An interesting topic for a first novel as Jack the Ripper is seemingly never far from our collective consciousness. I enjoyed the historical details about nursing and LGBTQ+, and thought the book was well written. However, I had hoped for more insight in to how it may feel to think you are the wife of a serial killer, and the secret society explanation didn't work for me.
Thank you to netgalley and head of Zeus for a copy of this book

The story of Jack the Ripper is a gift that keeps on giving for crime fiction. There is a long list of Ripper-based fiction and investigation and involvement of famous authors going back to Arthur Conan Doyle and including, recently, the likes of Alan Moore and Patricia Cornwall. So it may seem like a fraught or at least overdone world to plunge into but in her debut People of Abandoned Character, Claire Whitfield does so and with some interesting results.
Susannah Chapman moves back to London from Reading after her grandmother dies intent on becoming a nurse. But before long she is married to a charismatic young doctor, fired from her position (because she is married) and on a very different trajectory. It is only days after a whirlwind and exciting honeymoon that Susannah discovers the darker side to her husband and begins to wonder whether she has not made a terrible mistake. And soon after that the Ripper murders start and Susannah starts to suspect that her husband may be involved.
While People of Abandoned Character takes place over the time of the Ripper murders and on the extremely mean streets of Whitechapel, it is best to call it Ripper-adjacent. Whitfield is really telling a story of an abusive relationship, one that involves violence, both verbal and physical, gaslighting and drug use. The setting and context allow her to heighten the tension in that relationship. That is, asking the question, what if your husband was not only abusive but also potentially a violent serial killer. The media obsession with the Ripper-murders, which Susannah (and many others at the time) picks up on, only heightens this feeling. That said, the Ripper murders do become relevant as the plot heats up.
This is a slow burn gothic thriller. In order the create tension, Whitfield doles out details slowly and Susannah, like a frog in a pot of slowly boiling water, takes time to notice the danger that she is in. But Whitfield keeps the reader’s interest by dolling out information about Susannah’s history and her time as a nurse, which itself contains skeletons that come back to haunt her.
People of Abandoned Character takes a well worn story and uses it to good effect. Claire Whitfield delivers an atmospheric and at times genuinely frightening gothic thriller, peopled by a cast of fairly despicable, amoral characters. But putting a believable toxic relationship at the heart grounds the action and leads readers naturally to the more violent and outlandish ending.

When Susannah, at the age of 30, marries a young, handsome doctor, she thinks that life will be easier for her now. However, her husband is not who she thinks and Susannah has a dark past she is desperate to keep hidden.

The story follows Susannah through her troubled marriage as she comes to the realisation that her husband may be responsible for the gruesome murders being attributed to Jack the Ripper.

It explores the seedy side of Victorian London and the desperate lengths many people, especially women, had to go to in order to survive. What is apparent too, is how little freedom women had to make their own choices and how completely dependent on men they were.

The twists and turns kept me guessing right up to the end. I like that Susannah was also a flawed character but I wasn’t quite prepared for how flawed (or perhaps just desperate) she really was. A great thriller, but be prepared for some gruesome, graphic details.

I adored the last 35% of People of Abandoned Character by Clare Whitfield. I suspect others adore the first 65%. It wasn’t bad, just not for me.

So why did I choose People of Abandoned Character? The premise. It’s a story of a woman who suspects her husband is Jack the Ripper. It totally pulled me in, but from receiving the book via Net Galley and starting to read, I had forgotten about the core premise (or maybe the premise that appealed to me). So I got about 50 pages in and had to re-read the blurb to remind myself why I chose to read it. Being fair, Clare delivers the premise, but precedes it with a lot of backstory. A very lot of backstory. We learn the wife’s childhood story and what caused her insecurities. It would be good if I liked the wife, Susannah. And some backstory was padding for character development and added nothing. Towards the end you learn how many LGBTIQ+ characters are in the story, but Susannah’s previous relationship with a nurse could have been left out; however I hope she settled down with Maude.

