Mayhem

By: Sarah Pinborough

Narrated by: Steven Crossley

A new killer is stalking the streets of London’s East End. Though newspapers have dubbed him 'the Torso Killer’, this murderer’s work is overshadowed by the hysteria surrounding Jack the Ripper’s Whitechapel crimes. The victims are women too, but their dismembered bodies, wrapped in rags and tied up with string, are pulled out of the Thames - and the heads are missing….

©2013 Sarah Pinborough (P)2013 W F Howes Ltd

Critic reviews

"Pinborough really knows how to drag the reader into her books." (Simon Kernick, bestselling author of Relentless)

"This is deliciously inventive stuff, delivered with the narrative nous and sense of atmosphere that lifts Mayhem above the raft of many similar novels." ( Crime Time)

Stick with it

Glad I stuck with this one through the slow but necessary setup. Pinborough has added a supernatural twist to the well-travelled trail of the Ripper murders (actually the lesser-known concurrent "Torso Murders" which also took place near and around Whitechapel). She does a nice job of setting us up with a reliable, skeptical witness/protagonist who resists the spooky truth, bringing to mind the best of Bram Stoker and Steven King. Steven Crossley does a fine job narrating.. Good enough to get me to check out the sequel.

Incredible read.

Mayhem is an excellent book. The narrator is excellent very well read with such enthusiasm and respect for the book.Sarah Pinborough is an amazing and excellent writer. You must read this book.

Great characters

I Love Pinborough. Everything she writes is pure magic. Her characters are so imperfect that they are perfect!

A Parallel Ripper

After reading other reviews I approached this book with interest but low expectations. The book began well and grew more interesting the more I listened.

As often as I've read books written set in this time and place I was pleased to find the author set the mood and events with a fresh eye. She skillfully sidesteps a host of clichés. The characters are complex and interesting. The protagonist set with all manner of conflicts. Yes, well done. It is an excellent read/listen. I will listen/read the sequel to this book and other books by this author.

Excellent book

Kept me reading and finished it in one day. Now I have to find out more about crime in London during1880s.