Publisher's Weekly Review
Bolton's fourth thriller, a complex psychological puzzler, stands head and shoulders above other such efforts featuring a modern copycat Jack the Ripper. On the anniversary of the original Ripper's first killing, Det. Constable Lacey Flint is horrified to find a dying woman, "her abdomen... a mass of scarlet," leaning against the detective's car in a London car park. The guilt-ridden Flint wonders whether different actions on her part might have saved the victim's life or caught the killer. The connection with the 1888 autumn of terror becomes clear after a journalist receives a letter obviously derived from some of the correspondence Scotland Yard received back then, ostensibly from the Ripper himself. By coincidence, Flint is something of a Ripper expert, and her knowledge proves useful in what develops into a multiple murder investigation. Avoiding gratuitous violence, Bolton (Blood Harvest) skillfully plays with the reader's expectations. Minette Walters fan will be pleased. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
A Jack the Ripper aficionado is on the loose.Someone is following Jack the Ripper's playbook, brutally eviscerating women, sending blood-soaked notes about his (or her?) accomplishments to the media and the police, and scurrying away unseen. The principal difference between the 100-year-old crimes and the current wave is that these women aren't prostitutes; they're all well-to-do mums with husbands who love them and sons they love. DC Lacey Flint, who arrives on the scene moments before the first woman dies, arouses the suspicion of Special Operations DI Mark Joesbury when it becomes clear that she's not only covering up her past but having to explain why each body has been found in a place dear to her. Despite Joesbury's doubts about Lacey, Dana Tulloch, who leads the Major Investigative Team, supports her, and matters are supposedly resolved when Lacey survives a dip in the Thames while chasing scumbag suspect Samuel Cooper, who doesn't. Unfortunately, the Rippings continue apace until Jonesbury ties the victims' families to the rape 10 years ago of the young Llewellyn sisters down in Cardiff. One sister has died, but where is the other, and how does her past intersect with the time Lacey was living rough on the streets of London? A twist, another twist and a final twist reveal the deeper motives of the Ripper wannabe and guarantee the final pages will be splotched with tears.Bolton (Blood Harvest, 2010, etc.) provides excruciating tension and much else. Romantics can drool over Jonesbury's turquoise eyes; amateur psychologists can mull Lacey's one-nighters; and Ripperologists can ponder theories of Jack's real identity, one of which helps tie up the plot.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Jack the Ripper-style murders resurface in contemporary London. Newbie Detective Constable Lacey Flint catches the first case, almost literally when she finds a woman stabbed to death and propped up against the passenger door of her car. This murder and those that follow closely approximate the Ripper's pattern, including his habit of sending mocking letters to reporters written in blood, this time to a journalist named Flint. Overly coincidentally, Flint has a lifelong fascination with Jack the Ripper and lectures other constables (and the reader, in a very clunky device) about Ripperology. Also conveniently, Flint has a dangerous hobby of going to clubs and going home with young men she meets in them, which puts her nicely in danger. The suspense is somewhat forced because of these set-ups, but that's offset by some nice atmosphere and good Ripper lore. Bolton is a Mary Higgins Clark Award-winner and has been shortlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger Award.--Fletcher, Conni. Copyright 2010 Booklist
Library Journal Review
A Jack the Ripper copycat murderer terrorizes London, taunting police officer Lacey Flint in particular. With its haunting elements and graphic historical details, Bolton's twisty contemporary gothic is not to be missed. (LJ 5/1/11) (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.