[3.75 stars]

I’m not going to lie. This book took me ages to finish, and I had to restart at least once because I could not – for the life of me – remember who everyone was. By the time the story picked up, though, I got into it very fast. The intrigue, the theories, the murders, the side-plots, … everything drew me in. This has much to do with Helen Johns narration. If not for her and her many ways of portraying each character I probably would have given up on the book for good. But I’m glad I didn’t because while it was historically inaccurate, the authors used one of the more credible and plausible theories as a backbone which made for an entertaining listen/read.

Something I thoroughly enjoyed was the way the authors (I only learned after finishing that the pen name Robin Paige is used by a 2 people; a husband and wife) included actual historical figures in the story. It also shows how people at that time might’ve experienced the scandals in real time and a bit later. It was also interesting to see and learn about the political and social climate of that time.

To people interested in this book: I recommend it very much if you like historical murder mysteries, Jack the Ripper, female protagonists, etc. but I do warn you about the very slow start of the story. So don’t give up because it does get better after a while and is totally worth the read. Especially the audiobook i recommend, because Helen Johns does an incredible job narrating.

Thank you Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for an audiobook arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A gripping story tinged with history and mystery!

As I'm passionate about this period, I was totally won over by the plot and the characters.

On the other hand, as a French speaker, I sometimes found the reading a little difficult.

Thank you for this wonderful discovery!

This was tough for me to get into as an audiobook. There was almost too much set up prior to the catalyst so I was never gripped and did not feel the desire to continue

This was an entertaining and suspenseful mystery that kept me guessing the whole way through! I will be going back to read the other books in the series now, I am hooked

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* I would love to read more of this series! i think this is the second book i have read from this series and its a great cozy, historical mystery

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this audio book.

Didn't realize this was part of a series but you don't necessarily need to read the previous ones ahead of time. I enjoyed the historical figures, and the unexpected twist on Jack the Ripper. I'd be interested in reading more of this series in the future. The narrator was good as well.

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the audio version. This was such a wonderful book! A great murder mystery novel with historical figures in it. If you are into any Jack the Ripper history you might want to check this out. I found out this is part of a series so I can't wait to read more from this author. The author makes you feel like you are reading an old time novel. I loved the characters and there were no sexual scenes, cussing etc.

Interesting read with a lot of twists, the characters were well described. Sometimes the story was a bit long.

This is the second or third time I’ve tried this series and it’s just not for me. The winking at the camera is kind of fun, but I don’t like how real people are depicted. It feels cheap to shoehorn real people into this mystery narrative. The characters are fine but the Victorian period trappings are at time forced charming and at time unbelievably bleak.

Death At Whitechapel by Victorian mystery author Robin Paige has a really wild premise that was so much fun to hear.

Though the 6th book in the series of sleuthing in love couple, American writer Kathryn and her English gentleman husband Charles, it was easy to settle in to this late 19th century mystery. Jennie Churchill, mother of future prime minister Winston Churchill, is being blackmailed by someone claiming her deceased husband and Winston's father was the infamous Jack The Ripper!

Narrator Helen Johns was everything I want from a British mystery with her prim and proper dialect to her tough broad American accented Kathryn. I already ordered the first book in the series.

I received a free copy of this audiobook from Dreamscape Media via #NetGalley for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

I'll be the first to admit that I have a love for the macabre, specifically serial killers and Jack the Ripper makes me wonder over and over who is it, how no one figured it out, and why did he do it.

Robin Paige has taken a story that everyone has at least heard of and written a new story, one that starts not at the beginning but after the fact and puts all of the pieces of the puzzle in place.

With surgical precision, we watch our characters try and figure out if there's anything to the blackmail, who really knows what, and how they go forward with what they know now.

Our Narrator Helen Johns does a wonderful job adding tension and depth to certain situations and mystery and intrigue to others.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this audiobook. I have voluntarily listened to it and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Setting the Scene: It has been some ten years since the shocking murders by Jack the Ripper, but they are the basis of a scandal threatening Jennie Jerome Churchill, and by association, her son Winston Churchill. Not knowing to whom she can turn, Jennie calls upon Charles and Kathryn Ardleigh for assistance.

What I Thought: This book was first released in 2000, and it is no less entertaining today. Set in late 19th and turn of the 20th century London, Charles' and Kathryn manage to fit into society while living very progressive lives. As an American, Kathryn was not raised with the restrictions of British society, and though she is able to hold her own in any setting, she is her own woman. She carries on business and has her own property and money. Charles, a true gentleman and Brit, admires and respects his wife, who reciprocates where his interest in the burgeoning field of forensics is concerned. In fact, Charles' knowledge of photography is key to the resolution of the scandal plaguing Jennie Churchill, and may be the earliest form of a superimposing picture. The couple and the historic characters and events that are portrayed in this book, and others in the series, make for a captivating and engaging read.

