This is a really fun Victorian-era mystery that has all of the nostalgia of traditional murder mystery novels. Emma is an intriguing protagonist and there are lots of side characters to keep you guessing who the killer is, as well as how everyone is connected (or not). It also very clearly sets up further books but nicely wraps up the mystery at hand. As this is my first novel by Emily Organ and the first in the series, I didn't realize that Penny is a character from another series by the author. I did wonder if there had been another book or series before this because I felt like there were some backstories that I was missing a little bit. However, this did not detract from my understanding of the story in any way. If anything, it just made me curious to read more about Penny and check out her series of books, as she was one of the most compelling side characters in this novel.

The story begins at Liverpool Street Train Station, where Emma Langley believes she is on the verge of moving to bucolic Suffolk to begin her new life. Her husband pops out of the train to buy a newspaper, disappears and is later found murdered in a cab in Whitechapel. This is the time when Jack the Ripper cast his ominous shadow over the East End of London. Emma hadn’t been married long and soon discovers her husband had many secrets, he was a womaniser, a gambler and possibly even Jack the Ripper himself. He’d married her for her inheritance that he’d squandered.

Emma teams up with Penny Blakely (née Green), who had been a pioneering woman reporter until marriage, motherhood and Victorian sensibilities closed that career to her. The pair venture into the dangerous East End back alleys trying to piece together the mystery of Emma’s husband’s murder, interviewing a number of colourful characters.

The pacing is good, building to a dramatic finale. The historical detail of late Victorian London feels authentic and is very atmospheric with the rain, the fog, the dark alleys, the barefoot street urchins and the busy horse drawn traffic.

This is the first book in a new series, it will be interesting to see how it continues, and how Emma Langley can solve mysteries with the many restrictions placed upon respectable women at the time.

Thanks to NetGalley, Storm Publishing and the author for an advance reader copy, I leave this review voluntarily.

I hadn't previously read anything by Emily Organ, so this was a good introduction to her writing.
The Whitechapel Widow is an historical mystery, and a wonderful blend of fact and fiction.
Having just wed four months previously, Emma Langley is looking forward to starting a new life with her husband William, in the Suffolk countryside. However, on the morning they are due to depart, William disappears. He is later found dead near Whitechapel. As she attempts to find out what William was doing in the East End, Emma realises she really didn't know her husband at all.
I loved this book, set as it is against the backdrop of Jack the Ripper's reign of terror. There are several references to the Ripper, and the funeral of Mary Kelly is mentioned. This combination of real events alongside the fictional tale of Emma Langley, makes for an engaging read.
The story is fast paced and twisty, and there are a host of unsavoury characters. Emma Langley comes across as quite naive, but she proves to have hidden strengths.

If historical crime fiction is your cup of tea, I would recommend The Whitechapel Widow.
Thanks to Storm Publishing and Netgalley for the digital ARC.
This title will be available on 27/03/2025.

This is a spin-off book from Penny Green’s mystery series. I still have a few more books to go in that series so I wish I had waited to read this one. Penny plays a role in this book and we find out more about her life and family as she helps Emma solve the mystery of who her husband really was.

The beginning of the book sucked me in as I wanted to find out what happened to Emma’s husband and why he disappeared. As she finds out more, she wonders if he could be Jack the Ripper as he appears to have lived an entirely different life than the one she knew about. It was interesting to watch her piece together his past and try to make connections to figure out why he was murdered. She meets an assortment of interesting characters all with mysterious connections to her husband and has to decide who is telling the truth and who is hiding their nefarious actions. I am curious where this series goes and its relation to Penny Green’s story.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for selecting me to read an advanced copy of the book.

The Whitechapel Widow by Emily Organ

First time read from this author , and I enjoyed it as love books set in this area and the era
Emma has only been married for a couple months when he is murdered.
It turns out he is not the man she thought he was and she even fears he is / was the ripper .
She turns to Penny Green to help her unravel Williams life, but is she putting their lives in peril by doing so ?
I think this book fits into the cost mystery category , and I loved it for that .

The Whitechapel Widow started off strong in that Emma’s husband goes to buy a newspaper and doesn’t return. Leaving Emma to travel to Sussex on her own to find that her husband’s aunt does not exist. Her husband turns up dead and Emma is left penniless and trying to solve the mystery of who her husband is and why he was killed.

As this is Victorian London, specifically Whitechapel Jack the Ripper lurks on the outskirts of the plot. Was her husband Jack the Ripper?

I really wanted to love this novel but from the start I felt that I had missed something in that this is the second novel with Emma and Penny solving mysteries, and the plot often referred to the first novel which made me feel that I had missed something.

I also felt that the plot was going round in circles and some characters which left me feeling a bit uninterested.

Thank you to the publisher and to Netgalley for the ARC but for me this novel didn’t hit the spot.

This book was so well written and it hooked me in from the beginning! Emma Langley finds herself investigating her husband’s death in the time of Jack The Ripper. The author seamlessly blends the Ripper investigation into a personal narrative involving Emma and her new friend Penny. I can’t wait to read the next book involving the dynamic crime solving duo of Emma and Penny! Thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC!

