or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
 
More Buying Choices
166 used & new from £0.01
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper - Case Closed
 
 
Share your own customer images
Search inside another edition of this book

Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper - Case Closed (Hardcover)

by Patricia Cornwell (Author) "Monday, August 6, 1888, was a Bank Holiday in London ..." (more)
2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (79 customer reviews)
RRP: £17.99
Price: £12.09 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £5.90 (33%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available.

Only 2 left in stock--order soon (more on the way).

Want guaranteed delivery by Tuesday, November 10? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details
24 new from £1.24 132 used from £0.01 10 collectible from £3.00
Other Editions: RRP: Our Price: Other Offers:
Paperback (New edition) £7.99 £5.48 309 used & new from £0.01
Audio Download (Abridged) £13.99 £9.79

Frequently Bought Together

Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper - Case Closed + The Front (Winston Garano Series) + Scarpetta
Price For All Three: £20.67

Show availability and shipping details

  • This item: Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper - Case Closed by Patricia Cornwell

    In stock.
    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
    This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

  • The Front (Winston Garano Series) by Patricia Cornwell

    In stock.
    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
    This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

  • Scarpetta by Patricia Cornwell

    In stock.
    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
    This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Jack the Ripper: The Final Solution

Jack the Ripper: The Final Solution

by Stephen Knight
3.5 out of 5 stars (15)  £4.66
Isle of Dogs

Isle of Dogs

by Patricia Cornwell
1.6 out of 5 stars (70)  £5.49
Hornet's Nest

Hornet's Nest

by Patricia Cornwell
2.4 out of 5 stars (20)  £5.49
Cause of Death: Vintage Scarpetta

Cause of Death: Vintage Scarpetta

by Patricia Cornwell
3.4 out of 5 stars (13)  £5.49
Trace: The New Scarpetta Novel: 1

Trace: The New Scarpetta Novel: 1

by Patricia Cornwell
2.3 out of 5 stars (91)  £4.00
› Explore similar items

Product details

  • Hardcover: 384 pages
  • Publisher: Little, Brown (11 Nov 2002)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0316861596
  • ISBN-13: 978-0316861595
  • Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 15.7 x 4.3 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (79 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 189,953 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #75 in  Books > Society, Politics & Philosophy > Social Sciences > Law & Disorder > Issues > Serial Killers

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Customers Viewing This Page May Be Interested in These Sponsored Links

  (What is this?)
   Jack The Ripper opens new browser window
www.russiatoday.com  -  Jack The Ripper in the News Watch TV Feeds Online! 
   Jack The Ripper opens new browser window
ChappellOfBondStreet.co.uk/Est1811  -  Search for & find nearly anything from our huge sheet music catalogue 
   Jack The Ripper Info opens new browser window
www.info.co.uk/JackTheRipper  -  Find Info On Jack The Ripper Access 6 Search Engines At Once. 
  
 

Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

Few books receive the kind of pre-publicity that Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper--Case Closed generated. Some of it was good, some of it not so good, but all was calculated to get reader interest running at fever pitch. In fact, Patricia Cornwell's actions in trying to solve the world's most famous serial-killer mystery (just who was Jack the Ripper?) have been highly controversial, but since when has controversy undercut interest in a book? And who better than a writer whose name is synonymous with the scientific solving of crime to tackle London's legendary mass murderer?

Using the methods of her character Kay Scarpetta, Cornwell's forensic investigation has pointed the bloody finger of guilt at a figure who has long figured prominently in the Ripper files. The investigation here is an intriguing mix of the personal and the professional: as well as orchestrating a Scarpetta-like search for the identity of the Ripper, Cornwell involves several very personal connections with the task she has set herself, and this is no dry thesis. Needless to say, the more gruesome aspects of this famously grisly case give no pause to a woman who has taken us into the grimmer aspects of forensics with her unsqueamish protagonist, and we are spared no details here (but who would purchase Portrait of a Killer if they had delicate sensibilities?). The arguments here are intelligently marshalled, and laid out with the precision and attention to detail of Cornwell's novels.

