The Dreadfuls

The darkly atmospheric and gruesome tale of Jack the Ripper unfolds against the backdrop of a Victorian London reform school, as a young inmate sets out to find the identity of the elusive serial killer in a riveting new book perfect for fans of The Woman in the Window and Enola Holmes.

London, 1888. Committed to the Whitechapel Hall Reform School for “incurable delinquency," Adelaide “Dell" Morton is a precocious, defiant misfit. She's also a voracious reader of the sordid, sensationally popular penny dreadful stories. In a stroke of luck, she's 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 London's seediest streets … right outside Whitechapel Hall's front door.

Desperate for adventure, they embark on their own investigation—and discover an ally in Noah, son of the local butcher. The trio's 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 Kaye's background, Dell is both horrified and thrilled to find that within Miss Kaye's past lies a chapter dark enough to rival any penny dreadful …

Dell's 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 teacher's 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 decades—and a confrontation that will irrevocably change the fates of all involved … if they survive.

“Dunlap creates an intriguing cast of characters set in a meticulously drawn late 19th-century London. For fans of Emilia Hart and Anna Lee Huber.”—Library Journal on The Dreadfuls