#BlogTour #JACKTHERIPPERANDABRAHANLINCOLN #TONYMCMAHON @RandomTTours
"Consider this...Jack the Ripper was involved in killing President Lincoln. "
Synopsis
An astonishing connection between two of the 19th century’s greatest crimes.
A fraudulent doctor, Francis Tumblety, is implicated in both the 1865 assassination of President Abraham Lincoln and the 1888 Jack the Ripper killings. It seems incredible that Jack the Ripper could have been involved in killing President Lincoln, but the evidence is revealed in this book.
We delve into a murky underworld in America’s Gilded Age and the poverty ridden slums of London’s Whitechapel district following the murderous trail left by Tumblety. A flamboyant huckster, well known in the newspaper gossip columns, whose celebrity masked his homicidal tendencies.
Arrested over the Lincoln assassination then released while others were hanged on the scaffold. Put behind bars briefly by Scotland over the Jack the Ripper killings but then makes a daring escape.
The proof is overwhelming that Tumblety was one of the most dangerous criminals of the 19th century.
My Review
There is not a true crime fan I know who's intrigue has not lead them into the depth of the tales of Jack the ripper, be it films, books, profiles, investigations, the London Dungeons shows or even the walking tours of Whitechapel.
Most have an idea who they believe the killer was and we are still fascinated and disgusted by the crimes of so long ago.
I found myself equally fascinated by the focus of these works and absolutely disgusted as well! Irish-American Francis Tumblety, implicated in two of the most infamous crimes of the nineteenth century.
Suspected of being Jack the Ripper in 1888, was also implicated as a plotter involved in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln in 1865. He is not a person to cheer or defend a career a based on lies a celebrity life that possibly his his crimes.
This read is involving, a well-researched biography of Tumbletys life and an investigation in itself into his connections to the crimes.
This is not light reading, a story with a happy ending or a twist in the tale. This is research, The authors passion laid bare on the page. Hard hitting and seeking this read knits the strings of history together.
Do we have some answers and new connections yes , but can we close the case? I will leave you to decide if the authors investigation is enough to sway your feelings on the crimes!
Author Bio
Tony McMahon is an experienced investigative journalist, news and features editor, and consultant to governments and NGOs on issues like countering violent extremism and counter terrorism. A former BBC producer and Sky News reporter before becoming a communications consultant working with government clients (Home Office, US State Department) on issues like radicalisation and extremism-related violence.
For the last decade, he has been a regular contributor on TV history and science documentaries covering a wide range of issues and originating programme ideas. This includes multiple episodes/seasons of William Shatner’s The UnXplained (Prometheus/History), Secrets of the Royal Palaces (Viacom/Channel 5), Truthseekers (Big Media/History) and Forbidden History (LikeAShot/UKTV and Sky History).
The idea to investigate Francis Tumblety arose after being invited to talk about Jack the Ripper on Sky History’s 2022 documentary series: William Shatner’s The UnXplained. During the research process ahead of filming, the linkage between the Lincoln assassination and the Jack the Ripper murders emerged.
He has written two biographies with black British themes – his biography of the late middleweight boxer Errol Christie – No Place To Hide (Aurum Press) was shortlisted for best sports biography of 2011 and long-listed for the William Hill prize.
Tony was born in Walthamstow, east London, and has been fascinated by the Jack the Ripper story all his life. The main protagonist, Francis Tumblety, was both LGBT and Irish heritage – like the author – but that is where the similarity ends!
Blog Tour
Thank you to the Publisher and Author for sending me an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this novel and for the opportunity to review these works.
All reviews are my own unbiased opinion.
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