In order to prove her thesis, Cornwell purchased (and made tests on) some great works of art, but the tale of how she arrived at her highly contentious conclusions is quite as fascinating as one of the Scarpetta books. You may not agree with her, but you will not put this book down. --Barry Forshaw



Review

'The world's top woman writer.' Sunday Times
See all Product Description
Inside This Book (Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
First Sentence
Monday, August 6, 1888, was a Bank Holiday in London. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Search inside this book:

Suggested Tags from Similar Products

 (What's this?)
Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
 
book cornwell

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper - Case Closed
83% buy the item featured on this page:
Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper - Case Closed 2.0 out of 5 stars (79)
£12.09
The Complete History of Jack the Ripper
7% buy
The Complete History of Jack the Ripper 4.6 out of 5 stars (29)
£6.97
Body of Evidence (A Dr. Kay Scarpetta mystery)
3% buy
Body of Evidence (A Dr. Kay Scarpetta mystery) 4.2 out of 5 stars (13)
£4.98
Scarpetta
3% buy
Scarpetta 2.7 out of 5 stars (58)
£4.22
Explore similar items
 

Customer Reviews

79 Reviews
5 star:
 (8)
4 star:
 (7)
3 star:
 (9)
2 star:
 (7)
1 star:
 (48)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
2.0 out of 5 stars (79 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars An incoherent mishmash, 23 Aug 2005
By M. Martin (UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper - Case Closed (Paperback)
I'm just glad that I only borrowed this from the library! As other readers have noted this book is not put together in any coherent fashion. Part of my job for the last 18 years has been in putting together cases for the prosecution. Sometimes those have to be based on circumstantial evidence but this is paper thin. The case she presents far from being closed, wouldn't even justify the police interviewing Mr Sickert! If he were alive I can't begin to estimate the amount of libel damages she'd be paying out! It's all very well for her to come up with far-fetched motives etc in her fictional detective stories - I really hope no-one believes they're true to life - but here she purports to be writing a history book -and the rules I'm afraid are different. I would not like to be the university student putting this forward as a thesis.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
35 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars Torn "Portrait", 24 Nov 2005
By E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper - Case Closed (Paperback)
One of the most insidious phrases in the English language is: "It's obvious that..." Nasty little phrase. It's usually used to cover weak logic, but it convinces people because of the implication that whoever says it is more knowledgeable than the listener.

So imagine an entire book based on that phrase.

Unfortunately, "Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper -- Case Closed" is one such book. Bestselling mystery writer Patricia Cornwell tried her hand at unravelling the century-old mystery of who Jack the Ripper REALLY was. Too bad her book is a steaming pile of... well, you get the idea.

In her investigations, Cornwell primarily focused on Walter Richard Sickert, a British impressionist, actor, and pal of Oscar Wilde. While Sickert was open about his interest in the serial killings, Cornwell delves into the bizarre to reveal what she clearly sees as irrefutable proof of his double identity. Makes you wonder what the poor guy did to tick her off.

Perhaps the problem is Cornwell's fiction -- her imagination is way too active. She seems to be treating the Jack the Ripper case not as a true event with hard facts, but as something that can be spun into a semi-fictional narrative, with clues that no jury would vote for. It would make for a good detective novel, but not a serious cold case investigation.

Watermarks, coincidental poses, perceived signs in his paintings, hoax letters and mitochondrial DNA are all touched on, but Cornwell never actually produces any hard evidence -- in other words, evidence that would make a jury sit up and listen. At best, the evidence is circumstantial. For example, Ms. Cornwell has no actual proof that any of the letters that were tested were even from Jack the Ripper, or that the mitochondrial DNA was from Sickert. However, this doesn't stop her from asserting that both are the case.

And her leaps of logic are almost impossible to swallow, unless you have a festering hatred for Sickert. For example, his apparent fascination with the crime makes him clearly guilty in Cornwell's book, despite the fact that many others -- also presumably innocent -- were similarly fascinated by the crime. The big difference is that we know of Sickert, whereas we do not know of Robbie the night porter.

Cornwell also tends to damn without reason, exhibiting an almost shocking smugness. Sickert is proclaimed a cunning "psychopath," and her disdain for certain parts of London is obvious. Worst of all is Cornwell portraying the cops of the time as inept losers who could not find their own backsides with a map. The "dumb cops, smart li'l me" tactic works in fiction, but it is absurd in the real world.

And finally, what did Sickert do to earn Cornwell's wrath? In her eyes, he is a cunning psycho, a woman-hater, a eunuch, a "slob," a master of disguise, a predator, and a guy who was obviously insane because he liked to take nighttime walks. Every small facet of his personality is twisted into a sign of predatory madness. If liking nighttime walks shows that you're a deranged killer, then chain me up.