The extraordinary volume of backstory did make the end more enjoyable, indirectly. I started skim reading, which got me in a perfect reading pace for the action at the end. So much happens with a twist I never imagined and an ending that would make an excellent beginning. Seriously, Susannah becomes much more interesting later. I want a book of that. Sorry, I can’t say what <I>that</I> is, but it involves a Jack the Ripper theory I have never heard before and it’s creative, and possible and absolutely brilliant. And doesn’t involve Susannah’s insecurity.

It’s books like this why I avoid the women’s literature genre. I just don’t care for the characters. But if that is your cup of tea, read People of Abandoned Character. If you want to hear a most amazing Jack the Ripper theory, borrow this from the library and skip to the end.

The premise of this one sounded amazing - Victorian setting, murders, what could be better? I think this was strongly written and plotted for the most part - the few chapters at the end I found to be a bit of a letdown. They felt rushed, and not really in keeping with the rest of the novel. I also felt that the character of Dr Shivershev was a bit of an enigma (SPOILER!) - at one point the author seemed to be making out he was the killer and then nothing more was mentioned about that. I also wasn't a fan of the idea of the mysterious secret society - it felt like a bit of a cop out ending to me.

A different story than most. Liked the historical view point and the story’s angle. Characters were varied and interesting. Kept me guessing right until the end.

I really enjoyed this book all the way through. It had a really good plot, great main characters and really keeps you hooked on the plot. I would highly recommend this book.

Really enjoyed this book. Well written, intriguing mystery and a good twist. All I could look for.

Thanks a lot to the publisher and NG for this copy.

A superbly written book offering a really interesting twist on a long standing mystery. I will definitely be looking out for more from this author,

A Great new take on Jack the Ripper. I loved this story and it is well worth the read.

Thank you to net galley and the publishers for sending me this book!

People of Abandoned Character is a historical fiction novel set in London during the late 1800s. We follow Susannah Chapman, who has recently married the wealthy young Dr. Lancaster. Initially, their relationship seems great. But soon after their honeymoon, he started to become increasingly more violent towards her. When the newspapers begin to report that women are being murdered in Whitechapel, Susannah suspects her new husband may be the man they call "Jack the Ripper."

This book isn't the kind I would usually gravitate towards, but the plot interested me, and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it.

It's told from Susannah's perspective (first-person) which means you see events unfold from her perspective. I loved how the writing made me feel as if I'd been transported into Victorian London. The story felt unique and not like anything I'd read before, and there were a few parts where it went in a direction I wasn't expecting. Would recommend!

CW: violence, domestic abuse, medical trauma, miscarriage

For a first book this read reveals a fabulous talent and a bright future for this author.

The book starts in a pretty straightforward fashion with the main character of Susannah Chapman with a few side stories that add to the body of the read. It's the year of 1885 where after the funeral of her grandmother with bags already packed Susannah heads for London. Even though she has a small inheritance from her grandmother's estate she knows it won't be enough to live on, so the cottage is rented out and she's off on the train to become a nurse at 27.

Up until this time, brought up by her grandparents after the death of her mother, Susannah has lived a religiously controlled life. A strict unyielding grandmother was softened by a gentle fun loving grandfather but with his death and her grandmother ageing Susannah had become the carer with no freedom and never any chance to have any friends or companions. She has developed into a fairly plain young woman, has no idea of fashion and hair styles but this doesn't seem to worry her, however with her restricted life she is a poor communicator in so much as she is unable to recognise some of the subtle nuances of conversation and after being at the beck and call of her grandmother she has now become rather compliant. Her mother's predicament of being an unmarried mother led to them living in one of the most dangerous areas of London. Fortunately, with her situation changing while still a child, Susannah and the scars of her early life while still remembered and even with her experiencing a recurring nightmare appear not to have impacted on her a great deal. However, the author subtly gives Susannah a purposeful deviousness of intent that puts a slant onto her personality.

