True crime and historical fiction combine with mesmerizing results in this Victorian-era thriller featuring a rebellious, uniquely inventive young heroine determined to solve the case of the serial killer dominating the headlines: Jack the Ripper.

London, 1888. Committed to the Whitechapel Hall Reform School for incurable delinquency, Adelaide Dell Morton is a precocious, defiant misfit. Shes also a voracious reader of the sordid, sensationally popular penny dreadful stories. In a stroke of luck, shes found a kindred spirit in her poised roommate, Pippa. Their obsession is only further fueled by the Jack the Ripper murders blazing a trail of terror throughout Londons seediest streets right outside Whitechapel Halls front door.

Desperate for adventure, they embark on their own investigationand discover an ally in Noah, son of the local butcher. The trios budding spywork soon yields shocking results: Why was straightlaced Whitechapel teacher Miss Kaye escaping the school the night of the latest crime? Could Jack the Ripper be a she? Delving into Miss Kayes background, Dell is both horrified and thrilled to find that within Miss Kayes past lies a chapter dark enough to rival any penny dreadful

Dells fixation with Miss Kaye reaches dangerous heights while a series of suspicious events leaves Miss Kaye in sole command of Whitechapel Hall. Trapped in their teachers ever-tightening web of control, the young detectives devise a risky plan to track her. But what ensues may only propel them into secrets, lies, ruthless acts, and betrayals that go back decadesand a confrontation that will irrevocably change the fates of all involved if they survive.