The Prince and the Whitechapel Murders by Saul David

The Prince and the Whitechapel Murders by Saul David
Buy The Prince and the Whitechapel Murders by Saul David at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: Historical Fiction
Reviewer: James Donald
Summary: A fascinating idea for a book with a great pace and a wonderful story that is ultimately plagued by a clunky execution.
Buy? No	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 304	Date: February 2018
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
External links: Author's website
ISBN: 978-0340953686
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George Hart is the illegitimate son of a high ranking member of the British Royal Family as well as being part Zulu and part Irish. In the third book of the Zulu Hart series our hero returns to London for a secret mission protecting a Prince and hunting Jack the Ripper.

I SO wanted to like this book. It is compelling and I did find it to be fun but this only goes so far. To explain my major issues with it I'd like to give a couple of comparisons. JK Rowling is a great storyteller with great imagination but technically speaking she is far from a great writer. Saul David is somewhat similar but unfortunately his writing lacks Rowling's charm. I suppose another way of looking at my issue with this would be to compare the original Star Wars trilogy with the Prequels. In Episodes 4 through 6 Lucas et al crafted a universe from hints, shadows and suggestion. In Episodes 1 to 3 everything was superficially the same but it just felt off. The hints and shadows were gone and instead every back story was explained in dreadfully dull narrative. Every story point was recapped, every character was introduced and the narrative screeched to a halt. That is what reading this book is like.

George Hart is a great character and David makes the world of Victorian England come alive. With his background as a prominent historian there can be no faulting the accuracy of the texture of the time (although I do question the liberal views held by some). As an Alan Moore fan I'm quite well versed in Ripper-lore (From Hell being one of the most thoroughly researched books on the subject) and it was nice to see all the familiar beats being hit.

I could go on and on about this book but it would be the same thing over and over again. I absolutely loved this story but I cringed reading it. Every time I get into the tale I get a bucket of cold water thrown over me by a Mr Exposition moment. Imagine getting Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Heart Club Band on original vinyl but the LP is so badly scratched that every time you are getting into it a monumental screech ruins it for you; that was this book for me.

For further reading you need to go back to the best work of that time period Sherlock: The Essential Arthur Conan Doyle Adventures Volume 2 by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

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You can read more book reviews or buy The Prince and the Whitechapel Murders by Saul David at Amazon.com.

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