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columbidae's review against another edition
dark
informative
medium-paced
2.0
Wasn’t really amused by the gruesome pictures in the middle of this book…
samharnold's review
3.0
This is a good read which makes some valid points. However, there are some things I have a problem with. The first is I feel that, to a certain extent, Patricia Cornwall made some of the evidence fit her theory. Even to the fact she looked for additional murders to assign to Sickert, even though the crimes made no sense with regards to MO and everything we know about serial killing.
Cornwall also shows a fair amount of arrogance within the book. The theory is right, she did something no one else could have - solved the Ripper case. She never considers other theories and she never considers she might be wrong. Had she shown a degree of unbias then the theory would have been easier to believe.
The last reason is that she cites Linda Fairstein as one of her experts. A woman who set up innocent black men as perpetrators of a murder they didn't commit. This I find hard to swallow.
Overall for all Ripper fans this is a good read with additional information, that describes an interesting theory.
Cornwall also shows a fair amount of arrogance within the book. The theory is right, she did something no one else could have - solved the Ripper case. She never considers other theories and she never considers she might be wrong. Had she shown a degree of unbias then the theory would have been easier to believe.
The last reason is that she cites Linda Fairstein as one of her experts. A woman who set up innocent black men as perpetrators of a murder they didn't commit. This I find hard to swallow.
Overall for all Ripper fans this is a good read with additional information, that describes an interesting theory.
colorfulleo92's review
2.0
As a true crime novel stating to have solved the jack the ripper case it isn't very good. But it had a huge sense of gossip and pointing fingers and was oddly intriguing to read. Sloth the first part of the book did put me up quite a bit. I do get that Sickert deformed private parts could be a good motive to those horrible crimes, although I found the amount of discriptves about it and the sheer amount of time she felt the need to point it out felt both disturbing and unnecessary. I wanted to scream "I get it!! He's penis is deformed!!" But do think my neighbors would have wondered what was going on. The need of solving the jack the ripper case might never cool down as I doubt we'll ever know for sure. Yes the forensic and such is getting a lot better but this case is very old and I doubt the evidence collected are much help. But fascinating nevertheless
proptartmn's review
1.0
I struggled with this book. I don't know what it was about it, but I have a stubborn streak and I wasn't going to let this book beat me!
...And then I realized: They never caught Jack the Ripper. There wasn't going to be any tidy end to this flippin' book! So I quit.
...And then I realized: They never caught Jack the Ripper. There wasn't going to be any tidy end to this flippin' book! So I quit.
sylviaisme's review against another edition
2.0
Bisogna ammettere che la Cornwell ha fatto un'indagine estremamente minuziosa e una ricostruzione apprezzabile della Londra di fine Ottocento, e ammetto anche che dopo aver letto questo libro sono tentata di credere che il pittore inglese Walter Sickert e Jack lo Squartatore possano essere stati la stessa persona. Nonostante questo però, ho trovato Ritratto di un assassino ai limiti del tollerabile per quanto si è rivelato autoreferenziale e illazionistico. Un'indagine fin troppo saccente e pretenziosa, condotta da una scrittrice che non ha perso occasione per dimostrare quanto sia preparata nel campo - o almeno questo è quello che le sue analisi mi hanno portato a credere.
Sono senza dubbio d'accordo con chi ritiene questo libro meritevole di lettura per la ricostruzione storica della Londra vittoriana e della vita dell'artista Walter Sickert, probabilmente uniche note pregevoli di una lettura anche fin troppo lunga.
Sono senza dubbio d'accordo con chi ritiene questo libro meritevole di lettura per la ricostruzione storica della Londra vittoriana e della vita dell'artista Walter Sickert, probabilmente uniche note pregevoli di una lettura anche fin troppo lunga.
leslie_turner0121's review
2.0
I was not very pleased with this book. It was an interesting theory that she had as to who the killer really was but some parts of the book seemed to really be stretching for a connection and them there were whole chapters that were almost filler chapters that had barely a connection to why Sickert killed or who he was.
chelse34's review
3.0
This was an interesting take on who Jack the Ripper was. Based on her research, evidence, and new scientific technologies, she claimed she was able to figure it out. It would be interesting to see her claims of why it wouldn't be the "other" suspects. She mostly focused on why she thought it was Walter Sickert. Based on his childhood, his emotions, his letters, and his art, Cornwell was able to piece it together. He may be the Ripper, who knows! Some facts were a stretch for me, like how she described his paintings looking like his victims. I could see it if she described it, but wouldn't have thought that at first sight. It was interesting, but I think I would rather just read an information book about Jack the Ripper, and not have to read through all of the "why it's Sickert" stuff.