A historical fiction tale, The Whitechapel Widow (2025) by Emily Organ is a murder whodunnit, set in the Victorian Era London, at the time of Jack The Ripper. William and Emma Langley are aboard a train when he gets off to buy a newspaper. Seemingly missing the train, Emma reports his disappearance to the police, who eventually discover he had been killed in Whitechapel. William had a secret life that Emma is determined to get to the bottom of and discover why he was murdered. She meets and befriends Penny Green, a former newspaper reporter and now mother to two young children. They work together to investigate the case, as police are consumed by solving The Ripper murders. With its charming atmospheric narrative of building action and heighten tension, makes this a delightful crime fiction tale with a four and a half stars read rating. The ending indicates another investigation by this delightful detective team will follow. As always, the opinions herein are totally my own, freely given and without any inducement. With thanks to Storm Publishing and the author, for an uncorrected advanced review copy for review purposes.

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

I very much enjoyed the Penny Green series and was delighted to note that this new character Emma Langley was to be reunited with Penny now happily married with two children. Emma is devastated to learn, after her husband is brutally murdered, that he was not the man she thought. She is determined to track down his killer and discover who William actually was? With the help of Penny, she meets many shady characters and seedy places. A great beginning to this series from Emily Organ, I can't wait for number two. Thanks to Netgalley and Storm for an advance copy of The Whitechapel Widow.

This book had a similar pacing and theme like the Penny Green series, including having Penny Green help in the investigation.

Emily has lost her husband while following a trail to find him she instead finds him dead in Whitechapel. As she delves deeper into her husbands life, she discovers the life that he showed her was a lot of lies. The more she uncovers, the more she gets into trouble. Eventually, with her friend Penny, they uncover the killer and the mysteries.

#netgalley #TheWhitechapelWidow

Thank you NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the opportunity to read "The Whitechapel Widow" in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is the first book in a new series from Emily Organ. After reading her fabulous Churchill and Pemberley series I was very much looking forward to this new series and she did not disappoint. The story starts on the 10th November 1888 when Emma is preparing to move to Suffolk with her husband William. When he pops off the train to grab a newspaper and the train leave without him, Emma returns to London on the next train to try and find him. When she doesn't locate him she thinks she should have stayed on the train because he is probably waiting at his aunt's house.

What follows is Emma learning a lot of things about her husband that she didn't know. He told her a lot of lies and she's determined to learn the truth and find out what happened to her husband.

During this time everyone is also afraid of Jack the Ripper. At one point Emma considers that maybe her William was the Ripper. Why was he in Whitechapel to begin with?

Emma contacts former newspaper reporter Penny Green (now married to DI James Blakely). Together they go about solving this mystery because the police don't really seem to have the time. They uncover so many layers of William's life and so many people keeping secrets. And they find themselves in grave danger while trying to get answers for Emma.

This is a very exciting first book in the series and I can't wait for the further books. This is a case where I wish there were more than 5 stars to give because it is worth so much more.

This is the first book in Emily Organ’s new series Emma Langley Victorian Mystery.

Emma Langley’s husband disappears and is later found murdered. Before long she realizes he had been keeping many secrets from her. She’s determined to learn more and find out who killed him, but she really doesn’t know how to go about things. She ends up meeting Penny (Green) Blakely from the author’s Penny Green series. I’ve read several books in that series, and it was fun to encounter Penny in a slightly different role in this book.

The book is set in the same place and time as Jack the Ripper, so that comes in the play here and there. Some of the various crimes are mentioned, but I wouldn’t consider this story very dark or grisly.

When it comes to historical mysteries (one of my favorite genres), I’m used to the main characters diving in and poking around in the mystery. This wasn’t the case with Emma. She obviously wanted answers, but it took her a bit to get started, and even then, she often followed the lead of others. Because of this, it took me a bit to connect with Emma, even though her reaction was probably much more realistic than someone who jumps headfirst into investigating murder (especially with Jack the Ripper on the loose).

Overall, I enjoyed the book. It will be interesting to see where the series goes and how Emma’s investigative skills develop and the cast of characters she inevitably will meet along the way.

Thanks to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

In the gritty streets of Victoria-era London, 'The Whitechapel Widow' draws readers in with a blend of suspense and rich character development. This story follows Emma Langley, a young woman whose life is upended when her husband mysteriously disappears. For fans of historical mystery, this book is an engrossing mix of intrigue, and emotion featuring interesting women sleuths of strength and courage.

From the immersive experience the author creates with her depictions of 1888 London to a mystery that leaves the reader guessing enough to keep turning the pages, the author does a great job drawing the reader in from the first page.

Penny Green, a character from another of the author's series, makes an appearance, and as a first-time reader of Emily Organ, and not having read the other series, I did not feel lost with the introduction of Penny into the story. Their camaraderie shows the strength of women navigating a male-dominated world, bravely challenging societal norms. It's not all about Jack the Ripper in Whitechapel.

