R Scott

Exhaustive, compelling, emotive and totally convincing. The 800 pages fly by. A must for anyone interested in JTR, murder mysteries or indeed, Victorian England at its corrupt worst. Maybrick as a JTR suspect first came to notoriety over 30 years ago with the Ripper Diaries, allegedly penned by successful cotton trader James Maybrick. Controversial but never proven as a modern forgery it is now protected under the Official Secrets Act (odd if it's a supposed fake). Robinson however, believes it is a forgery, but a contemporary one written by James's brother, the high society musical prodigy Micheal. Robinson leaves no stone unturned in his research into the killings, Michael Maybrick and most egregiously, the audacious covering up by the Victorian Establishment. To understand the latter, one must understand Freemasonry, and how it was so integral to high society, the law, the arts and anybody of influence back then. Hard to appreciate in the 2020s as Freemasonry today is largely a fading, anachronistic fraternity. But 130 years ago, it was power personified; it existed with The Establishment, and vice versa. Robinson gloriously pulls no punches in his disdain for JTR, Michael Maybrick or indeed, the corrupt individuals responsible for what he ultimately convincinces as one of the biggest cover-ups in history. A must read.