The Conan Doyle Notes: The Secret of Jack the Ripper

DD, an insurance investigator, receives an excited call from her friend Tom, who is appraising a vast estate and has uncovered something unexpected: a diary with ties to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Doyle may have deduced the identity of Jack the Ripper, and the diary could be the key to unraveling one of history’s greatest mysteries. When Tom is attacked and the diary stolen, DD dives into treacherous waters, hoping to find both the diary and the culprit who nearly killed her friend.

The Conan Doyle Notes: The Secret of Jack the Ripper certainly mines intriguing territory, going after both Jack the Ripper and the creator of Sherlock Holmes. Unfortunately, it also features what might be the most inept investigator in the history of literature, and instead of charmingly out of her depth, DD comes off as frustratingly incompetent, flailing from scene to scene, accompanied by nosy neighbors and prying family members.

The mystery itself is well-constructed, with a few engaging twists and turns, and there’s a surprise at the end that I suspect will be more meaningful with readers who’ve read the first two books in the series, but I was left a little underwhelmed.