Review: Ripper

Ripper by Amy Carol Reeves

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



It’s 1888 in London. Arabella Sharp, having recently lost her Mother and only parent, has moved in with her Grandmother and only living relative. Abbey’s grandmother is concerned about her impulsive nature so she sends her to work at Whitechapel Hospital, which is run by an old family friend. While working at Whitechapel Hospital, Abbey discovers a love and aptitude for medicine…she also loves working with the patients. But when patients start dying shortly after their release from the hospital, everyone starts to wonder if Jack The Ripper maybe an employee. Abbey’s impulsive and curious nature lands her right in the middle of the investigation…but will she just be another victim of the Ripper?

GREAT story! I love books that take historical events and create stories around them. And this one is a thrill-a-minute. Abbey tends to rush headlong into the fray first and ask questions later. This is how she ends up being “punished” by being sent to Whitechapel Hospital. It’s Grandmother’s hope that if Abbey sees how the women (poor, indigent, prostitutes) at Whitechapel are, maybe Abbey won’t be quite so impetuous. Well frankly I think it would have been easier for Grandmother to change a leopard’s spots!

Abbey is so bright and inquisitive…she is immediately treated as though she belongs and is given full access to all parts of the hospital. It is her nature to nurture and help out where ever possible, and that is why everyone seems to fall for her…including very handsome doctors! One comes off as gruff and arrogant…the other comes from a family like Abbey’s and is the epitome of propriety. The two doctors are like gasoline and a match and Abbey is just the friction needed to set off the explosion.

Then a third guys comes on the scene…a nephew to Dr. Bartlett…this is when life gets interesting. Max is mysterious and there is something wild about him. He appears, sometimes seemingly out of thin air to taunt Abbey and disappears just as mysteriously.

The writing is fast paced, this was a roller coaster ride…Abbey grabs hold and goes at break-neck speed all the way to the end and it’s a ride you need a little time to recover from…my favorite kind of read! I thought, going into chapter 5 that I could predict what was going to happen…I wasn’t even in the same ballpark! The identity of the Ripper didn’t surprise me as much as other things. Great twists and turns that I really didn’t see coming until it was too late! I can’t wait to get a copy to a friend who loves anything “Jack the Ripper” related…she’ll love this!




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