The narrator did an excellent job.

A fun read, though the writing style is a bit stilted. Robin Paige goes does some rather niche conspiracies in this story, straying away from the widely acknowledged theories. For Jack the Ripper fans, this book is a bit frustrating as we one from one theory to the next, leaving plots dangling, unanswered in our wake. At times I could almost feel the voice actor sigh with boredom or roll their eyes.

Thank you to netgalley for the audio arc for this book in exhange for an honest review.

I was so excited for a Victorian murder mystery with a Jack the Ripper tie in but this story felt more like it was a Winston Churchill fanfic and I didn't like that aspect.
That aside the story was interesting.

The narrator was great with a breathy quality that seems to fit Victorian anything.

This was such an interesting cosy mystery. I loved this take on Jack the Ripper mixed with Churchill's family, seeing multiple historically significant figures being put together was so unique and a fun spin on the usual telling of the Jack the Ripper murders. I found the mystery and characters to be really well written, although it started slow once the story got going I was hooked, Overall a fun historical fiction.

Jack the Ripper?!!

I loooove me a Victorian historical novel! But this interesting read took me a while to get in to it. It felt very wordy to me until about 20% in. Then things finally got compelling for me! The Jack the Ripper lore was really cool. Love how it all came out 10 years after the brutality took place. Also really enjoyed other historically significant characters, namely Winston. During the book I found myself stopping to google what is actually known about the Jack the Ripper case. I love how it is based on history, but a liberal hand was used in the storytelling through the glass of 10 years post murders.

The narrator on the audiobook version was great!

4 stars because it took some time to hook me in to the story.

I thought this would entail more mystery, but it was mostly Winston Churchill fanfic. Not just that, but glorifying him as well. I understand this book was written in ~2000, but given his general bigotry and racism it feels wrong and distasteful to write a book where the premise is to clear his good name.

Death in Whitechapel is a pretty fascinating thriller that plays with history. It’s one of the possible solutions to a hitherto unsolved crime. True, this solution is very utopian, but it is still a solution.

The story begins with blackmail, where the blackmailer claims, that they have evidence that Churchill's father is the infamous Jack the Ripper, but it soon turns out that the evidence is fake, while thanks to this discovery, there are also clues to where to start looking for the truth, and it soon turns out that there could be something much more serious behind these brutal murders than a crazed doctor or a jealous client or …. This explanation even seems quite plausible, to some extent, but the truth remains unknown.

But in addition to the criminal side, there is also a description of the life of the Churchills. This all happens before the name becomes all known, it is before Churchill entered politics, here he is still a soldier and an author, but he has dreams that his mother tries to keep alive. In addition, you will also learn how the British viewed rich women from America. And if they still find young lovers when their husbands are dead, the attitude towards them changes even more.

Thrilling read.

4 1/2 out of 5 stars



Thank you to Dreamscape Media and Netgalley for allowing me to listen to an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I have been interested in Jack the Ripper for as long as I can remember. I always found the case to be fascinating and the theories even moreso. This has some really interesting theories. I have never read a Kathryn Ardleigh mystery before but I really enjoyed this and will pick up more in the future. I also enjoyed the way actual people in history were used in this. We had Winston Churchhill and his Mother Jennie.

Let’s toss another cozy book on the READ shelf!

Death at Whitechapel is the 6th book in the Kathryn Ardleigh series. In this novel, we find the husband and wife team of Kathryn and Sir Charles coming to the aid of Winston Churchill’s mother, Lady Randolph. We also get some Jack the Ripper theories and a storyline that rides the line of being labeled as a crazy conspiracy theory. That is NOT a complaint, and I am not mad at it at all. It’s presented in a way that could be completely plausible for the time.

The main characters of Kathryn and Sir Charles make a dynamic crime fighting duo. The other minor characters were also well written. However, I will say that it did get slightly complicated to tell them apart towards the second half of the book. This, however, may also be due to the slightly muddled storyline as the climax wrapped up, my only real issue with this book.

I experienced this book via audiobook. It was my first time reading any book in this series, my first time reading any book by Robin Paige, the pen name of husband and wife authors Bill and Susan Wittig Albert, and it was also my first time listening to a Helen Johns’ narration.

Normally, I am a stickler for reading books in order, but, if this book is similar to the other novels, the mysteries are wrapped up by the end with no cliffhangers or lingering storylines. Other than witnessing the development of Kathryn and Charles’ relationship, I honestly don’t feel like anyone would miss out on much by skipping the first five books.

Will I read the first five books though? Probably not. I am keen on listening to Helen Johns narrate more audiobooks though.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for providing me the opportunity to listen to this audiobook.

This review will post on Instagram today.