One of my personal interests is the Victorian period. During my undergrad, I took a course that focused on London during this period, and I read several books that discussed the Ripper case and the public's reception of it, among other things. So when Silk was presented to me with a blurb placing it alongside that case, I was intrigued.
Come check out Silk by Chris Karlsen with me, and then head over to Reading Addiction Virtual Book Tours to see all the other stops on the tour!
The Book:
London-Fall, 1888
The city is in a panic as Jack the Ripper continues his murderous spree. While the Whitechapel police struggle to find him, Detective Inspector Rudyard Bloodstone and his partner are working feverishly to find their own serial killer. The British Museum's beautiful gardens have become a killing ground for young women strangled as they stroll through.
Their investigation has them brushing up against Viscount Everhard, a powerful member of the House of Lords, and a friend to Queen Victoria. When the circumstantial evidence points to him as a suspect, Rudyard must deal with the political blowback, and knows if they are going to go after the viscount, they'd better be right and have proof.
As the body count grows and the public clamor for the detectives to do more, inter-department rivalries complicate the already difficult case.
Excerpt:
Events of the day and the potential
satisfaction of giving Napier a bloody nose dwindled. Questions about the
murder crept back into Ruddy's thoughts. Morris joined him at his table in the
rear of the pub with a Guinness, the popular beer of choice in hand. “You’ve
got the look of a man whose thoughts are a long distance from London.”
“No, sadly my thoughts are fixed here in
the city. I’m trying to figure out a clue. Ellis’s roommate said she’d
sometimes meet with a well-dressed man, a man of means the victim indicated.
They’d meet up at the fountain by the British Museum.”
“Don’t know the spot but then the museum
isn’t my cup of tea.”
“Not the point. I’m saying it’s odd. What
member of the upper class chooses to stroll through a public garden other than
Hyde or Regents, where they can see and be seen by one of their own?”
“I agree the wealthy prefer the parks
filled with others of their kind but it doesn’t mean a man can’t enjoy
someplace different.”
“We interviewed the guard again. The one
that discovered the body walks that half of the building. He told us the
majority of their male patrons are natty dressers, but he never saw a man like
that loitering by the fountain.”
“My guess is: the man is married and can’t
afford to run the risk of being seen by a friend of his wife’s. Or, he might
live or work in the area and the spot is convenient.”
“Or, he’s a murderer who’s noticed the
victim walking through the park on a regular basis, saw it as an opportunity
and cozied up to her.”
Ruddy took another swallow of his ale,
mentally debating the merit of each theory. “I don’t think he lives in the
area. If so, he’d have cut through the park more and been seen by the guards.
Not sure about the married man having a tryst idea."
To Ruddy's way of thinking, if the man was
married and looking for a tumble, he’d have met her someplace other than the
gardens and at a better hour.
Instinct drew him back to his original
sense of the culprit and crime. “I feel like this was a crime of opportunity.
I’ve thought it all along and can’t shake the sense.”
“If he was just seeking a victim, then why
haven’t you had more murders like this?” Morris asked.
Ruddy downed the rest of his beer and put
his tankard on the edge of the table where June would refill it. “Everyone has
to start somewhere. She might be number one.”
The Author:
I was born and raised in Chicago. My father was a history professor and my mother was, and is, a voracious reader. I grew up with a love of history and books.as born and raised in Chicago. My father was a history professor and my mother was, and is, a voracious reader.
I grew up with a love of history and books.
Find Chris Karlsen Online:
Be sure to leave a comment on this post - Chris Karlsen will be selecting a random winner of a Kindle digital copy of the book and a $15 gift card from comments left during the tour!
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