This one is sadly just not my keep of tea,

The widow just felt too naive and really made some strange and questionable decisions. She, fortunately, was lucky in terms of the kindness and support of others.

The need to go into the depth of Penny's home life seemed gratuitous and , considering who she is married to, it all just felt a bit off.

I ended up skipping along to see if the storyline strengthened as it went. But it didn't.

I am sure there will be others who enjoy this style and structure, but I can't see myself progressing with this series.

My thanks to Storm Publishing and Netgalley for my advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really really wanted to love this. And there are some aspects which I did love, I loved the mystery, I lovvve that it was two strong women in the lead with one juggling the ups and downs of motherhood. However that’s where it ended for me. I don’t know, maybe I’m just so used to fantasy books but I really felt that there was no world building, aside from a few references to Jack the Ripper and steam trains you wouldn’t really know that you were in Victorian London. The potential Jack the Ripper’s story was rushed and came to an unstatifying ending.

As I said, I loved the premise of it, I love the idea but I don’t think it was executed as well as it could have been.

Excellent, the start of another great series!
A very enjoyable novel set around one of England's greatest mysteries- Jack the Ripper.
Great plotting, great characters and great detail - the close-ups of people in different echelons of society at that time were really interesting.
Looking forward to the next one!

This is a spin-off of the author's Penny Green series. I haven't read those novels and hadn't even heard of this author until I found this book on NetGalley (and am so glad that I did), and you don't miss anything from not reading that series first. Other than the fact, that, if they are anything like this novel, they are amazing cozy mysteries. Side note, I kinda hate Penny's husband.

Emma has only been married for a couple months to a wonderful man when he is suddenly married. After he dies, she finds out that he was, in fact, not wonderful. He was so horrible she is afraid he might actually be Jack the Ripper.

I am anxiously awaiting the next book! Adding the Penny Green series to my to read list, not that it doesn't already have about a million books on it! Definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves historical cozy mysteries.

This historical mystery is set in the time of Jack the Ripper frightening Whitechapel residents and monopolizing the police's time and resources. Emma Langley becomes frustrating by how little attention her husband's murder is receiving and decides to investigate it herself. I was unaware the author had written other mystery series, and this novel overlapped with characters from her other work.

"London hunts the Ripper. A widow hunts her husband's killer.

London, 1888. While Jack the Ripper's reign of terror grips the city, Emma Langley's world shatters when her husband is found murdered in Whitechapel. But grief is quickly overshadowed by a startling discovery: William Langley was not the man she thought she knew.

As panic fills London's streets, Emma delves into her husband's secret life, uncovering a web of lies that stretches from glittering society drawing rooms to the seedy gambling dens of the East End. Aided by Penny Green, a former reporter with a nose for trouble, Emma follows a trail of blackmail and corruption.

But exposing her husband's killer could make her the next victim and in the shadows of gaslit streets, a murderer waits, ready to strike again...

From the bestselling author of Penny Green comes a spellbinding new Victorian mystery series introducing Emma Langley."

I think Emma is safe from Jack the Ripper and any other killer as she's being proudly "introduced."

Emily Organ writes such great entertaining novels. I thoroughly enjoyed the Penny Green series and was delighted that she has turned up again in another series. This book, like all of the others give such a great sense of period and place. I look forward to more.

What an absolutely great story that had me hooked from the beginning. It was very clever how it combined real historical events like the Jack the Ripper case with an intriguing story of its own. I found it hard to put down and wasn't expecting the end it had. I have not had the opportunity to read from this author so will be looking for more. Great book and great story which was thoroughly researched. Thankyou to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read and give a review

I just finished this book 'The Whitechapel Widow' by Emily Organ.
I was really happy to see Penny Green again (from a previous series by Ms Organ)!
In this story, a woman's (Emma Langley) husband has gone missing and she is in a desperate search to find out what happened to him. She enlists the help of the now married and retired Penny Green, who had helped Emma when Emma's brother was murdered. Penny used to be an investigative journalist and is missing her career so is more than happy to help Emma.
Together, along with Penny's Scotland Yard detective husband, they must solve the murder of Emma's husband along with a few other murders that happen along the way in the story.
This book had several twists and turns and was very well written in terms of the atmosphere of the times and nicely done place descriptions and many historical details along the way.
I haven't read a book by Emily Organ yet that I didn't like and this was no exception. I definitely recommend it.
I was given an ARC by the author and NetGalley and am leaving my honest and voluntary review.

The Whitechapel Widow is an excellent first-in-series spin off from Emily Organ’s Penny Green series. Emma Langley and Penny Green are reunited in this book, and Emma starts to spread her sleuthing wings with Penny’s help. Penny started her detective work when she was a newspaper reporter, and that seems to be a slightly more fitting long term transition than Emma’s long term (series of books) detective career being launched by the death of her husband. Emma’s quest and involvement in the mystery is certainly plausible, however.