A historical mystery that kept my attention and was generally enjoyable. I would have liked to see a bit deeper into the characters themselves and felt a bit teased by the Ripper of it all

This book is set in 1888 in London during the reign of Jack the Ripper. Emma Langley’s husband has just been murdered. The police don’t seem to be too interested in finding the guilty party. Emma decides to contact Penny Green an ex-reporter. Penny has married and had 2 babies since Emma last saw her. But Penny is missing her investigative life. The two team up to solve this mystery. This was an interesting mystery and was well-written. I enjoyed both the characters and story. I would recommend to those who love a historical mystery. #NetGalley

This was a well worked Victorian murder mystery with the East End of London as a backdrop. Set at the time of Jack the Ripper, the book used his deeds as a reason why the police were ineffectual. The book focused on a recently married woman who was leaving London to start a new life in Suffolk, only to find that her husband used this event to abandon her. When she finds out, she investigates only to find her now murdered husband lived a life of criminality and deceit and that he married her to gain access to her inheritance. She uses a former Fleet Street reporter, now a struggling m7m to aid her and together they solve the riddle. . The book makes a point that opportunities and equality for women were fanciful ideas compared to today. All in all, an enjoyable read

The chapters of 'The Whitechapel Widow' I read were a well written historical mystery. It turns out, the subject-matter is actually too sinister for me to continue, because Jack the Ripper is truly despicable. However, Emily Organ has great pacing and engaging storytelling! Additionally, Emma is a great lead. I recommend this to readers who appreciate a compelling mystery who can handle the seriousness of the murders.

Special thanks to Storm Publishing and NetGalley for a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I love historical fiction, especially when it is mixed with mystery. This is book 1 in the Emma Langley series. I absolutely loved being dragged into this story.

The story takes place in London and is set in the late 1880s. The world-building was absolutely stunning and you could tell the author had done lots of research. I have always been intrigued by Jack the Ripper and having this story played out when Jack is roaming the streets is an extra plus.

Emma and Penny are delightful characters and I enjoyed their investigation. They were relatable and likeable. I also liked their ‘modern’ way of thinking.
The suspense and tension kept me on the edge of my seat and I read this book within a couple of hours.

I definitely recommend this book to mystery and historical fiction fans.

4.5 rounded up to 5 stars

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you, NetGalley, and Storm Publishing for this copy.

Emma's husband William disappears when they are meant to be moving from London to Suffolk to start a new life. He is then found murdered and she discovers that he is not the man she thought he was. She decides to investigate his murder, aided by Penny, a former newspaper reporter that she knows .
This is a spinoff from the Penny Green murder mysteries series, of which I've only read one but did really enjoy, but is the start of a new standalone series. The atmosphere that the book creates for me is reminiscent of the TV series Miss Scarlet, with dirty, crowded streets with impoverished inhabitants and at the time of Jack the Ripper. Emma and Penny have to try to unravel the mystery of who William really is and his background. There are many seemingly unrelated clues which they have to try to unravel, with minimal help from the police who are swamped by the search for Jack the Ripper. A book that I really enjoyed and am looking forward to reading more in this series.
I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley, however this did not influence my review of the book.

This one is sadly just not my keep of tea,

The widow just felt too naive and really made some strange and questionable decisions. She, fortunately, was lucky in terms of the kindness and support of others.

The need to go into the depth of Penny's home life seemed gratuitous and , considering who she is married to, it all just felt a bit off.

I ended up skipping along to see if the storyline strengthened as it went. But it didn't.

I am sure there will be others who enjoy this style and structure, but I can't see myself progressing with this series.

My thanks to Storm Publishing and Netgalley for my advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really really wanted to love this. And there are some aspects which I did love, I loved the mystery, I lovvve that it was two strong women in the lead with one juggling the ups and downs of motherhood. However that’s where it ended for me. I don’t know, maybe I’m just so used to fantasy books but I really felt that there was no world building, aside from a few references to Jack the Ripper and steam trains you wouldn’t really know that you were in Victorian London. The potential Jack the Ripper’s story was rushed and came to an unstatifying ending.

As I said, I loved the premise of it, I love the idea but I don’t think it was executed as well as it could have been.

Excellent, the start of another great series!
A very enjoyable novel set around one of England's greatest mysteries- Jack the Ripper.
Great plotting, great characters and great detail - the close-ups of people in different echelons of society at that time were really interesting.
Looking forward to the next one!

This is a spin-off of the author's Penny Green series. I haven't read those novels and hadn't even heard of this author until I found this book on NetGalley (and am so glad that I did), and you don't miss anything from not reading that series first. Other than the fact, that, if they are anything like this novel, they are amazing cozy mysteries. Side note, I kinda hate Penny's husband.

Emma has only been married for a couple months to a wonderful man when he is suddenly married. After he dies, she finds out that he was, in fact, not wonderful. He was so horrible she is afraid he might actually be Jack the Ripper.

I am anxiously awaiting the next book! Adding the Penny Green series to my to read list, not that it doesn't already have about a million books on it! Definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves historical cozy mysteries.

This historical mystery is set in the time of Jack the Ripper frightening Whitechapel residents and monopolizing the police's time and resources. Emma Langley becomes frustrating by how little attention her husband's murder is receiving and decides to investigate it herself. I was unaware the author had written other mystery series, and this novel overlapped with characters from her other work.

"London hunts the Ripper. A widow hunts her husband's killer.

London, 1888. While Jack the Ripper's reign of terror grips the city, Emma Langley's world shatters when her husband is found murdered in Whitechapel. But grief is quickly overshadowed by a startling discovery: William Langley was not the man she thought she knew.

As panic fills London's streets, Emma delves into her husband's secret life, uncovering a web of lies that stretches from glittering society drawing rooms to the seedy gambling dens of the East End. Aided by Penny Green, a former reporter with a nose for trouble, Emma follows a trail of blackmail and corruption.

But exposing her husband's killer could make her the next victim and in the shadows of gaslit streets, a murderer waits, ready to strike again...

From the bestselling author of Penny Green comes a spellbinding new Victorian mystery series introducing Emma Langley."

I think Emma is safe from Jack the Ripper and any other killer as she's being proudly "introduced."

Emily Organ writes such great entertaining novels. I thoroughly enjoyed the Penny Green series and was delighted that she has turned up again in another series. This book, like all of the others give such a great sense of period and place. I look forward to more.