A Study in Red - The Secret Journal of Jack the Ripper Double Dragon E-Books Amazon Category:  Action/Thriller Publisher: Double Dragon Publishing Pages: 244 Copyright: January 2008 ISBN-13: 9781554045242 Available in paperback and in e-book with an audio book version coming soon. A dark psychological thriller, 'A Study in Red' follows psychiatrist Robert Cavendish as he explores the eerily warm pages of the journal of the famed serial killer, Jack the Ripper. The pages hold a secret that Robert must discover before his own life, and sanity become intertwined with those of the Ripper and his victims. A Recommended Read by CK2S Kwips and Kritiques, (see their review below)and winner of The Authors Lounge Best Cover Illustration Award, May 2008. Available in both paperback and e-book versions 'A Study in Red' is a dark psychological thriller. Following the death of his father, Robert Cavendish is bequethed a set of papers and a strange age-yellowed journal. As he unpacks and begins to read the papers he is astounded to discover that he is holding the journal of the infamous Whitechapel Murderer who stalked the streets of the East End of London in the autumn of 1888. The pages are warm to the touch, and a force of great malevolence seems to guide Robert's journey through the mists of time as he is transported by the words upon the pages into the mind, and the world of Jack the Ripper.His mind begins to feel the pull of another time, another place,as images of the Ripper's crimes fill his thougts and Robert is beset by waking nightmares of such sadistic and terrible bloodletting that he begins to doubt his sanity.As he delves further and further into the demented world of the killer robert begiuns to sense that his family has beenhiding a terrible secret for over a century, a secret that he knows will only be revealed when he completes the task of reading 'The Secret Journal of Jack the Ripper'.

A Study in Red
1888 and London is a grand metropolis of dark alleys and grim tenements, cut off from the sun by thick clouds of smog which also paint the buildings black. It's the screams, so near, so common, that sends the shivers up your spine. Hardly anyone bothers with those screams as they echo through the streets. Night by night the helpless citizens must walk so very fearfully through these streets. They live in this brutal society where eventhe police are unable to do anything against a foe as elusive as the shadows. Jack the Ripper stalks the streets, his name on everyone's lips. He is the terrible evil that lurks in the shadows, attacking the women of Whitechapel so brutally, so callously, so viciously. Cries of 'Murder' are uttered, drifitng on the icy breeze, and everyone knows that he has struck again.

Over a century has passed. With the death of his father Robert receives a mysterious old package from his solicitor, full of letteres and ther equest that they be read in sequence along with an ancient journal. This small pile of aged papers seems so innocuous and yet the weight of the words written within can be felt, if you give pause and wonder where that feeeling of drread is coming from. His family have been harbouring a secret, a dark secret, a terrible secret-one that might destroy the very soul of the man who must bear this burden.

Brian L Porter has approached the writing of a Jack the Ripper novel from a new and exciting angle, dispensing with the most obvious routes, he has found the path less travelled and in doing so he has found the breathtaking scenery that makes the story work. He has writtena story that has more humanity and depth of feeling than one could ever imagine given the subject. He has crafted a tale bound to move even the most stoical of hearts.

A Study in Red is seductive, it pulls you in, it draws you closer, it whispers in your ear. You cannot leave it, you cannot put it down - not until the very end - and by then it is far too late, it has you, mind, body and soul.

--Graeme S Houston, Publisher: Balerdash International Literary Journal

A Study in Red - The Secret Journal of Jack the Ripper
Robert Cavendish is bereft with grief at his father's recent passing. He was also surprised to learn his father bequeathed Robert a mysterious journal to be read after his death. Read by him, and him alone. AS he reads the journal, he comes to realize that he holds in his hands the actual rantings and admissions of Jack the Ripper! But that, as they say, is only the beginning. From those pages Robert discovers the answer to old mysteries and atrocities, answers that lead him down a path of horror and insanity. What affect can the secret ravings of a murderer such as Jack the Ripper have on a person? And what connection did Robert's father have to this secret journal?
I was immediately struck by the enormous amount of research that went into A Study in Red (The Secret Journal of Jack the Ripper). It brought 19th century London to life, making the story almost palpable. For over a hundred years, the mystery of Jack the Ripper has been investigated, written about, and discussed, but never like this. I could feel the cobblestones under my feet, hear the horses and carriages and smell the foul air of the London back alleyways.

The journal was an interesting tool, bringing the reader directly into Jack's world and the insanity inflicting him. Experiencing the journal with Robert was intense as teh mysteries unfold page by page. The suspense kept me engrossed well into the late evening hours, just as Robert had... I can feel the goosebumps now.

The identity of Jack the Ripper has been explored, but never in such a deliciously nail biting manner. although fiction, the possibilities of who Jack really was and where he came from as well as his unfortunate victims felt all too real thanks tot he obvious hard work of the author to create this sensational tale.

Terri
CK2S Kwips and Kritiques