time doing her research!

Extremely intense drilling down to find out details of the Ripper story. Enjoyable read for such a horrific piece of history. Informative for those of us who are open minded.