Rating: 
Summary: Sherlock Holmes vs. Jack the Ripper
Review: 'The Whitechapel Horrors' is just one of many that pit the Great Detective against the world's best known serial killer.For this type of book, the questions are: is Sherlock Holmes portrayed in a way consistent with the writings of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle? And does the Jack the Ripper chronology fit the facts? In this book, Edward Hanna does a good job with both. The sad part is that he doesn't do it better. There are no great surprises in this book. The "true" identity of Jack the Ripper (according to this book) is a fairly well-known one, one of the more publicly known theories, which mean that the theory has been expounded many times. Not bad, but not interesting enough to get too excited about.
Rating: 
Summary: Highly Enjoyable!
Review: As both a Holmes and Ripper enthusiast, I felt this book was an almost perfect marriage of fact and fiction, and undeniably the best battle between the Master Sleuth and the Master Psychopath in print. I said "almost perfect," and I must stress the word "almost." Like some other reviewers, I did feel somewhat let down by the ending and lack of resolution. However, by studying the case, I now know that this frustration is nothing compared to the emotions the REAL investigators surely felt when the Whitechapel Horrors simply stopped and nothing was ever heard from Jack the Ripper again. If Mr. Hanna intended to evoke this feeling with his readers, he has succeeded admirably! The suspense is well-maintained, the characters (especially Watson and perhaps the most amiable, verbose Holmes in print), reflective of their times, and the author's research commendable.I love the author's proposed solution as to how the Ripper eluded capture, but I question its practicality.All in all, "The Whitechapel Horrors" is a worthy continuation of Holmes' legacy, and deserves to be read by all interested in Holmes and the Ripper.
Rating: 
Summary: Superb Holmes Pastiche!
Review: Edward B Hanna is right on the mark, from the first chapter I felt transported into Victorian england, who would have thought a Holmes Pastiche could be so good, but I must agree with Ted koppel, this book IS good, very well written, and well researched, my congrats to the author, please write more !!
Rating:
Summary: Pretty good
Review: Edward Hanna has done a nice job of "inserting" Sherlock Holmes into the historical case of Jack the Ripper. There are no real surprises here, but the novel is a nice tale of Holmes's possible involvement with the case. I'm not sure what to make of the novel's style, though. A short introductory chapter "explains" how Watson's notes on the case fell into the hands of someone apparently descended from or otherwise related to Watson's fellow medical practitioner Anstruther; we are to infer, I suppose, that the notes were written up into a novel by Hanna himself. Unfortunately that causes some problems for readers who are looking for an adventure of what Sir Arthur's son Adrian Conan Doyle called "the old vintage." Among other things, Hanna's tale is told in the third person rather than in Watson's voice and from Watson's point of view; Doyle tried this in a couple of stories too, but I've never liked it. And in Hanna's case it means we get all sorts of authorial/editorial commentary on Holmes's state of mind and lots of florid adjectives describing his manner. In general, the narrative voice is not terribly close to what we would have gotten from the good doctor (despite the inclusion among the blurbs of glowing testimonials from such noted Sherlockian scholars as Ted Koppel and Charles Osgood, who seem to think Hanna has somehow channeled the very spirit of Doyle himself). But on the plus side, Hanna's characterizations ring fairly true. His Holmes and Watson mostly talk and act like the canonical Holmes and Watson; Holmes's detective work has the feel of authenticity. And the novel is well plotted, especially given the historical constraints within which the action must take place. So maybe I'm mistaken; perhaps this novel really _is_ assembled from some of Watson's recovered notes. Let the reader be the judge.
