The Women in the Shadows by Harriet Fox
- Merissa
- Oct 1
- 2 min read
@kerrybarrettwrites
@kerrybean73
London, 1888. A monster prowls the gaslit streets, and the police are looking in all the wrong places, at all the wrong suspects. But three women refuse to stay silent.
Emma, the chief detective’s sharp-witted wife, sees the investigation failing. Maggie, a private investigator, exposes men’s darkest secrets. Bet, a police station cleaner, overhears what others ignore.
Together, they form an alliance to hunt down the killer dubbed Jack the Ripper. But as the women weave through the slums, brothels, and smoke-filled parlours of London’s underworld, they uncover corruption more sinister than they ever imagined.
The city belonged to men – until now.
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4 out of 5 (very good)
THE WOMEN IN THE SHADOWS is a standalone story that focuses on Jack the Ripper's crimes, but told from the perspective of women - some of whom he murdered, some investigating.
Bet, Emma, and Maggie are all different - ages, statuses, and relationships - but they are all connected by the horrendous murders that are happening in Whitechapel. Unhappy with the way the police are referring to the victims and the progress being made, they join forces to investigate it themselves. This leads to some events that seemed almost too funny to be in this book. It was pretty obvious who the killer was, but I enjoyed their thought processes and actions as they arrived at the same conclusion.
Evenly paced, with moments of action interspersed with calm, this was an easy read that I enjoyed. I would also be happy to return to these three ladies, just to see what trouble they could find next. Definitely recommended by me.
** Same worded review will appear elsewhere. **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Harriet Fox is an author and journalist and writes dark and twisty crime novels bringing women's stories out of the shadows of history. Harriet is obsessed with crime fiction, horror films and ghost stories as well as history podcasts and cryptic crosswords.
She also writes historical fiction as Kerry Barrett.
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