This was an interesting Victorian mystery series. While all of London is focused on finding Jack the ripper Emma Langley wants to find a killer as well. Only this killer that she's trying to find is her husband. I enjoyed reading this one and finding a strong female heroine in a Victorian novel. And no I don't find it out of place as I don't believe all Victorian lad's were fainting damsels in distress.

Thank you for allowing me to review this book. This was an easy to read crime fiction story. The main character was Emma Langley, who is a newly married young women, whose husband disappears as they are moving to a new life. He is found dead shortly after. Set in Victorian London, Emma feels the police are not sufficiently interested in discovering what happened. The police are stretched searching for Jack the Ripper. Emma seeks help from Penny to help her find out what happened to her husband.
The female characters are shown as quite strong in a time when men were in control and believed women were unable to make decisions, and kept as the property of their husband.
This book is the first in a new series, so I'm sure that Emma will develop more as a character. I look forward to reading more.

I enjoyed the slow teasing out of suspects and motives. Emma and Penny are sensible protagonists who sift through the clues using logic and reason. Set against a backdrop of Victorian London, they manage to skirt around society’s restrictions on women. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful new mystery series by Emily Organ. Don't miss it.
Reviewed in the United States on March 27, 2025
This book pulled me in from the beginning. It's a spinoff of the Penny Green Series by Emily Organ which is my Favorite Cozy Mystery Series.

Emma Langley seems to have married in haste without knowing her attractive husband very well at all. Obviously he wasn't the man she thought he was and now she fears he's made her life a living nightmare. He deserted her on a train when she believed they were going to start a new life together and then inexplicably and horribly turned up dead.

Emma turns to former investigative reporter Penny Green for help. Penny is now married and a mother of two young children but her interest in solving crimes is still very active. She has been making notes on Jack the Ripper which may or may not help in this investigation. London is on high alert and anxious to catch this brutal killer.

Emma is staying with her landlady because she now has no home and no money. She's decided to investigate her husband's murder and it leads her to more dastardly deeds to discover.

It's heartening to see the friendship develop between these two beloved characters, Penny Green Blakely and Emma Langley. Penny's husband, Inspector James Blakely, comes around and becomes supportive and gives approval to their detective skills. It was a totally satisfying ending which also leaves open the promise of more mysteries to solve. I cannot wait for the next installment of the Emma Langley Victorian Mystery Series.

Emily married just four months did not expect to find herself a widow so soon. Neither did she expect to find out that her husband was a no good philanderer who had scammed a gullible young woman for all she had. 1888 London was tense with the unsolved crimes of Jack the Ripper and unexplained killings were rife. William was just one of them.

Emily was not going to sit back and watch, when she realised that her case was low priority for the local police. Getting together with a former reporter of the local paper, she painstakingly uncovered William’s last few hours and his nefarious activities which led to his death.

The story depicts also the helplessness of women in general, where men controlled their entire lives from behavior to finances and unscrupulous men got away literally with murder. The workings of slums in London are meticulously documented and gives one an insight into how this city operated.

A mystery murder genre with a lot to attract history fans as well.

The title and the description drew me in. William sure was a piece of work. Emma still has a right to know what happened to her husband. I loved Penny. She was a great addition. Emma and Penny made a great team. Halfway through I had a few ideas of how it was going to go, but then something else happens. There was another twist I did not expect. I will be reading more in this series.


Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my e-copy in exchange for a review.

I really enjoyed this book. The author did a superb job of detailing the various neighborhoods of London during the time of Jack the Ripper. The development of the main character made it totally believable that she could develop from a widow into a very capable amateur detective. I also liked how the author was able to develop her other female detective character, Penny Green, in this story. I am looking forward to reading the next Emmy Langley book, The Poison Puzzle.

In 1888 London, a woman’s grief over her husband’s murder in Whitechapel turns to investigation as she uncovers his secret life and a dangerous web of deceit, putting her own life at risk amid the terror of Jack the Ripper.

Penny Green is back, and with a new partner! Emma Langley is a sweetheart, but also smart and strong-willed. The mystery is atmospheric and engaging, with plenty of twists. I loved the audiobook narration.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

The Whitechapel Widow is the first book in the Emma Langley Victorian Mystery Series, and it is a winner. By Emily Organ this convoluted murder mystery had me staying up long into the night trying to solve Emma’s husband’s murder right along with her. Then there are the killings attributed to Jack the Ripper and scariest of all, the letters written in red. Much to keep one’s attention riveted while reading this book. All being well-plotted and well-written.

