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The Sixth Victim

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The Sixth Victim

Written by: Tessa Harris
Narrated by: Fiona Hardingham, Gemma Dawson
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London's East End, 1888. When darkness falls, terror begins.

The foggy streets of London's Whitechapel district have become a nocturnal hunting ground for Jack the Ripper, and no woman is safe. Flower girl Constance Piper is not immune to dread, but she is more preoccupied with her own strange experiences of late.

Clairvoyants seem to be everywhere these days. In desperation, even Scotland Yard has turned to them to help apprehend the Ripper. Her mother has found comfort in contacting her late father in a séance. But are such powers real? And could Constance really be possessed of second sight? She longs for the wise counsel of her mentor and champion of the poor, Emily Tindall, but the kind missionary has gone missing.

Following the latest grisly discovery, Constance is contacted by a high-born lady of means who fears the victim may be her missing sister. She implores Constance to use her clairvoyance to help solve the crime, which the press is calling "the Whitechapel Mystery", attributing the murder to the Ripper.

As Constance becomes embroiled in intrigue far more sinister than she could have imagined, assistance comes in a startling manner that profoundly challenges her assumptions about the nature of reality. She'll need all the help she can get - because there may be more than one depraved killer out there.

©2017 Tessa Harris (P)2017 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Crime Detective Fiction Historical Mystery Traditional Detectives Women Sleuths Women's Fiction Murder Psychic England
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A Deadly Deception Written by: Tessa Harris
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I found this book absolutely fascinating and very interesting! I liked the different aspects of the Jack the Ripper story and how it was written!

The Sixth Victim

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Author Tessa Harris provides a very realistic imagining of what it must have been like to live in the Whitechapel district of London in the fall of 1888. Reluctant Clairvoyant 'Constance Piper' is having graphic prophetic dreams about Jack The Ripper's murders as they're happening.. worries about an absconded mentor/teacher: "Fallen Woman" Missionary 'Emily Tindall' .. and is enlisted to find the missing 'Mrs. Geraldine Cutler' - wife of a back-alley abortionist and potentially another Ripper victim (or that of a copycat). The premise is captivating.
Harris further writes with capable vocabulary and prose, develops interesting characters, and describes occasionally gory imagery with impressive skill
..but character motivations are unclear and the potential promised by that Societal Terror setting is somewhat wasted. In addition, Harris spends fully 40% of the book on background (nothing actually happens until Chapter 45) and plot revelations are awkwardly timed. Her sense of pacing is virtually non-existent.

Blackstone Audio Inc. did well to enlist two quality voice-actors to read the text, however (the book being written from the alternating points of view of Connie and Emily). Both Fiona Hardingham & Gemma Dawson exhibit excellent diction, timbre, cadence, tone, and voice-acting - backed up by creditable technical support.

To be certain, the performance is imperfect [both Hardingham and Dawson read at a plodding pace, for example (listen at 1.15X)]
..but the narration is overall well above-average.

Altogether, this clever mystery - informed by sensational true historical events - rates a respectable 6.5 stars out of 10. The execution is somewhat lacking, but if you can get 'The Sixth Victim' as a 'Plus' selection - as I did - you absolutely should do so (it's an entertaining Mystery-Thriller with a Paranormal Twist once it gets going).. 
Should Audible ask for a Credit, however, consider carefully - better options exist for your money.

Interesting.. A Bit Of A Wasted Opportunity

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Loved the narrators but the plot was rough. It started off strong and I was intrigued by the setting and story, but I ended up just counting the time until it would be over about halfway in. There were no true twists or shocks or reveals because they were all revealed in Emily’s chapters before Constance arrived at them, so it was confusing to understand where the story was going/why the reader should be intrigued.

Good Idea, Bad Execution

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