The Whitechapel Full Moon Society by Elizabeth DeLozier
Without reading the book’s description, I immediately thought the novel The Whitechapel Full Moon Society by Elizabeth DeLozier had something to do with the supernatural from the title. But when I read the book’s description and saw the words “Jack the Ripper,” I was thrown for a loop. What does Jack the Ripper have to do with anything supernatural? Well, they didn’t figure out who Jack the Ripper really was, so ….
Our protagonist Caroline Foster has found herself in a bad way at the start of the story: her absentee father Lord Foster has died and left her with so much debt that she’s had to sell everything of value to pay off his debtors, including the family estate. The only place Caroline can go is to her older brother Charlie in Whitechapel, East London, and Charlie has already warned her by letter not to come. That it wasn’t safe. Most notably because the neighborhood of Whitechapel in 1888 was the real-life setting of a wave of murders attributed to Jack the Ripper. By the time Caroline arrives, three women have already been brutally ripped apart.
But as Caroline knocks on the door of what she finds out is actually a male-only boardinghouse called the Full Moon Society, she realizes that a neighborhood murderer is only one of the frightening things that may be going on. For one, Charlie is missing. So, she’s just agreed to conceal her true last name, becoming Miss Huxley, and work at this boardinghouse where the residents are very different and seem very odd in order to find her brother.
The Mashup Works
This novel is for readers who love a mashup of genres, particularly paranormal fantasy and mystery thrillers. Dozier effectively mixes the detective murder mystery background of Jack the Ripper with the supernatural world created by the various characters at the Full Moon Society. When Caroline arrives in Whitechapel, instead of finding her brother, she is plunged into a world of mysterious men, terrifying streets, and a lot of questions that no one seems ready to answer. As she gets closer to the truth of her surroundings and about her brother, the two genres come together, and the story unfolds. Every reader tries to figure out a mystery before it’s solved, and I’m no exception. However, what I thought I knew going into Dozier’s version of East London was turned on its ear by the last page.
A Rich Experience
This story is not just layered; it’s woven together like a fine fabric. Some may see it as a slow ramp up to the climax, but they’re missing the experience for the payoff of a solution. We’re taken on a journey of a working maid’s view of East London in the late 1880s, where a woman doesn’t go out without a bonnet, or she’ll be seen as a prostitute — and a potential victim for a serial killer. Caroline finds out not just who her family was, but she finds her own strength and a sense of home with the Full Moon’s ragtag group that she never had at her family estate.
And when it comes to the mystery, readers have a lot to sort through as they immerse themselves in Caroline’s new life. As Caroline gets closer to answers, even more questions resurface, and as she pieces together each answer, the tension and the danger that she’ll be found out builds. Readers should savor this rich and enticing story rather than rush to find out “who dunnit” in Dozier’s version. After all, they’re still trying to figure out who the real Jack the Ripper was.
About Elizabeth DeLozier:
Elizabeth DeLozier holds a BA in Spanish literature, a BS in Biological Anthropology, and a doctorate in physical therapy. An avid traveler, animal lover, and history nerd, she lives in Southern California with her husband, twin sons, and rescue dogs.