One of the joys of reading an Emily Organ book is being able to readily visualize the scenes, locations and social structures in place during the time of the story. Descriptions of places and characters bring the reader right into the environment and story. Also, Emily is skilled at including historical background events and locations, without the reader becoming bogged down in slogging through facts about yesteryear. There’s no slogging, just interesting local color, issues and events that are integral to the story. In this case, Jack the Ripper and his Whitechapel murders play a role in Emma’s story. We really don’t know a definitive identification of who Jack the Ripper was, and that lends itself to Ms Organ’s clever weaving of doubts and worries surrounding Jack the Ripper that are associated with Emma’s story.

I like that Emily goes beyond the story with providing historical information that’s pertinent to her book. She included notes and explanations after the conclusion of The Whitechapel Widow. She also provides pictures and written information on her social media sites. Her attention to these details is one example of how dedicated she is to providing her readers with the best possible experience she can. It also points to the amount of research she puts into her historical mysteries. Her writings demonstrate her love for her craft and for her readers’ enjoyment of her work.

Some readers are put off by a book that ends in a cliffhanger. Rest assured that The Whitechapel Widow ends with resolution of the murder mysteries. There is no cliffhanger, just one little morsel of wondering “what about” that is mentioned as a teaser to pursue the next Emma Langley sleuthing adventure.

I’m a fan of all series written by Emily Organ, and under her pen name Martha Bond. This series opener certainly did not disappoint. I look forward to the next installment.

I haven't read any of this authors books before, despite being a fan of historical mysteries.
It's the first in a new series featuring Emma Langley. It was atmospheric and had likeable main characters.
I liked the background Ripper murders being discussed. The reason it loses a star for me is because I found it dragged after initially being an engaging read and there were a few too many characters being introduced which detracted from the pace.
I would be interested in reading more from this author.

What a super story. Sometimes you think that an historical story would be stuffy and slow but, this was written so that it was an easy and interesting read which I raced through. First time reading this author but it won't be my last. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

This was an enjoyable cosy mystery. The pace was great and the dual information on Jack the Ripper made for interesting reading. It did feel like this was the set up for the start a new series with many characters being introduced. Overall it was a well written story that I whipped through and didn’t want to put down. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for giving me access to an early copy of this book.

Received as an ARC and at first I thought I was going to love it. It started off strong and I love following Emma on her journey to find out who her husband was and what happened to him.

Sadly it began to drag on for me, it felt like too many characters were being introduced and I just couldn’t follow along. Part of me didn’t want to finish but part of me had to know whodunnit. I am glad I finished it, didn’t see the ending coming.

While this one wasn’t my cup of tea, I do want to try another by this author.

Note: I received an Advanced Reader Copy from NetGalley in return for an honest review of the book.

Emma Langley’s world is turned upside down when her husband misses their train to start their new lives. Did he take too long at the newsstand line? Did he run away to another woman? Could he be the already infamous Jack the Ripper terrorizing London?

Follow along on Emma’s journey where she and her new friend Penny, an ex investigative reporter, try to piece together the timeline and solve the mystery of who Emma really married.

This was my first read by Emily Organ and it won’t be my last. If you enjoy a historical fiction meets Nancy Drew in episodic form books then this one is a fun option. While nothing is ground breaking in the book it was a fun read that will keep you guessing. I really enjoyed the friendship between Emma and Penny and their strong willed mentalities in the midst of a very un-feminist era.

Ms. Organ does it again! I read a lot of historical novels, and Emily Organ is one of my favorite authors, in the top three at least.
I read that this book was a spinoff of the Penny Green series, but I was a bit surprised to find that Penny herself was one of the main characters; I thought it would just refer to events that Penny had been involved in previously.
The book is, as usual, well researched and well written. I won't offer any spoilers or plot details, just suffice it to say that you will not be disappointed.
I do have a prediction, though; that someday Penny and Emma will open their own detective agency!

A historical fiction tale by Emily Organ, first book in the series, set in the late 1880s. Whilst London hunts for Jack the Ripper, a widow hunts for her husband’s killer.

So many twists and turns for Emma Langley who is tracking the killer and does her own investigative work instead of relying on the Police.

Loved this book - well written - great mystery plot and easy to read - impossible to put down

Thank you to Netgalley and Storm Publishing

Fabulous introduction to a new Victorian mystery series. Very atmospheric and engaging. I stayed up way too late reading this, trying to solve the mystery before Emma did.

Many twists and turns with a satisfying ending, the Whitechapel Widow is grounded in history with the author's creative storytelling.

I received an ARC; this is my honest review.

I enjoyed this entry into a new series. Drawing from the Jack the Ripper murders, it finds a y0oung woman who's husband disappears right when they decide to start a new life. She finds new and troubling information about her husband when he's found murdered in Whitechapel, home of the Ripper. She uses her connections to former newspaper reporter Penny and her husband to investigate.

This book is perfect for readers looking for a historical mystery which tackles Jack the ripper in a way that it is not the main mystery,
It has short chapters, many twists and turns and some shady characters as well as reliable ones.
It is historically accurate on a lot of things such as places, but in a way that it is not overwhelming.
Because i found it slow paced and hard to get into, the book wasn’t for me but I really do believe many people will find it enjoyable and entertaining.