Say Anything But Your Prayers by Alan M. Clark

Lazy Fascist Press, 2014

ISBN-13: 9781621051572

Availability: paperback

Alan M. Clark is best known for his beautiful, award winning covers and illustrations that have graced bestselling works from authors such as Stephen King and Cody Goodfellow. His art is amazing, but many forget that he was also nominated for a Bram Stoker award for co-writing Siren Promised with Jeremy Robert Johnson. Alan, along with his artist’s eye for detail has also written historical horror.

This book is the second in a groundbreaking series that explores the Jack the Ripper legend, from an angle never before seen, in over a century of non-fiction and fiction inspired by the serial killer. Each book in the series follows the life of one of the killer’s victims. This second book follows the life and demise of Elizabeth Stride, the fourth victim.

While this novel could be considered horror, the historical elements are what make it so interesting. I admit, I knew very little about Elizabeth Stride before reading this book. Anyone looking for a cover-to-cover horror experience needs to look elsewhere. However, you can’t escape the main character’s fate as you go through her life, and tension builds because the reader knows how she will meet her gruesome end.

Clark includes a few key illustrations, but the real strength comes from his attention to detail, and the humanizing of Elizabeth Stride, which builds sympathy for a doomed character. This book is a must for people with an interest in the Ripper and I hope that libraries will carry it. Recommended

Contains: gore, adult situations.

Reviewed by David Agranoff