Pre-Owned Portrait of a Killer

from LeaderElliott

It is unnecessary to add to the compelling arguments against Patricia Cornwell's thesis that the 19th century English murderer, Jack the Ripper, was in fact the celebrated early modern painter, Walter Richard Sickert. If you have the stomach for the repellent detail of the Ripper murders and muti...

from Dajedarh

I found this book very hard work to finish. While Patricia Cornwell seems to make a convincing case against her suspect, the assumptions and leaps of faith she makes weaken her argument considerably. The book may have started as a serious attempt to solve the mystery but seems to have ended up as...

from Johnny1978

'Complete tosh' is the phrase that leaps to mind. Cornwell does her reputation no favours by publishing this text. The case against Sickert is circumstantial and not terribly convincing. Her absolute conviction that she's identified the ripper reveals her arrogance and her rather shocking ignoran...

from jewelryladypam

Jack The Ripper has always fascinated me, so I was eager to read this one. I was so disappointed, however, that I only got halfway through before I decided to call it quits. Reading this book was like slow and painful torture. Cornwell goes off on such lengthy tangents that I had a hard time keep...

from marcLeroux84

I anxiously awaited this book: the idea of a forensic specialist looking at the Ripper case was appealing. I cannot express how disapointed I was with this. The only reason I give it 1/2 stars is because I labeled it as fiction. No sources are cited, accusations made without substantiation, concl...