First published back in October of 2021, British author Richard Ayre’s novel ‘Shadow Of The Knife’ offered up a dark and gritty Victorian serial killer thriller, delivering a gruesome tale which takes up the bloody reins from where Jack the Ripper left off.
DLS Synopsis:
Two years had passed since the horrific murders of the infamous Jack the Ripper tormented the filth ridden streets of Whitechapel. Two years for the inhabitants of London’s East End to come to grips with the atrocities that had been enacted on their own. Since the body of Mary “Polly” Nichols had been found. Two years to the day, and in the very same spot as where Polly was found, the cooling corpse of another poor wretch is discovered. The savaged remains of the woman who had once been Eliza Cotton.
Inspector Jonas Handy from H Division CID is put on the case. Due to the mutilated state of the body, with the gaping slice across her cold throat, Handy instantly thinks of the string of horrifying unsolved murders from just two years prior.
Knowing the case would require the very best minds to track down the killer, Handy brings in the help of Doctor Carter ‘Jigsaw’ Jarman – a highly-revered surgeon from the East End who is in his spare time studies criminology.
However, the investigation into Cotton’s murder is barely underway before a second mutilated body is found. Another working girl whose life has been cut short with a slice across the throat. The pair explore every lead they can find, but it’s to no avail. And then, as if to rub salt into the wound, a third body is discovered within a matter of days since the last.
With tensions across the entirety of the East End rising, the pair know they need to act fast. Rumours the Ripper is haunting the streets again are rife. Although Jarman believes these latest cases bare a slight difference to those of two years ago. In this new batch of murders, Jarman has noticed that the slicing of the throat happened whilst the women were still conscious and trying to fight back. In the Ripper cases, the women had seemingly been strangled into unconsciousness before the mutilations occurred.
Whether this killer was the same man who killed the women the Ripper had come to be so infamous for, was, to Jarman, uncertain. But then why had these new murders started on the exact anniversary of the murder of Polly Nicholas? Coincidence? Or something deeper?...
Firstly, I should point out that this is not a ‘Jack the Ripper’ story per se, but rather a fictional expansion upon the real-world story, with a sort of ‘Eyes Wide Shut’ (1999) take upon a re-emergence of violent murders post-Ripper.
For this, author Richard Ayre, takes us through the same gritty, grimy underbelly of Victorian London, revisiting the Ripper crimes in a contrasting parallel to the ones which are now occurring.
From the outset of the novel, the pacing is almost frantic, with the characters pounding the streets and desperately searching for clues. Any clues which can link the murders to the Ripper, or indeed perhaps a copycat killer.
Throughout this roller-coaster of a darkly sinister serial killer ride, the characters of Jarman and Handy form the absolute backbone to the novel. Alongside this formidable and action-ready duo, we also have supporting roles from the likes of the ever-eager PC George Rose and Jarman’s loyal driver-cum-helper, Curmudgeon.
There’s also a litany of secondary characters who come and go throughout the tale, each with their own distinct role to play in the unfolding gruesome mystery. Indeed, the highly respected philanthropist, Thomas Villiers, quickly emerges as a prime suspect in the case. And with suspicion falling on a man of such high standing, Ayres masterfully brings in a cacophony of tension brought about by the juxtaposition of classes, leading to societal bias and criminal injustice.
However, one thing that absolutely stands out a mile in the novel, is how the bloody thing just keeps you guessing the whole frigging time. You’ll find yourself pointing fingers left right and centre. Donning your own deerstalker, to try to outpace Jarman and Handy in their detective work. And all through this Ayre throws down a litany of twists, turns and purposeful red herrings, ultimately concluding the entirety of the mystery with a textbook twist that will have you recoiling from the ingeniously planned revelation.
Throughout this unveiling of the ghastly truth, Ayre doesn’t let up one iota with the tightly packed, zero-padding pacing. In fact, we’re flung all over the East End, confronted with a ferocious riot, faced with coldblooded assassins, and all the time knee deep in a corruption which reaches up to the highest echelons of society.
The book reads almost like a novel Dan Brown would want to write, only less of a sugar-coated glossy thriller, and instead with more grit, spit, blood and grime. In fact, it’s almost as if Shaun Hutson has tried his hand at a Sherlock Holmes story. On that note, I should warn you, the novel includes more than a few scenes of visceral nastiness which almost feel like they bleed through the very pages you’re reading. Ayre absolutely doesn’t hold back when it’s time for the novel to move down another dark alley of grisly horror. In fact, here he seems to reach deep into the darkest recesses of his mind to depict scenes of the very worst sadism.
To this end, the murders, the victims and indeed those responsible for these heinous crimes, even in their most despicable state, are painted as human. Flesh and blood, each with drives and reasoning. Every character with pasts which have perhaps, or invariably, dictated how their lives came to fall down this particular pathway. And because of this carefully sculpted ‘human’ element to each and every one of the characters, what is enacted within the novel feels that much more brutal.
All in all, this is a novel that will absolutely have you clinging to every page. It’s a pulse-racing and uncompromisingly gruesome Victorian serial killer thriller. Sadistic in places, and equal parts heart-warming in others. Taking you through peaks and troughs of hope and despair. And all through this, two men trying their damned hardest to bring the darkness to an end. To stop the killings and bring justice to the grimy streets of London.
Historical Note – 5 Pages
Ayre finishes the book off with a short ‘Historical Note’ where he tells us about his research, the artistic licence he’s taken advantage of in more than a few places and offering us a few glimpses of the reality of East End London a decade before the turn of the 19th century. Even these pages of historical insight are packed full of interest, with Ayre’s honest and open voice clearly behind each word written.
The novel runs for a total of 287 pages (with an additional 5 pages for the aforementioned ‘Historical Note’).
© DLS Reviews
