The Sixth Victim (Constance Piper Series #1)

by Tessa Harris

Overview

London's East End, 1888: When darkness falls, terror begins . . .

The foggy streets of London's Whitechapel district have become a nocturnal hunting ground for Jack the Ripper, and no woman is safe. Flower girl Constance Piper is not immune to dread, but she is more preoccupied with her own strange experiences of late.

Clairvoyants seem to be everywhere these days. Constance's mother has found comfort in contacting her late father in a séance. But are such powers real? And could Constance really be possessed of second sight? Following the latest grisly discovery, Constance is contacted by a high-born lady of means who fears the victim may be her missing sister. She implores Constance to use her clairvoyance to help solve the crime, which the press is calling "the Whitechapel Mystery," attributing the murder to the Ripper.

As Constance becomes embroiled in intrigue far more sinister than she could have imagined, assistance comes in a startling manner that profoundly challenges her assumptions about the nature of reality. She'll need all the help she can get-because there may be more than one depraved killer out there . . .

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781496706553
Publisher:	Kensington
Publication date:	03/27/2018
Series:	Constance Piper Series , #1
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	850,877
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.10(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Tessa Harris is the author of the acclaimed Dr. Thomas Silkstone Mysteries, including Secrets in the Stones and The Anatomist’s Apprentice. A graduate of Oxford University with a History degree, Tessa has also been a journalist and editor, contributing to many national publications such as The Times and The Telegraph. She has also acted as a literary publicist for several well-known authors. Readers can visit her website at www.tessaharrisauthor.com.

Editorial Reviews

04/24/2017
Harris’s late-Victorian historical, a series launch, is less successful than her Dr. Thomas Silkstone mysteries (The Anatomist’s Apprentice, etc.). Although flower girl Constance Piper must struggle to make a living, she recognizes that she’s better off than the desperate women working the London streets, and she is deeply disturbed when they begin falling prey to the serial killer who will become known as Jack the Ripper. Meanwhile, Constance is preoccupied with another puzzle—the whereabouts of Emily Tindall, a teacher who taught her how to speak and act properly. Part of the problem is the familiar plot. The Ripper murders have been the basis for countless whodunits, and Harris’s depiction of London’s impoverished East End, while solid, is just not at the level of authors such as Paul West and John Brooks Barry. Even focusing on the woman whose torso was found in the building site of what was to become New Scotland Yard—the sixth victim of the title—has been done better by Sarah Pinborough in 2014’s Mayhem. Agent: Melissa Jeglinski, Knight Agency. (June)

Publishers Weekly

“A reinterpretation of Jack the Ripper with a supernatural touch . . . combines two perceptive points of view with a convincing portrait of London's seamier side and a neat twist of an ending.” –Kirkus Reviews
 
"In The Sixth Victim Tessa Harris has again produced a highly imaginative and entertaining book, brimming with atmosphere and suspense. This latest work, set in a time dominated by the murders of Jack the Ripper, exemplifies Harris's ability as a storyteller and demonstrates her outstanding knowledge of London's history." –David Bullock, author of The Man Who Would Be Jack

From the Publisher

05/01/2017
The autumn of 1888 is a frightening time to be a woman in London's East End. The killer who calls himself Jack the Ripper stalks the streets of Whitechapel. A Cockney flower girl, Constance Piper, is just as fearful, but she also has been preoccupied by strange dreams and premonitions of murder and longs for advice from her mentor, missionary Emily Tindall, who has disappeared. When a potential sixth victim of the Ripper is discovered, a wealthy woman, worried that the deceased might be her missing sister, begs Constance to use her clairvoyant powers to solve the crime. The author of the "Dr. Thomas Silkstone" mysteries (Secrets in the Stones) launches a new Victorian series with this gruesome tale that weaves plots involving Jack the Ripper, clairvoyance, and missing girls. Constance is an unusual protagonist with a special gift. VERDICT Harris's treatment of the working class's spirituality and belief in ghosts will attract fans of Sharyn McCrumb's "Appalachian Ballad" mysteries. Readers who follow Jack the Ripper theories may also enjoy.—LH

Library Journal

2017-04-02
A reinterpretation of Jack the Ripper with a supernatural touch.East Enders Constance Piper and her sister, Flo, must remain one step ahead of the coppers to support themselves and their widowed mother in 1888 London. Constance sells oranges and flowers to the gentry while Flo lifts their valuables. But at least they don't have to sell their bodies, unlike some of the other women they know. Now that three such unfortunates have been found with slit throats and missing organs, Constance and Flo are at even greater risk from the Whitechapel Murderer. Constance also worries that Emily Tindall, her mentor and teacher from the neighborhood church mission, hasn't been around for some time. Constance misses her lessons with Miss Tindall, who taught her eager 18-year-old pupil to read and practice basic etiquette in hopes that Constance could escape to a marginally better life. Meanwhile, Emily narrates the unhappy domestic tale of Terence Cutler, an obstetrician and fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons whose bitter wife, Geraldine, has left him. And Constance, after a strange experience with an illusionist, has a dream foreseeing the fourth murder of a prostitute. All London quakes when a fifth woman is killed, and the headless torso of a sixth woman is found in the construction site for New Scotland Yard. Then Geraldine's sister comes to town and, with some subtle nudging from Emily, enlists Constance's help in searching for Geraldine. As Constance is pulled further into the world of the man claiming responsibility for the murders, she also reunites with Emily in a way she never would have guessed. With her mentor's guidance, she finds the strength and courage to seek justice for the sixth victim. Although Harris (Secrets in the Stones, 2016, etc.) gives away a little too much a little too soon, she still combines two perceptive points of view with a convincing portrait of London's seamier side and a neat twist of an ending.

Kirkus Reviews