Jack the Ripper terrorized the Whitechapel district of London’s East End in 1888. That hasn’t ever been in question. What has been in question are two major topics: Who was Jack the Ripper and which murders belong to him? Tom Wescott’s THE BANK HOLIDAY MURDERS addresses the latter question as he draws attention to two murders—those of Emma Smith and Martha Tabram, both having occurred on bank holidays, and neither conclusively included in the “canonical five” list of victims typically attributed to Jack the Ripper—by drawing connections between an oft-mentioned player and the drama that unfolded during the “Autumn of Terror.”
To be clear, THE BANK HOLIDAY MURDERS is not a book intended for readers with little-to-no knowledge of the Jack the Ripper case. And it isn’t often “new” information comes to light concerning one of the most well-known, serial murder cases, much less one that’s been a cold case for over a hundred and twenty five years, but Tom Wescott has opened yet another avenue of inquiry by focusing his attention on one Mary Ann Connelly, aka Pearly Poll, a witness in Martha Tabram’s murder. He not only aptly shows that she repeatedly gave false evidence in the murder inquiry, he also demonstrates her connection to other murder victims, other inquiries, specifically those related to the “Leather Apron” suspect, and her ties to a number of other people who played significant roles in Whitechapel. Wescott provides both documented evidence and reasonable inferences for not only Connelly’s connections woven throughout the Ripper story, but also that she may have been more involved in a number of the murders than previously thought.
For those with an understanding of the basics, THE BANK HOLIDAY MURDERS sheds new light on a much-discussed topic, and will be sure to increase the debates among Ripperologists regardless of which side of the divide they fall on.
Reviewed by K.J. Pierce for IndieReader