The Women in the Shadows

I absolutely adored The Women In the Shadows.

It takes us back to the gritty Whitechapel of 1888, with the murder of Mary Ann Nichols. What follows is a whirlwind ride through murder, deceit and camaraderie of young Bet, the cleaner at the police station, who meets and befriends Emma, the inspectors wife.

Together, they form the Wicked Women Of Whitechapel, to look into the murder after feeling like the police are looking in the wrong places.

Along the way, they become friends with detective Maggie, who is known for helping women divorce their husbands, but soon realises it pales in comparison to detective work of the murder kind.

Heartbreaking and humorous in equal measures, it gives us a possibility of what the canonical 5 could have done with their last moments, and offers an alternative history of events that feel slightly more favourable to real life.

I particularly liked how some of the story is rooted in fact, with some names changed, but if you know anything about the events that happened, they’re pretty easy to match up!

I hope we get more time with Emma, Maggie and Bet in the future!