bookswithbrynn's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative reflective sad fast-paced

4.0

beckylbrydon's review

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challenging dark informative sad slow-paced

4.5

iheartpuns's review against another edition

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medium-paced

4.5

chammar's review against another edition

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dark reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

vickycj's review against another edition

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informative inspiring medium-paced

5.0

jess_mango's review against another edition

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4.0

I have a true appreciation for the author's research and her delivery of the topic. There are 5 portions of this book each covering one of the five women killed by Jack the Ripper. The book says little or nothing about Jack the Ripper but instead focuses on his victims and the general assumption by the media that they were all prostitutes. Take home message: life for lower class women was difficult in Victorian London especially if they didn't have a husband or a home.

lorraineaf's review against another edition

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informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

this story at its bare bones is a narration of the canonical 5 victims of jack the ripper: Polly, Annie, Elizabeth, Catherine, and Mary Jane but to me I took a lot more from this. 

hallie rubenhold does a fantastic job of going through each of the women’s lives and citing her sources without it getting boring. you know and understand the assumptions she makes based on information she is using and tells you where she got the information from. 

even more, this book talks about how women are villainized even when they are the victims. how in order to sensationalize or uplift the literal serial killer journalists and historical narrative lumps all the victims into one category and shifts the blame onto them to make them feel nameless or just a part of a number. human beings dying is never just a number, each person had a family, hopes, dreams, and people who cared about them: no matter what media or those in power to control the narrative try to say.

hanna_konneback's review against another edition

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informative sad medium-paced

3.75

shannondanter's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective fast-paced

4.0

juliealmeida's review against another edition

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5.0

I thought I knew all there was to know about the murders never realizing how much the victims lives had been depreciated.

I’m glad this book exists and that is focuses on these women’s lives and not their death. The way they are remembered due to their murder is definitely unjust. I also love the small glimpse of what life looked like for the people who were struggling to get by in that era. I highly recommend this book.