Shadow of the Knife by Richard Ayre

​Now, here we have a book that touts itself to be Ripper Street meets Sherlock and is in fact something like that. It isn’t a Jack the Ripper novel as such, it’s. Ripper adjacent novel. It takes place a few years later in the same area when similar horrific crimes are being revisited upon the Whitechapel’s ladies of the night.
    An ambitious detective and his Watson like sidekick (although a much more active one at that) set out to solve the murders, a journey that takes them from the darkest dankest alleyways to the poshest plushest society dens.
    I’ve read the author before just recently, another thriller, albeit a very different one. It was entertaining so I downloaded this one purely on name recognition and it didn’t disappoint. Ayre certainly proves himself once again as an indie author to watch. Yes, he did mess with historical facts to the extent that some devoted Ripperologists might take umbrage, he admits to as much and yes, he plans to serialize these characters, which is…well, depends on how much you like serializations. For a book that compares itself to two tv shows, one ought to expect no less.
     Overall, entertaining, as dark and atmospheric as such a tale ought to be and with an excellent plot twist. Recommended for thriller fans, especially historical thrillers. Thanks Netgalley.