Shock Horror Jacks an Aussie?!

For a story told essentially in the first person of Jack the Ripper, and at a time when the English language had nuance and form, very different from today; read some Sherlock Holmes by Conan Doyle or any Dickens for some reference points and you will understand that this book misses the target by a long way.

Worse still, the narrator Steve Hart’s attempts fall so far short as to make me believe that the infamous Jack the Ripper was from Australia which trust me is a long way from Whitechapel London, and for the persona of Jack so steeped in history the characterisation must be at the very least British, as legend suggests,
The Aussie accent spills over all the characters from the prostitutes to the police officers ruining the whole balance of the book, and as such has no place in a story that is depicting London’s darker underside at a very well recorded time in history and I suggest is best left told by a London accent, and one capable of getting the Cockney accent correct, which is not easy.

Sorry but for me it destroyed what is essentially a good book that appears to have been quite well researched leaving the reader, or listener in this case in no doubt what a sick chap Jack really was. Graphic in the extreme, gory and violent all let down by an accent acquired from watching Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins, rather than the UK soap East Enders which is quintessentially London. I prefer to have my characterisations relevant to the story, and if it must be by a non national at least make sure that the accent is plausible, which in this case the narrator misses completely, spoiling what potentially could have been very good.

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Book is very good but worst narration ever

The book is well written but has far too many American words. Apparently there are apartments, blocks and sidewalks in the East End of London. If you can get past that then it’s very good. I’d recommend reading it yourself though. The narrator spoils the story tremendously. He’s Australian and all his East End voices are variations of an Australian accent. He makes a lot of mistakes too. I lost count of how many times he mispronounced names and words. Silly mistakes like tears (as in crying) in the fabric as opposed to tears (rips).
By two thirds in I was wishing he’d hurry up and finish.
Great book. Appalling narration.

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