Rating:
Summary: Pretty good
Review: Edward Hanna has done a nice job of "inserting" Sherlock Holmes into the historical case of Jack the Ripper. There are no real surprises here, but the novel is a nice tale of Holmes's possible involvement with the case. I'm not sure what to make of the novel's style, though. A short introductory chapter "explains" how Watson's notes on the case fell into the hands of someone apparently descended from or otherwise related to Watson's fellow medical practitioner Anstruther; we are to infer, I suppose, that the notes were written up into a novel by Hanna himself. Unfortunately that causes some problems for readers who are looking for an adventure of what Sir Arthur's son Adrian Conan Doyle called "the old vintage." Among other things, Hanna's tale is told in the third person rather than in Watson's voice and from Watson's point of view; Doyle tried this in a couple of stories too, but I've never liked it. And in Hanna's case it means we get all sorts of authorial/editorial commentary on Holmes's state of mind and lots of florid adjectives describing his manner. In general, the narrative voice is not terribly close to what we would have gotten from the good doctor (despite the inclusion among the blurbs of glowing testimonials from such noted Sherlockian scholars as Ted Koppel and Charles Osgood, who seem to think Hanna has somehow channeled the very spirit of Doyle himself). But on the plus side, Hanna's characterizations ring fairly true. His Holmes and Watson mostly talk and act like the canonical Holmes and Watson; Holmes's detective work has the feel of authenticity. And the novel is well plotted, especially given the historical constraints within which the action must take place. So maybe I'm mistaken; perhaps this novel really _is_ assembled from some of Watson's recovered notes. Let the reader be the judge.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful tale
Review: Excellent weaving of fact and fiction by Mr. Hanna. Has the authentic feel of a Sherlock mystery. Great work!
Rating:
Summary: The Whitechapel horrors
Review: I have read many reviews of books on this sight and have been puzzeled as to weather the reviews were true.W ell believe me when I tell you that this book is THE BEST mock Holmes book EVER. It is written by someone who took, not only the time to reserch Hol;mes and the ripper but . expressed great love for the our Holmes and painted him accurately. This book is worth many reads, as he weaves you throught the gas lite streets of london on those eventful eves mixing both fact and homes lore with aplum. They said 1-5 stars rating truley it should be a 10.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: Needless to say, I read "A Study in Terror" by Ellery Queen and this book at the same time, and it was quite obvious which was better. The Whitechapel Horror is infinitely better. Though a bit confusing because it is in third person, the story itself is remarkable, and the theory is not completely out of the world (Rasputin was the culprit in another book)... what is more, it is historically accurate, and Hanna didn't change everything to make his villain conceivable. And finally, what I liked most about this story, was the Ripper was never discovered. The author doesn't insist that so-and-so is the Ripper, he just leaves it up to your own imagination. You must respect that. He does hint that Holmes knows, but other than that, when you close the book you just sit back and think for a moment. A highly advisable book for any Sherlock Holmes lover, and anyone even remotely interested in Jack the Ripper. Even if you have no interest in one or the other, I can guarentee that you will enjoy this book!
Rating:
Summary: A new spin on a NOT original idea
Review: The Whitechapel Horrors is one of the numerous pastiches involving Sherlock Holmes solving the Jack The Ripper murders. You'd think that it would be a great idea, mixing fact and fiction and winding up with a swell book. The thing is: it's been done too many times already! Never mind the films that have tread this ground (with another script by Brian Helgeland called "Elementary" waiting at Warner Bros.), this is at least the fourth novel covering that idea. Baring-Gould covered it, Ellery Queen covered it, Michael Didbin, in my absolute LEAST favorite Holmes book, covered it...
Don't get me wrong, Mister Hanna is a great writer who provides lots of detail and insight, but the idea has been done to death- so to speak.
Another problem I had with the book: The voice of the writer. This is not written as a first hand narrative of John Watson, and the book suffers because of it. Hanna explains that the book is taken from Watson's notes (essentially making it HIS story) but it's not enough. Many of the Holmes pastiches don't get Watson's "voice" right, but Mister Hanna didn't try.
Great writer, but the book has problems.
Rating:
Summary: A new spin on a NOT original idea
Review: The Whitechapel Horrors is one of the numerous pastiches involving Sherlock Holmes solving the Jack The Ripper murders. You'd think that it would be a great idea, mixing fact and fiction and winding up with a swell book. The thing is: it's been done too many times already! Never mind the films that have tread this ground (with another script by Brian Helgeland called "Elementary" waiting at Warner Bros.), this is at least the fourth novel covering that idea. Baring-Gould covered it, Ellery Queen covered it, Michael Didbin, in my absolute LEAST favorite Holmes book, covered it...
Don't get me wrong, Mister Hanna is a great writer who provides lots of detail and insight, but the idea has been done to death- so to speak.
Another problem I had with the book: The voice of the writer. This is not written as a first hand narrative of John Watson, and the book suffers because of it. Hanna explains that the book is taken from Watson's notes (essentially making it HIS story) but it's not enough. Many of the Holmes pastiches don't get Watson's "voice" right, but Mister Hanna didn't try.
Great writer, but the book has problems.
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