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The discussion thread is now open. Spoilers are allowed on this thread. Don't read on if you haven't finished the book. Can you also unclick the 'Add to my update feed' people don't see your comments in their home screen.

Things to consider:

1. Did you like the book?
2. Do you think that the author covers the subject adequately?
3. Do you like the tone and language of the book?
4. Was there any part of the book that was important or significant to you?
5. Have you learnt anything from the book?
6. Has reading this encouraged you to look for other books on the subject?

I've just finished this - as the physical library is closed, I borrowed this on audiobook and I thought the format worked well. The book has a clear structure and very little dialogue so it was easy to follow when listening.

I liked the book, especially the supporting information about aspects of Victorian social history such as workhouses and life in the army. I learned a lot and gained a deeper knowledge of the time.

Focusing on the lives of the women rather than the crimes gives an original perspective, and the author makes some important points about sexist assumptions and the way the disadvantaged were treated. There was a certain amount of speculation when the evidence had gaps or sources weren't available, but I thought the author argued their case convincingly.

I probably wouldn't read more on the subject of Jack the Ripper, but I would read other books dealing with crimes of the period or books about poverty and crime in the Victorian age.

Pamela wrote: "I've just finished this - as the physical library is closed, I borrowed this on audiobook and I thought the format worked well..."

I am only about half finished, but snuck in to see what others had to say. I have to agree that the audio format is working very well for this book. A friend is reading by ebook and she has complained at the level of detail of the facts included. For some reason, I think the audio form allows the details space to breathe.

And now I am off to finish the second half...

I have just finished this and thought it was a great read.

I lived for many years near Whitechapel and my family are from The east end and so the Ripper murders were very familiar and yet I knew almost nothing about the women.

What shocked me most about this book was how little progress we have made. Working class women are still judged in this way and women are often blamed for crimes against them.

I am really glad I read this book

Good, it has been on my list to read for a while, I just haven't got a copy of it yet

I have now finished and really enjoyed this book. The author definitely gave background on many institutions and customs of the time, but without getting fully distracted by these side topics. It gives a completely different perspective than we are used to seeing from this era. It was also a revelation that fighting alcoholism in the past would have been so difficult not just for lack of resources to help the process, but also that everyone drank so much more regularly.

While I appreciate the central idea of giving voices to the women that were killed by Jack the Ripper, I looked at this more as just an interesting way to look at the era through the lives of five women. That they were victims of the same killer fell away very quickly for me.

Very much enjoying the detailed description of the dwellings and occupations, bring to life the sounds and smells in a way that can often be santised in a history text. The modern style of depicting historical information using descriptive writing has really snowballed over the last few years. I enjoy it but wounder how much is fact and how much invention. I often find that this inspires me to fact check little things. I imagine much of the source material used would be census info, reports and newspaper articles, workhouse registars and the like. It is quite a skill to be able to take documentary evidence and weave a narrative from it.