Casebook Review:

A strong re-examination of the crimes. Magellan provides an in-depth analysis of each Ripper murder, based almost exclusively on the medical and inquest evidence. In his analysis, Magellan removes Mary Kelly from the list of Ripper victims (he believes she was killed by an opportunistic copycat), and adds Mackenzie (1889) and Coles (1891), suggesting there were strong similarities in the modus operandi which connect the latter two victims with Nichols, Chapman, Stride and Eddowes.

From there, Magellan continues onward to examine (and dismiss) a handful of suspects - Druitt, Kosminski, Ostrog, Tumblety, Klosowski and Sickert. He also offers a critical re-examination of the Macnaghten memoranda, suggesting that the document was heavily flawed and largely responsible for misleading modern-day scholars into believing the "myth" of the canonical five victims.

By Ears and Eyes reads at times more like a doctoral dissertation than a traditional Ripper book. It is certainly not intended for the novice Ripperologist. Although some of his conclusions may be difficult for modern-day students of the case to accept, it is nevertheless refreshing to read such a thorough re-examination of the case. Recommended.

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