While studying she makes her first friend Aisling. Aisling is everything that Susannah is not, she is strong willed, self confident and doesn't worry about what people think of her. This brings about a change in Susannah and she begins to become a little more confident amongst her work colleagues until there is a terrible event at the hospital which has a further effect on her.

Dr Thomas Lancaster, a surgeon at the London hospital incongruously to Susannah makes subtle advances to her and in order to really get her attention creates a bizarre situation to become a hospital patient with her treating him. Eventually he wins her over and they marry. For the first time she feels loved. Initially, all goes as one would expect from newly marrieds and with Susannah coming to terms with living in a luxurious house with servants. The only real obstacle is the dreaded housekeeper, Mrs Wiggs who is now the controlling influence over both of them.

Her husband introduces her to Laudanum drops as a relaxer, however it's only a short time before she realises that his change of behaviour is due to an opium addiction. Things start to go badly and he is cruel to her but her life now in comparative luxury is hard to give up. She wonders why she has never been introduced to her in laws at Abingdon Hall, the family home until she discovers that with her low upbringing this will never happen and that her sister in law is in charge of the family finances which adds to her husband's belligerent state of mind. Along with Mrs Wiggs' obvious dislike for her out of desperation she seeks advice from another physician who suggests she gets an interest and to reduce her own Laudanum intake which is also having a detrimental effect on her mental well being. This young woman had been an unpaid servant to her grandmother for years until becoming a nurse, having married and inheriting servants she now has nothing to do. Susannah does take up an interest for it's the era of Jack the Ripper murders around the dreaded area of her early life. She becomes obsessed with these murders and collects and hoards newspaper clippings that give detailed descriptions of each murder.

From here on the suspense increases. The continued horrific murders are reported in detail. Who and what are involved? She sleuths around the house as a result of her husband's strange behavior and goes to the dangerous areas while at the same time he continues to insult and abuse her. Mrs Wiggs becomes weirder and is also violent to her.

Finally, Susannah is able to connect all the dots which puts her into greater danger. From here on the story's pace picks up, she discovers more about her husband and his relationship with Mrs Wiggs. Through a series of further events her own physician comes to the house with her husband who has plans to deal with his unbalanced wife. However other events have already taken place, Susannah is desperate, she is living a nightmare but she finds her strength amongst the unimaginable murder that has taken place. The further events that follow in the house horrifies her and leads Susannah under extreme duress of trying to save her own life and talks the perpetrator into agreeing to her plan which in the final act leaves her with a physical forever reminder of her experiences.

Surviving all the happenings Susannah has her revenge at Abingdon Hall.

Thank you to Netgalley and Head Of Zeus for this electronic ARC and for my honest opinion and review.

There are so many stories about Jack the Ripper and who he might have been, but I loved, loved this totally fresh take on the well-known story.

Newly married, but nothing is as it seems, the novel follows Susannah as she rushes into marriage to escape her past and current circumstances. However, her new position, as a wife, isn't straight forward in any way, and as the days go on she realises she's caught up in something bigger than herself and with no idea who to trust.

With echos of 'Rebecca', this book had me hooked and I LOVED the ending - what a total heroine!

This book wasn’t quite what I was expecting, but it was still a great read.

I was expecting a fast-paced thriller, with main character Susannah racing against the clock to discover whether her husband is Jack the Ripper and possibly prevent the next murder.

Instead, it was slower, with a sense of dread creeping insidiously under the surface. The book takes it time looking at attitudes towards both women and queer people at the time. It doesn’t shy away from vivid descriptions of life in Whitechapel and other slums of London in the 1880s.

I loved the way (is loved the right word? Probably not) the Jack the Ripper murders were tied into the plot of Susannah as she tries to make her marriage work despite Thomas becoming more and more erratic and volatile. In particular the way the murder of Mary Jane Kelly is tied in is especially clever, though when I try to sleep tonight I am probably going to regret enlarging the police photograph of her body on Wikipedia to compare it to the description in the book (pro-tip: don’t do that).

