Ripper Hunter: Abberline and the Whitechapel Murders
by M.J. Trow (Pen and Sword, 2012); audiobook read by Terry Wale (Soundings, 2013)
An ambitious attempt to biographize Inspector Frederick Abberline – a prominent figure in Jack the Ripper fiction but about whom, factually, very little is known. In telling the (quite interesting) history of Abberline’s times, Trow contextualises and thence mostly conjectures his life story.
Ripper Street, Series 3
by Richard Warlow (BBC, 2014)
By season three the character arcs have begun to fray from rubbing against the edge of credulity; yet Ripper Street continues also to tell self-contained stories and, through its depiction of Whitechapel society and the articulate discourse between protagonists, retains its appeal.
Ripper Street, Series 2
by Richard Warlow (BBC, 2013)
The BBC has long held a reputation for outstanding period drama, and Ripper Street only enhances this, situating its likeable, flawed characters deep within the Whitechapel of 1890: an exquisite study in grime, crime and iniquity, with bursts of hope and colour.
Whitechapel, Series 1
(ITV, 2009)
Unfortunately, everything about this police drama seems forced: from the premise (a modern-day killer perfectly re-enacting the Ripper murders) to the strained dynamic between lead characters (thirty-nine stab wounds is dismissed as too specific, then coincidental) and even the gritty would-be stylisation.
Ripper Street, Series 1
Richard Warlow (BBC, 2012-2013)
With its focus on character development over contrived plot arcs, grittily realised period crime drama Ripper Street exemplifies the advantage that small-run British series enjoy over their distended American counterparts. Matthew Macfadyen, Jerome Flynn and Adam Rothenberg are compelling in policing Whitechapel.