'The Whitechapel Widow' is a well-written story that blends historical context and imagery with an absorbing mystery. A promising start to the Emma Langley Victorian Mystery series.

I really enjoyed this book; it was impossible to put down. This book has everything you need: an engaging mystery, a curious widow, and a deceitful husband. I love a good mystery, and so much of the book kept me in suspense; I didn’t guess the murderer till the very end.

Emily Organ does exceptional historical research; she transports you to 1880s London and the neighborhoods of that time. Her story contains interesting facts about London, Jack the Ripper, and the Whitechapel murders. I highly recommend this book.

First book in a new series with a lady sleuth that is also a kind of a spin off of the Penny Green mysteries. We get to follow Penny in her new family life but also Emma’s new adventures. The mystery is complicated and not easy to foreseen. Several threads are woven into one stringent story in the end. The historic detail results in a lot of pages but the story moves in a fast pace. Well written and likeable characters. Looking forward to the great series.

Thanks to netgally for the arc. Opinions are my own.

The Whitechapel Widow it’s about a young woman named Emma Langley. Emma was recently married to Williams who she thought they would be married forever and were about to move to his aunts cottage until something went wrong. As Emma gets on the train to settle in for the ride, William decides to get off to get a paper. As Emma sits patiently waiting for William to return the train leaves without William. Emma is panicking now because she knows nothing about Williams‘s aunt. She doesn’t know where the cottages but possibly he will be at the next station. When Emma gets there she finds William isn’t there and starts Emma into looking into what happened to her husband.

As the days unfold and William does not return, Emma must go back to her old landlord to see if she can help Emma find a place to stay. At looks in to what happened to William she finds out William is not the man she or she married. As she stays with her old landlords and starts teaching piano lessons to make some kind of income and find out that William was involved in some that led to a shady part of London. The law firm he was supposed to work for them that he had a work for them in a long time. Also found out that William took all of her inheritance and left her with no money
Emma turns to Penny a reporter who helped solve the murder of her brother a few years back. penny is now married to an inspector of Scotland Yard and he is the mother of two children. Once they get together, Penny and Emma start to peace together what really happened to William Langley? As they do this, they are also putting their life in danger. Who was behind the death of William Langley? What was he up to that got him killed ? These are many more questions can be answered if you read The Whitechapel Widow.

I did enjoy this mystery because I liked the backdrop of old London and the possibility of catching Jack the Ripper. I like the characters of Penny and Emma, too strong women who never gave up on finding out the truth. back in this London error women were not called upon to help catch criminals or even write for a newspaper. With their determination, Emma and Penny were able to do both. Emma was left pennyless and had to start her life all over, thinking that the man she married was the man of her dreams. William turned out to be her nightmare. Penny is a mother of two married to an inspector, but yet still had the yearning to be a reporter she missed her reporting days. The two of them teamed up to become a pair to be dealt with they knew what they were doing with the help of the police. They were able to find out what really happened to William and who was behind it.
Like I said, I enjoy the characters. I enjoyed background old England and I love the plot. The one thing I could say is that there were too many chapters. I think. Ms. Organ could have told a story with a few less chapters. It took a long time to get to the end and some of the dialogue was repetitious. Other than that, I truly did like the story and the writing. I would truly love to read another book about Emma and Penny‘s adventures. Thank you Storm Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC. I would highly recommend it.

102 chapters of goodness! The book is fast paced rushing through the murder investigation and following Emma as she digs into what is happening and who is murdering people in london, All of this runs alongside the fear the people have of Jack the Ripper and the focus the police appear to have on finder Jack rather than looking into other crimes. The characters of the poorer side of London are all well described, the poverty, the cruelty and the lack of care comes through. What people will do for a handful of pennies is hard to read but makes a great book,

This is the first book by Emily Organ I read and I was pleasantly surprised about the writing and the well plotted mystery.

I kept on reading as it was impossible to put it down.

A deceitful husband, an inquisitive widow, a tangled mystery: this book has all the right ingredients to lure the reader into its universe.

I liked the story so very much I will buy the Penny Green mystery series as I am really curious to see were it all began while I wait for the next installment.

I have received an advance copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily, thanks to the author for it.

Could Emma’s husband be Jack the Ripper?
The Whitechapel Widow is set in London of Jack the Ripper. The story opens when Emma Langley’s husband, shortly before their train departs, goes to buy a newspaper. He never returns. In the 1880s there were no mobile phones, so Emma journeys on in the hope her husband will join her at the destination. He never does. Indeed, she never sees him alive again.
The setup has the intrigue of a locked room mystery as events unravel such that Emma realises she hardly knows her husband, who has a secret life. The unanswered questions build layer on layer when her husband is found murdered and the police question his widow about his movements. Unexplained absences start to add up to a chilling possibility, and the widowed Mrs Langley starts to wonder if the husband could actually be Jack the Ripper.
This is the first book I’ve read by Emily Organ (great name!). Emma teamed up with Penny Green, a former reporter who (according to the edicts of Victorian society) can no longer work as she is a wife and mother. The story can be read as standalone book but it seems Penny has featured in her own series of books – so an interesting cross pollination of characters..
My favourite part (apart from the great premise of “Could my husband be Jack the Ripper”, was the tantalizing glimpse behind the “Dear Boss”, letters. The latter had me wanting the author pan out and show the hand holding the pen. I would describe this as a cosy Victorian murder mystery and will be enjoyed by those seeking an escapist, but not too taxing, read.

