Gaslight and Fog

Madden, who put an intriguing new spin on Dickens’s The Mystery of Edwin Drood in her first novel, Helena Landless, is similarly creative in this thriller set in a Whitechapel terrorized by Jack the Ripper. Her unnamed heroine is on a tour of the area in the present when she’s knocked unconscious. Awakening in 1888, she witnesses the Ripper’s slaughter of prostitute Polly Nichols, though she doesn’t realize at the time what she’s seeing and doesn’t glimpse the serial killer’s face. It takes her a while to realize that she’s actually trapped in the past, not the victim of a hoax. She’s also hampered by amnesia. She recalls that her 19-year-old daughter, Courtney, was with her, but doesn’t remember her own name. Meanwhile, she fears that the kind family that offers her a place to stay will learn the truth about her and that Inspector Abberline, who’s in charge of the Ripper hunt, suspects her of being involved in the killings. Madden’s careful adherence to the facts of the case helps the suspension of disbelief. [em](BookLife) [/em]