Oscar Wilde and the Return of Jack the Ripper

In 1894, the powers-that-be fear that a newspaper is about to revive the rumor that Jack the Ripper was a royal, in Brandreth’s subpar seventh whodunit pairing Oscar Wilde and Arthur Conan Doyle (after 2013’s Oscar Wilde and the Murders at Reading Gaol). That concern leads Chief Constable Melville Macnaghten to seek Wilde’s help in finally identifying the Ripper, as the aesthete knows most of the suspects on Macnaghten’s short list. But before the policeman can discuss the situation with Wilde, an unidentified woman is killed, mutilated, and left in an alley near where both men live. Wilde and Conan Doyle agree to help and work their way through the short list, which includes legendary actor Richard Mansfield, even as a second murder indicates that the Ripper has resumed his bloody work. Though Brandreth offers an innovative solution to the classic mystery of the Ripper’s identity, the slow pacing and Conan Doyle acting out of character detract from the reveal. Series fans will hope for a return to form next time. (Apr.)