Murder and Madness: The Secret Life of Jack the Ripper

Forensic psychiatrist Abrahamsen ( Confessions of Son of Sam ) caps a 10-year investigation by ``solving'' the 1888 Jack the Ripper murders. The 80-year-old Norwegian American, who has testified in the Leopold and Loeb, Lee Harvey Oswald and Son of Sam cases, methodically pieces together a ``documentary theory'' based on evidence ``overlooked by previous investigators,'' including previously unreleased files from Scotland Yard. Abrahamsen asserts that Jack the Ripper was actually two men, Prince Albert Victor Edward (Prince Eddy) and James Kenneth Stephen, Prince Eddy's tutor; his theory centers on misogyny, which he claims motivated their killings of five East End prostitutes. Questionable postulations about homosexuality and transvestism weaken this book, and details of a police cover-up of important evidence are also likely to stir debate. Photos not seen by PW. (May)