In the slum alleys of Lambeth in 1891 a sinister silk-hatted figure lurks in the shadows - but trade is there for the taking and a girl must make a living. Now, one after another, the girls who work the Waterloo Road wake in the morning to feel the slow agony of the most vicious of poisons . . . victims of the man called Fred. The police have only a string of 'catch me if you can' letters to taunt them, whilea whole mailing list of Victorian worthies find demands for money with menaces in their mail. Inspector Swain investigates . . . 'Original story told in a highly individual manner' Times Literary Supplement

The heavily illustrated stand-alone companion book to the internationally best-selling Last Apprentice series, the series that inspired the forthcoming major motion picture Seventh Son. The Spook's Bestiary is your guidebook to the supernatural, terrifying creatures of the dark: Learn what to do if you must face a boggart, a witch, a dark mage, or even the Fiend himself. Fill your pockets with salt and iron. Carry a rowan staff and a silver chain. And most importantly, clear your mind and conquer your own fear. Here is the Spook's own notebook, full of the instructions that any young apprentice, like Tom Ward, will need. Learn how to bind a boggart. Find out how to capture a witch. Memorize what to do if you face the Fiend himself. If you are the seventh son of a seventh son—or even if you are simply a fan of The Last Apprentice series—this book holds all you need to face the forces of evil. The Last Apprentice series is soon to be a major motion picture, Seventh Son, starring Jeff Bridges, Ben Barnes, Alicia Vikander, Kit Harington, Olivia Williams, Antje Traue, Djimon Hounsou, and Julianne Moore as Mother Malkin. It's a suspenseful thrill ride that's "spine-tingling" (Publishers Weekly) and "anything but tame" (Horn Book). BUT DON'T READ IT AFTER DARK!

Thomas Ward has spent two years as the Spook's apprentice. He's faced unimaginable peril, and survived. But a new danger has emerged: an ancient water witch, Bloodeye, is roaming the County intent on destroying everything in her path. To strengthen his skills, Tom is sent to the far north to train with the demanding Bill Arkwright. Arkwright lives in a haunted mill on the edge of a treacherous marsh, and his training methods prove to be harsh and sometimes cruel. Will Tom's new bag of tricks be enough to overcome a critical mistake that leaves him confronting Bloodeye on his own?

When discussing unsolved murders of women in late Victorian London, most people think of the depredations of Jack the Ripper, the Whitechapel Murderer, whose sanguineous exploits have spawned the creation of a small library of books. But Jack the Ripper was just one of a string of phantom murderers whose unsolved slayings outraged late Victorian Britain. The mysterious Great Coram Street, Burton Crescent and Euston Square murders were talked about with bated breath, and the northern part of Bloomsbury got the unflattering nickname of the 'murder neighbourhood' for its profusion of unsolved mysteries. Marvel at the convoluted Kingswood Mystery, littered with fake names and mistaken identities; be puzzled by the blackmail and secret marriage in the Cannon Street Murder; and shudder at the vicious yet silent killing in St Giles that took place in a crowded house in the dead of night. This book is the first to resurrect these unsolved Victorian murder mysteries, and to highlight the ghoulish handiwork of the Rivals of the Ripper: the spectral killers of gas-lit London.

For 132 years the ghastly and horrific murders committed in London's East End by the infamous 'Jack the Ripper' have gripped and baffled the world. The Ripper commenced his series of atrocities at the end of August and continued freely until the beginning of November 1888 when inexplicably the murders stopped... In all, five women were brutally murdered and savagely mutilated in the most unimaginable way. The killing spree centered in and around the impoverished rabbit warren of alleys and rookeries of Whitechapel. The invisible killer was never caught despite the very best intentions of the police and thousands of would be detectives following the grim proceedings. Since those dark days of murders committed by gaslight, the mystery of Jack the Ripper has become the ultimate cold case among crime historians and arm chair researchers worldwide, with a multitude of books, plays and dramas all hoping to solve what London's finest Victorian detectives failed to do... Given the space of time much has changed and the crime scene locations and landscape in which the Ripper and his victims would known would be in many parts unrecognizable to them. Equally to the modern day Londoner or visitor the locations would be very much largely unknown... until now. True Crime and Social historians, Richard C Cobb and Mark Davis, return to the Whitechapel of 1888 to see what remains from this dark time in London's history and to take the reader on a step-by-step tour of the modern world of Jack the Ripper, giving a detailed history of the victims, the crimes and the police investigation. We also look at other victims (outside the accepted five ) which may have been killed by the same man. Using the original police reports, state of the art photographs, unseen images and diagrams, they present the truth about what actually happened in the autumn of 1888 and what remains of Jack the Ripper's London today. They also focus on the ever changing face of London's End End, giving the reader a real sense of how the past meets the present in arguably London's most vibrant and cultural quarter... where the shadow of the Ripper is never too far away.

Considered a primary suspect in the unsolved Jack the Ripper murders, Polish-born Severin Antoniovich Klosowski also gained considerable notoriety as "The Borough Poisoner of Southwark" in the late 1800s. Within a span of five years, Klosowski took on three women as his wives and lethally poisoned each with deadly doses of antimony. This study of Klosowski's murders of Mary Spink, Elizabeth "Bessie" Taylor and Maud Marsh includes extensive accounts of the individual crimes, the accompanying investigations and Klosowski's conviction and execution. The final chapter examines intense police and media speculation that Klosowski may also have been the unidentified serial killer Jack the Ripper, citing period news articles and more recent developments in the notorious case. One appendix provides a detailed timeline of Klosowski's "poison period" from 1892 to 1903.

Between April and November of 1888, a shadow descended upon the streets of London’s East End. Night workers – predominantly prostitutes – were targeted in a brutal series of murders. Of the dozen reported killings, six bore the chilling signature of a single murderer, who would later become infamously known as Jack the Ripper. This enigmatic killer left a macabre calling card: surgically excising organs from his victims. Despite numerous theories and alleged familial ties proposed over the decades, the true identity of Jack the Ripper remains elusive. Modern forensics and passionate amateur sleuths have pursued the mystery, but the waters are muddied with myths and hearsay. Can we ever claim to be related to someone whose identity is unknown? The Ripper’s reign of terror may have been brief, yet its impact lingers on. Copycat killers have emerged over the years, attempting to emulate Jack’s nefarious deeds, but none have matched the intrigue surrounding the original Ripper. Whether this phantom killer was a transient or a local, their identity – and whether they fled England or met their end within its borders – remains one of history’s most compelling enigmas. Delve into this book and decide for yourself: after journeying through its pages, do you think you’ve come closer to uncovering the truth about Jack the Ripper?