Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper

The latest collection of material that Bloch (Psycho) seems to have dug out of a long-abandoned storeroom includes entertaining—albeit dated—essays, stories, a novel, and a screenplay inspired by Jack the Ripper. The two engaging essays reflect Bloch’s knowledge of the killer’s history and passion for discussing it. The stories are less intriguing, with obvious endings and twists. “Night of the Ripper,” the novel, has a great many characters who might, just might, be the real Ripper, but they confuse more by sheer numbers than by authorial intent, and the true identity of the killer becomes apparent early on. Bloch’s writing still manages to be entertaining, even when his plots are predictable, and fans will get a kick out of his lighthearted script for a Ripper-inspired episode of Star Trek. (Dec.)