Victorian Historical Fiction readers will find Emily Organ, an author not to be missed. The Whitechapel Widow is highly recommended.

This book is set in London against the backdrop of the hunt for Jack the Ripper. Emma's husband abandoned her on a train after and later ends up murdered. Emma, in the course of trying to find out what happened to him, finds that there is a lot she didn't know about her husband. She enlists the help of Penny Green (now Penny Blakely) a former writer for the local newspaper. This is the first book of the Emma Langley Mysteries.

WOW! This book had me from the first page. I did not want to put it down. There were plenty of twists and turns and lots of secrets! I loved that Emma and was such a strong female character in spite of all that had happened to her. I also like the feistiness of Penny Blakley and her refusal to stay in the mold society (and sometimes her policeman husband) wants to keep her in. Two strong women in an excellent Victorian mystery perfect for an afternoon on the couch under a blanket and with a cup of tea. Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the chance to read this book and give my opinion.

I had not read any of this author's books before, but this certainly won't be my last.

I love historical fiction, and this book does the genre justice! It centers around where Jack the Ripper was, but does not focus on that case. Thus felt very much like Sherlock Holmes. Very prim and proper, but still willing to do what needs to be done to solve the case. I did figure out the killer, but only 1 chapter before they revealed it. This was a cozy-ish read, and would be great for anyone just wanting an enjoyable read.

Thank you NetGalley and Storm Publishingfor this eCopy to review

Diving into The Whitechapel Widow was like stepping into the foggy, gas lit streets of Victorian London. The story follows Emma Langley, a widow whose life is upended when her husband, William, is found murdered in the notorious Whitechapel district during the height of Jack the Ripper's terror. As Emma grieves, she uncovers shocking secrets about William's hidden life, leading her on a perilous journey through the glittering drawing rooms of high society and the grimy gambling dens of the East End.

Emma's determination to uncover the truth about her husband's death is both admirable and heart breaking. With the help of Penny Green, a former reporter with a knack for trouble, Emma pieces together a web of blackmail, corruption, and betrayal. The tension builds as she edges closer to the truth, but the danger lurking in the shadows of Whitechapel is never far behind.

The atmospheric writing, and historical detail kept me engaged, and Emma's resilience and journey of self-discovery added depth to the story.

Overall, The Whitechapel Widow is a solid historical mystery

The Whitechapel Widow is a perfect cozy mystery for a drizzly day at home. Cozy up and settle in for a historical setting (Victorian England circa late 1800s?! yes please!) with just enough whodunnit to keep you turning the pages.

This book started off on a great opener and quickly settled into a pace that kept me engaged and interested. I also really enjoyed that there were shorter chapters and multiple glimpses into sub-characters lives and thoughts. I will say, this book can be read as a standalone, but there were multiple references to what must have been previous characters and books that left me hanging a little bit. All the better though! That just means I have a new fun series to tap into!

I was also slightly dissapointed that it did not interweave with Jack the Ripper in a more detailed manner. While the murders are mentioned quite often, based on the description I was expecting more. Instead, a brief "oh someone accused your husband of looking like Jack" and a picture framer uses red ink left me wanting much more.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and had a job to put it down. I had read a number of the Penny Green books and always enjoyed them. I was good to catch up worth her life. Now Emma Langley had asked for Penny’s help in discovering her husband’s murderer. I loved the way the two worked together and the way life had to be organised around Penny’s two children. Her husband, James, also features in their quest for the truth. The case involves a number of people and secrets. It had me guessing until the end. I will certainly look out for the next in the series. I received a copy and have voluntarily reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own. However I did preorder my own copy.

Disappearing husband!

When Emma Langley’s husband fails to get on the train, having hopped off to buy a newspaper, she’s alarmed. What has held him up? They have decided to move out of London and relocate in Suffolk close to where William’s aunt lives.
When Emma reaches Lavenham she leaves her luggage at the station and catches a return train back to London hoping to find William. That doesn’t work out so she returns once more to Lavenham only to find there is no aunt’s house. She stays at the local inn overnight. Puzzled and distressed Emma journeys back to Liverpool Station, London once again and is taken in by her kindly previous landlady.
Together they report her missing husband to the police who open up the possibility that William has deliberately planned his disappearance.
More distressing news follows when William is found murdered. His death pushes open the door to his perfidy, which Emma discovers more of as she continues to investigate aided by ex reporter Penny Green.
Tied up in this are letters written in red ink to various people pertaining to be from Jack the Ripper. Emma is pursuing a dangerous route than runs from high society to seedy gambling joints.
An enquiring Victorian mystery that satisfies.