While Patricia Cornwell -- who destroyed at least one Sickert painting in her quest -- is a passable fiction writer, her real-life investigations are nothing short of demented. "Case Closed"? I think not.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars Unconvincing and surprisingly badly written, 15 Feb 2004
By A Customer
This review is from: Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper - Case Closed (Paperback)
I was hoping this to be a well-written account of Patricia Cornwell's own quest to prove that Walter Sickert was Jack the Ripper. But there's very little of that, and very little of the hard scientific evidence that Cornwell's millions are supposed to pay for. Instead assumption is piled on assumption--phrases like "could have been" or "might possibly" appear on every page. Cornwell seems fonder of a kind of associative innuendo than the evidence provided by her highly-paid team. Sometimes this reaches bizarre heights: one victim spoke Swedish--a language similar to Danish--Sickert's father was Danish! One of the Ripper latters compares a cut throat to a necklace--Sickert painted women wearing necklaces! My favourite concerns a murder where the assailant was described as being a man in uniform. Cornwell explains that Sickert loved uniforms, even appearing as a French soldier in a production of Henry V. The image he image this conjures--of a crazed Sickert stalking the East End in chain mail is just too hilarious.
One of the book's other faults is that it is very heavily padded. There a lengthy disquitions on Victorian life, even a couple of pages on the Elephant Man. The murders are described in unnecessary, almost loving detail, together with long and pointless digressions about what a modern forensic lab might have been able to do with the evidence. There are also a couple of disturbing and gratuitous asides about necrophilia which make me seriously wonder about how Ms Cornwell's mind works. To sum up, this book offers very little to anyone interested in either SIckert or the Ripper murders, but it's a fine study in monomania and self-delusion.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars Arrogant and ignorant
It is perhaps unecessary to add to the numerous, accurate, criticisms voiced in previously posted reviews; but the book irritates me! Read more
Published 3 months ago by Keith Andreetti

1.0 out of 5 stars typical american
I watched a programme on Patricia Cornwell about her theory when the book first came out.I am a big fan of her Scarpetta books but after watching her found her to be arrogant and... Read more
Published 9 months ago by A. Russell

1.0 out of 5 stars Awful.
If you like the Scarpetta series by Patricia Cornwell, which i cannot get enough of, you will be very disapointed by this book. So much so, I can't finish it. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Mrs D

1.0 out of 5 stars A shockingly bad piece of work ...
This book presents itself as a serious piece of work - do not be fooled. Facts are skewed to bolster Patricia Cornwell's misguided view that the artist Walter Sickert was the... Read more
Published 14 months ago by Maurice Hall

1.0 out of 5 stars An Insult to Ripperology
"Portrait of a Killer" is interesting, but as a serious Jack the Ripper investigation it's an absolute disgrace. Read more
Published 15 months ago by THE Music Enthusiast

3.0 out of 5 stars Best served with a pinch of salt..."Ha ha!"
Not the most objective analysis I've ever read, in Portrait of a Killer Patricia Cornwell determinedly presents us with the killer (in her opinion) from the word go. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Femmielala

2.0 out of 5 stars An English Vitcorian serial killer finally caught by an American writier? No,
I brought this book in 2008, long after the hype about it had died down.

Having seen a tv show where this book was mentioned I was looking forward to sitting down and... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Danielle M. Button

1.0 out of 5 stars In order to sully the name of an innocent, dead man
She should be thoroughly disgusted with herself.

Untrue theories have been presented as "facts" to fit the story. Read more
Published 18 months ago by My ID's Not Government Property

1.0 out of 5 stars case no more closed than before
Very poor indeed. You can tell when she states that she definitively knows who the Ripper was that this is going to be a book full of unjustifiable leaps of imagination and short... Read more
Published 18 months ago by C. Bojke

1.0 out of 5 stars Unsubstantiated and unethical. Cornwell should be ashamed.
The blurb on the back says it all. Herein lies the "hard evidence that the perpetrator of the Whitechapel murders was the world famous artist, Walter Sickert". Read more
Published 22 months ago by A. R. Doyle

Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Look for similar items by subject












i.e., each product must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Feedback

Ad

Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.