Susannah is not an entirely reliable narrator and she’s definitely the sort of character to be labelled “unlikable” with all the baggage that comes with that descriptor. I imagine she would have been a difficult character to write, particularly in the first person, and I applaud Clare Whitfield for how consistently she wrote Susannah. This is Whitfield’s debut novel and I think she will definitely be an author to watch out for in the future!

Well what a bloody terrifying and atmospheric read this was!

When Susannah marries Thomas Lancaster she can’t quite believe her luck. A handsome, wealthy surgeon who other women covet has chosen her - a tall, plain woman born to a prostitute in Whitechapel with no family left. Yet once the honeymoon is over, Susannah soon realises that she got the short straw in this marriage as Thomas becomes controlling, cruel and violent, and she has to put up with the condescension of his housekeeper Mrs Wiggs.

When women around Whitechapel start being brutally murdered and mutilated with surgical precision, Susannah has to ask herself - is Thomas just a bad husband, or could he be the infamous Jack the Ripper?

It isn’t often that I get scared whilst reading, but something about the way Whitfield writes just makes you feel as though you’re right there (possibly) living with one of England’s most notorious killers.

The characters are so dark and depraved, and the streets of Whitechapel so vividly described that you feel seedy just reading this - and that’s not even taking into account how gruesome some of the details are! This definitely isn’t for the faint of heart...

I loved reading a story which didn’t focus on Jack the Ripper himself - this was a story about women in London during a time of such extremes, where the wealthy wives were little more than property, and the poor and downtrodden women were considered whores and pushed aside by society.

Susannah is an impenetrable main character who keeps you guessing right until the end - does she already have a darkness within her? Is she crazy and imagining things? Or is she a very bright and courageous young woman who finds herself in a horrifying situation? I loved the fact that there was no black and white with this story, but plenty of grey!

This was honestly just such a brilliant, dark and compelling story that had me guessing at every turn and pulling the covers just a little tighter around myself - loved it

Solid, Historical Suspense ...
Victorian London, 1888, Jack The Ripper is at large. With a dark and atmospheric setting, the reader follows Susannah who has recently married a wealthy, young surgeon. When her husband’s behaviour begins to change Susannah becomes increasingly suspicious. A compelling read with a well described sense of place and some rather gruesome depictions. Solid historical suspense.

A great book to read, keeping the reader on the edge trying to work out who really was Jack the Ripper. It was a well written dark story with some very gruesome descriptions of what had been done to the abandoned characters during their murder. It gives a new slant on Jack the Ripper but more importantly to me it was Full of superb descriptions of what life was like in the mid 1800’s. Historically it portrays Victorian England, in particular London , depicting class society divisions and the role of non-existence for women. Women owned totally by men!
A book that I just could not put down.

What would you do if you thought you had married Jack the Ripper?

People of Abandoned Character is the debut novel of Clare Whitfield, and what a great debut it is! Such a new spin on a story that has been told and retold many times before.

This book is atmospheric, chilling and utterly compelling. It drags you in and keeps you on tenterhooks.

A really interesting take on the the Jack the Ripper murders. Suzannah who is a nurse marries the charismatic Thomas, a surgeon at the hospital she works in. However after the marriage it all starts to go wrong. He goes out at night , comes back with blood on his clothes and all the time these murders are taking place. Could he be Jack? Atmospheric and gruesome in places but Clare has described Victorian London very well. An excellent debut novel

A great debut novel set at the time of the Ripper Murders.
Imagine if you thought or suspected that your new husband might be involved?
What would you do? What COULD you do? Bearing in mind women were supposed to do what they were told at this time and were just expected to be grateful to be married. The main character in the novel, Susannah is a nurse and she marries a surgeon.....the story is told from her point of view and it's a refreshing new angle on the Ripper story. They move into a house in the posh part of London - Chelsea - and there's a housekeeper who's very Mrs Danvers.....so very gothic and very atmospheric.

Plenty of gore and darkness here in the novel about the murders themselves.. Some great research and writing here and it's an impressive debut!

Read this and then get The Five by Hallie Rubenhold for a sort of fiction and fact duo!