PORTRAIT OF A KILLER Jack the Ripper Case Closed

Kate Burton is the voice of mystery writer Patricia Cornwell, who is out to convince us that the infamous Whitechapel Slasher was really Walter Sickert, a well-known British artist (1860-1942). Using her training as a forensic scientist, the author thoroughly researched what's left of the physical evidence, autopsy reports, and newspaper accounts of the killings, as well as Sickert's paintings and life. Burton is emphatic when making a point and skeptical when the facts don't fit. She quotes the Ripper's many letters to the police using a lower-class accent--though Sickert was well-educated, if decidedly weird. What remains post-abridgment is a coherent theory on what might have happened on those murky London streets, but "might" is the operative word. J.B.G. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine [Published: JUN/JUL 03]