Tulsa, OK -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/25/2014 -- Could Tom Wescott have cracked the case?

In the author’s explosive debut, ‘The Bank Holiday Murders: The True Story of the First Whitechapel Murders’, Wescott outlines the compelling discoveries he made while tracing the bloody, terrifying path of the serial killer known as ‘Jack the Ripper’.

Published by Crime Confidential Press and now available in paperback or Kindle format, ‘The Bank Holiday Murders’ is persuasive, powerful and above all, factual. Avoiding speculation, the book details new evidence linking three earlier murders to the Jack the Ripper killings of 1888, and offers irrefutable proof that a known associate of some of the victims acted as an accomplice to the murderer.

“The Ripper case has been endlessly exploited by authors who are heavy on conjecture, but light on facts. It’s time we turn that trend on its head,” said Wescott, who made the controversial decision to omit the killer’s well-known moniker from the title of his book in an effort to distance his work from less scholarly offerings. “I feel that truth will out. People are tired of hype. They’re tired of being duped. They want evidence and solid reasoning. If you have that, people will find you. You don’t need hype.”

Synopsis:

Jack the Ripper stalked the streets of London’s East End from August through November of 1888 in what is dubbed the ‘Autumn of Terror’. However, the grisly ripping of Polly Nichols on August 31st was not the first unsolved murder of the year. The April murder of Emma Smith and the August murder of Martha Tabram both occurred on bank holidays. They baffled the police and press alike and were assumed by the original investigators to have been the first murders in the series. Where they correct?

In this provocative work of literary archeology, author Tom Wescott places these early murders in their proper historical context and digs to unearth new evidence and hard facts not seen in over 125 years. The Bank Holiday Murders is the only book of its kind. It eschews the tired approach of unsatisfying ‘final solutions’ in favor of solid research, logical reasoning and new information. The clues followed are not drawn from imagination but from the actual police reports and press accounts of the time. The questions asked by Wescott are ones first suggested by the original investigators but lost to time until now. The answers provided are compelling and sometimes explosive.

Among the revelations are: - New information linking the murders of Smith & Tabram to the same killer(s). - Proof that the police did not believe key witnesses in either case. - Proof that at least one of these witnesses was working with the murderer. - New evidence connecting many of the victims that may lead to their actual slayers. - Information on Emily Horsnell, the ACTUAL first Whitechapel murder victim. - The hidden truth of ‘Leather Apron’ and its role in unraveling the Ripper mystery. - Proof of a corrupt police sergeant who thwarted the investigation. Was he protecting the Ripper? - Much more.

The Bank Holiday Murders: The True Story of the First Whitechapel Murders brings us closer than ever to the actual truth behind the Jack the Ripper story and is sure to appeal to fans of Paul Begg, Stewart P. Evans, Philip Sugden, Donald Rumbelow, Ann Rule, Patricia Cornwell as well as readers of Victorian true crime, true life mysteries and historical cold cases in general.

Since its release, ‘The Bank Holiday Murders’ has earned a five star rating on Amazon and a hearty thumbs-up from ‘Ripperologists’.

“Tom has done a great service to all interested in "Jack" with this book. He presents a carefully researched argument that in at least one of the Bank Holiday Murders (Tabram), the main witness was lying. That alone should send shock waves through the Ripperologist Community where people fight to the death over the most minute details,” wrote Graeme E. Evans.

Calling the book “revealing, engaging and fascinating”, R. Coker wrote: “I have to say that I haven't been so engaged in a non-fiction book like this in quite a while. Mr. Wescott really does this investigation justice with an attention to detail, a clear and non-biased approach, and a desire to see the truth of these historical events shed light on.”

“Like many people interested in Jack the Ripper, I have been guilty of skimming the coverage of the "non-canonical" murders in more than a few books. After all, Emma Smith was attacked by a gang and Martha Tabram was killed by a solider. Neither were victims of Jack the Ripper. Right? Wrong. The Bank Holiday Murders forces readers to reconsider long-held assumptions and will perhaps change the way they view this series of murders altogether,” wrote Chad Galuska.

Jack the Ripper has been identified in recent years with Victorian artists such as Van Gogh and Walter Sickert, American serial killer Herman Mudgett (alias H. H. Holmes), and in past years with historical personages such as Sir William Gull, physician to Queen Victoria, and even the Queen’s own grandson, HRH Prince Albert Victor Edward, aka ‘Prince Eddy’. None of these theories have stood up to scrutiny and the Ripper’s identity remains wrapped in mystery.

“I’m not interested in selling a suspect,” assures Wescott. “What motivates me is finding out what happened on those dark, cold streets so many years ago. Somebody committed these murders. That somebody did his best not to get caught, and in doing so made a number of mistakes. Unearthing those mistakes is what will lead us to Jack – once and for all.”

‘The Bank Holiday Murders: The True Story of the First Whitechapel Murders’ is available now: http://amzn.to/1mqvYlI.

About Tom Wescott
Tom Wescott has published extensively on the Ripper case for the past 15 years with work appearing in journals such as Ripperologist, Casebook Examiner, Ripper Notes, and the Whitechapel Society Journal, among others. He has also contributed extensively to Casebook.org and Jtrforums.com, the two largest sources of Ripper-related information on the web. His work has been acknowledged in the works of the most respected authors in the field, including Stewart P. Evans and Keith Skinner (Letters from Hell) and Paul Begg (‘The Complete Jack the Ripper A-Z’ with Martin Fido and Keith Skinner and ‘The Complete and Essential Jack the Ripper’ with John Bennett). The Bank Holiday Murders is his first book.

Wescott can be found discussing his work at http://www.Facebook.com/Ripperbooks and at http://www.RipperBook.com.