In London, 1891 although the Ripper has been caught women are again beng terrorized. He steals their undergarments and leaves threatening notes. But no one is taking this seriously until D.S. Percy Enright gets involved. Soon his nephew Jack and fiancee Esther become embroiled in the investigation.
An enjoyable well-written, and easily read Victorian mystery. ( )

I really enjoyed The Gaslight Stalker which was a fictional take on Jack the Ripper and the introduction of our intrepid sleuths Esther Jacobs & Jack Enright.

The Night Caller is another well written mystery set in 1890’s London. This one isn’t as gory as The Gaslight Stalker with the main focus on an underwear thief mystery.

Esther has befriended Helen Trenchard. Helen is a staunch advocate for women’s equality in the workforce and has founded a union for working women. When working women have their homes invaded, their knickers stolen, and are left threatening notes not to join the union, the local police do not seem to take the case seriously causing Percy Enright to take the investigation into his own hands.

The story is centred round the opening of a women’s union and the brazen attempts to stop women from joining the new workers union. It highlights the working conditions for women, the class system and the poverty of the lower class. Real events are mentioned throughout to place it firmly in its time period.

Esther is determined, self reliant and outspoken. She once again uses her great investigative and analytical skills to help solve the case.

Jack is taken under the wing of his experienced Uncle and learns a thing or two about investigative policing. Sergeant Percy Enright brings humour to the story with some rather funny and politically incorrect sayings.

I am really enjoying this series. They are quick, light reads. The first was a bit gory as it centred on Jack the Ripper however this book was more mystery with plenty of humour and character development. Uncle Percy Enright has a major role and the burgeoning love story between Jack and Esther is continued as they plan their wedding day.

Field has done an excellent job with the essence of time by including real events, appropriate vocabulary and current mindset. I was as much enthralled by the characters in this book as I was by the plot. ( )

Victorian-London, law-enforcement, historical-places-events, historical-research, historical-figures, historical-novel, family-dynamics -----
The Ripper has stopped his ghastly entertainment, but this book delves into the issues surrounding the unions and the treatment of women. A nutcase feels threatened by the establishment of a women's union and starts getting into the lodgings of selected victims to frighten them with obvious signs of stealing undergarments and leaving barely decipherable notes. This aspect of the book showcases the difficulties faces by law enforcement in the early days of Scotland Yard while trying to do due diligence. The parallel is the difficulties Esther and Jack face in dealing with his overbearing mother in regards to their pending wedding. The author does a marvelous job animating the characters, especially the nasty ones! Another excellent book!
Saperebooks.com offered this one to me, but I found that I could get this and the previous one on the cheap, so I did! Now that I've read this author, I know that his books are worth full price. ( )