new-series, first-in-series, historical-figures, historical-mystery, historical-places-events, historical-research, historical-setting, historical-thriller, history-and-culture, London, murders, amateur-sleuth, missing-persons, serial-murder, due-diligence, lies, deception, deceit*****
Emma Langley's husband went missing but did turn up dead in a part of town she knew little about. Turns out that she knew little about the husband either. He lied about darn near everything and spent all but a pittance of her inheritance money. The more she investigates, the more she learns. One of the people she interviews in her search is former intrepid Fleet Street reporter Penny Green and her husband Inspector James Blakely of Scotland Yard. Penny is losing her wits with two small children and nothing to challenge her mind. Husband hires someone to help with the children, so Penny joins forces with Emma and the real investigating begins. Great story with intense due diligence, sideroads into The Ripper, and plot twists that made me nutz.
I requested and received a temporary uncorrected digital galley from Storm Publishing via NetGalley. Avail Mar 27, 2025
#TheWhitechapelWidow by Emily Organ #EmmaLangleyVictorianMysteriesBk1 Storm Publishing @stormbooks_co #NetGalley #cozymystery @goodreads @bookbub @librarythingofficial @barnesandnoble ***** Review #booksamillion #bookshop_org #bookshop_org_uk #kobo #Waterstones #VictorianLondon #Whitechapelmurders #deceit #mentalhealthissues #murders

Historical drama set in and around Whitechapel. A husband is not what he seemed which leads his widow to investigate.

I was invited by the publisher to review this book. This is the first book in a new series, Emma Langley Victorian Mysteries. This book is sent in late 1880s London, on the backdrop of Jack the Ripper - it starts with Emma learning that her husband has been murdered, learning that she did not know this man as much as she thought she did. Emma unravels her husband's secrets as she tries to solve his murder, and those secrets take her to all walks of life and neighborhood within London. The only problem with this is that by bringing to light her husband's killer, she then puts herself in the sights of the same person.

I really enjoyed this book - the mystery of the murderer is not easily figured out. But best of all, the amount of research that went into this book was wonderful - the author transports you to not only the London of the 18880s, but all of the varied neighborhoods of that time. I loved the immersive experience.

Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Whitechapel Widow is the first book in a new series "Emma Langley Victorian Mysteries". It is a spin-off from the excellent "Penny Green" historical mystery series. Both series are set in 1880s London and author Emily Organ has written another thoroughly enjoyable and intriguing mystery.

Readers of the earlier book series will be interested in seeing how Penny and her husband, Scotland Yard inspector James Blakely, are navigating family life. Penny no longer works as a newspaper reporter, but is eager to use her investigative skills, in her spare time, to help the newly widowed Mrs Emma Langley discover who murdered her husband. Could it be Jack the Ripper?

So much of the book kept me in suspense as Emma and Penny crisscrossed the streets of London chasing down clues. So far this year I have read several mysteries by other authors and this book far surpasses them all in quality writing, plotting and characterization. And I didn't guess the murderer until the end!

I really like all of Emily's series because they contain interesting facts about London at that time woven into the plot. She does exceptional historical research for each book. They are all Highly Recommended!

I obtained an advance copy of this book via NetGalley.

Women Power!

I love how Emma and Penny solved the murders while the men barely did anything. I was waiting for them to solve the case of Jack the Ripper as well, maybe another day.

Thank you Netgalley!

This well written historical mystery takes place in the late 19th century when Jack the Ripper was terrorizing London. The novel grabbed me from the first chapter as Emma Langley’s husband leaves the train they are on to get a newspaper, and does not return. When he is found murdered, as Emma tries to make sense of his disappearance and death, she discovers she never really knew her

It is always a joy to read about resourceful smart women and how they managed to find their way in a misogynistic society. I also enjoyed the atmospheric elements in this well plotted mystery.

Emma is shocked when her husband disappears before boarding their train and even more so when he is discovered dead. Frustrated with the lack of progress by the police she decides to investigate on her own. A wonderful mystery set in the late 1809s while Jack the Ripper is terrorizing London.

While everyone is focusing on Jack the Ripper there are other dark deeds occurring in Whitechapel.
When William Langley is found murdered widow Emma Langley discovers things she had never expected. Gambling dens and lies and the seedy darker side of London take Emma on a dangerous journey!
I loved this book really good read with excellent scene setting and details to create the picture of 1888 London. Emma as a character I found interesting the way her life changed and she adapted and took on challenges really stood out for me along with the danger she put herself in risking her own life.
Excellent read can’t wait for more thanks Netfalley for this arc.