A Storm ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.

This historical mystery first in series revolves around a woman determined to discover why her husband was murdered and the details of his secret life.

I found this story well written and the plot fairly interesting. But overall, I felt it was a bit too easy for our heroine in her reasoning and unearthing of aspects of the mystery. I felt that there wasn't enough depth to her thought process. I was told rather than shown in some instances. And her partner and friend, a former news reporter turned stay-at-home mom, stole the show for me. With her spunky attitude and general know-how, Penny pretty much stole the show from Emma. I was also bothered by the almost constant condescension from the male characters over the females not being smart enough or too delicate to participate in almost everything. I realize that those were different times for women, but I felt like I was being bombarded with it too often.

So, while it had its good points, I was not pulled in enough to read further for now.

My thanks to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for providing the free early arc of The Whitechapel Widow for review. The opinions are strictly my own.

Title: The Whitechapel Widow
Author: Emily Organ
Publisher: Storm Publishing
Release Date: March 27, 2025
Rating: 4⭐️

The Whitechapel Widow combines all of my favorite elements - a female lead with a surprisingly steely strength, a mystery, the 19th century, with a hint of Jack the Ripper tossed in for good measure. Emily Organ manages to perfectly capture the fear, the darkness, and the seediness that surrounded Whitechapel during Jack the Ripper’s reign of terror.

I love Emma - she has so much grit and even as her husband’s secrets began to unravel, she never fell apart or let her nerves be shaken. She is bold and persistent.

The one thing keeping this from a 5 ⭐️ review is the slightly weak dialogue - it was occasionally used to tell rather than show but this wasn’t so jarring that it took me out of the story. Even with this minor complaint, I couldn’t put the book down. I had to know what happened!

This was the first of Organ’s books I’ve read and I will certainly be picking up the sequel as well as Organ’s other series.


Thank you @netgalley and @stormbooks_co for the ARC.

I thank NetGalley and Storm Publishing for an advance reader copy of “The Whitechapel Widow.” All opinions and comments are my own.

Emma Langley and her husband were supposed to be on to a wonderful new chapter in their life, away from congested London. But very soon it’s apparent that the husband has run off and left her. And young women have been turning up dead in Jack the Ripper’s old hunting grounds. Is it possible that her husband…? And then his body is found. Enlisting the help of a female reporter who had been instrumental in finding the murderer of her brother several years before -- Penny Green -- Emma is determined to solve two crimes; prove her husband wasn’t the serial killer and find his murderer at the same time.

“The Whitechapel Widow” has a lot going on in its pages, and author Emily Organ makes sure that readers have plenty to ponder; no mid-book slow down here. There’s the husband’s secret life, Penny Green’s personal business (she’s married now to a police inspector who’s not at all happy about what she’s involved in -- we’re talking about Victorian attitudes towards women), and if that wasn’t enough, why not throw in a whole story line involving legal fraud and deception? Emma and Penny tie it up all very neatly, making sure that everyone that needs to be brought to justice gets found out; well, more or less, of course. There is that Jack the Ripper fellow that managed to elude the rope, after all. And we have one last little tidbit that probably will work into a future adventure for new friends Emma and Penny. Clever, that.

The Author’s Note contains info about Jack the Ripper and the real places that appear in the book, many of which still exist, and the real stories behind the fictional story. “The Whitechapel Widow” is an entertaining addition to Jack the Ripper whodunit theories as well as Victorian historical mysteries.

Quite the mystery! Emma's husband is murdered, and she is determined to find his killer since the police are extremely busy trying to find Jack the Ripper. There were many clues which led to different theories, but the ending was a total surprise!

Thank you storm publishing and Netgalley for this ARC

I was old the moment I realized this book revolves around Jack The Ripper.
The writing is superb and Mrs Langley is a character easy to like and root for.

I am now interested in reading Emily Organ’s backlist; I expect it to be a fun ride!