Brian L Porter,
Award Winning Author

CK2S Kwips and Kritiques

Book Review

Book Title:  A Study In Red (The Secret Journal of Jack the Ripper)

Author Name:  Brian L. Porter

ISBN #:  9781554045273

Publisher Name:  Double Dragon Publishing

Date Released:  January 2008

Genre:  Horror; Historical Fiction; Thriller

Book Format:  print

Rating (See Rating Guide at bottom of form): 4-1/2 Klovers

Web Link (If an eBook, link directly to the book’s page on the Publisher’s site.  No link necessary if print book): 

Story Summary Robert Cavendish is bereft with grief at his father’s recent passing. He was also surprised to learn his father bequeathed Robert a mysterious journal to be read after his death. Read by him and him alone. As he reads the journal, he comes to realize that he holds in his hands the actual rantings and admissions of Jack the Ripper! But that, as they say, is only the beginning. From those pages Robert discovers the answer to old mysteries and atrocities, answers that lead him down a path of horror and insanity. What affect can the secret ravings of a murderer such as Jack the Ripper have on a person? And what connection did Robert’s father have to this secret journal?

Your Opinion

I was immediately struck by the enormous amount of research that went into A Study in Red (The Secret Journal of Jack the Ripper). It brought 18^th century London to life, making the story almost palpable. For over a hundred years, the mystery of Jack the Ripper has been investigated, written about, and discussed, but never like this. I could feel the cobblestones under my feet, hear the horses and carriages and smell the foul air of the London back alleyways.

The journal was an interesting tool, bringing the reader directly into Jack’s world and the insanity inflicting him. Experiencing the journal with Robert was intense as the mysteries unfold page by page. The suspense kept me engrossed well into the late evening hours, just as Robert had… I can feel the goose bumps now.

The identity of Jack the Ripper has been explored, but never in such a deliciously nail biting manner. Although fiction, the possibilities of who Jack really was and where he came from as well as his unfortunate victims felt all too real thanks to the obvious hard work of the author to create this sensational tale.  

Reviewed By:  Terri

Email:  terri@ck2skwipsandkritiques.com

 A Review by G S Houston

A Study in Red (The Secret Journal of Jack the Ripper.) By Brian L. Porter

1888 and London is a grand metropolis of dark alleys and grim tenements, cut off from the sun by thick clouds of smog which also paint the buildings black. It's the screams, so near, so common, that sends the shivers up your spine. Hardly anyone bothers with those screams as they echo through the streets. Night by night the helpless citizens must walk so very fearfully though these streets. They live in this brutal society where even the police are unable to do anything against a foe as illusive as the shadows. Jack the Ripper stalks the streets, his name on everybody's lips. He is the terrible evil that lurks in the shadows, attacking the women of Whitechapel so brutally, so callously, so viciously. Cries of Murder are uttered, drifting on the icy breeze, and everyone knows that he has struck again...

Over a century has passed. With the death of his father Robert receives a mysterious old package from his solicitor, full of letters and the request that they be read in sequence along with an ancient journal. This small pile of aged papers seems so innocuous and yet the weight of the words written within can be felt, if you give pause and wonder where that feeling of dread is coming from. His family have been harbouring a secret, a dark secret, a terrible secret – one that might destroy the very soul of the man who must bear this burden.

Brian L. Porter has approached the writing of a Jack the Ripper novel from a new and exciting angle, dispensing with the most obvious routes, he has found the path less travelled and in doing so has found the breathtaking scenery that makes the story work. He has written a story that has more humanity and depth of feeling than one could ever imagine possible given the subject. He has crafted a tale bound to move even the most stoical of hearts.

A Study in Red is seductive; it pulls you in, it draws you closer, it whispers in your ear. You cannot leave it, you cannot put it down – not until the very end – and by then it is far too late; it has you, mind, body and soul.

--Graeme S. Houston, Publisher: Balderdash International Literary Journal.

ISBN 1-55404-527-4 Paperback, available from late January 2008

ISBN 1-55404-527-X E-book available now from http://www.double-dragon-ebooks.com/single.php?ISBN=1-55404-524-X

A Review by Author Barbara Watkins

American author Barbara Watkins is the latest reader of the book to provide a customer review, the following being the gist of the review which she has submitted to retailer Barnes & Noble for inclusion on their website. She was kind enough to send me a copy of her review in advance of it being published, and this is it:

A Review by US Author, Barbara Watkins

I started reading this afternoon and finished in just a few hours. It was AWESOME! I can't tell you how many times I tried to put it down and could not. There is no reason it should not be on the best sellers list. In my opinion it's worthy of being right along side of Clive Barker and Stephen King.

Not since reading ‘Mister B Gone’ by Clive Barker had I felt such an enthusiasm of excitement with each turn of the page. ‘A Study in Red’ (The Secret Journal of Jack The Ripper) by Brian Porter ranks high at the top of the charts as a phenomenal work of horror and intrigue. Although set as fiction his depiction of the Ripper murders reads all too real. The author transports his reader back in time to 18th century London. Through his articulate choice of words, you will feel the cobblestone beneath your feet, see the deprivation, and smell the stench that engulfed the streets of Whitechapel at that time.

Not unlike the main character of Brian’s novel, the journal will possess your complete attention, and evoke thoughts of terror as you anticipate the final climax. In his novel, the author acknowledges many sources from which he meticulously researched much of his material, further adding great realism to his work. In Brian Porter’s footnotes, he declares ‘A Study in Red’ is a tale, nothing more than fiction, rather than an attempt to throw new light on an old subject. As an avid fan of this new and upcoming author, I can attest he does just that! Brian Porter not only throws a new light on an old subject, he illuminates it!

Barbara Watkins, Author of ‘Behind the Red Door’ and ‘Thorns of an Innocent Soul’.