Reviewed by Saifunnissa Hassam for Readers' Favorite

Gregory Urbach’s Dashiell Hammett vs Sherlock Holmes: In Search of Jack the Ripper is a well-researched and well-crafted mystery. In the novel, the narrator is Dashiell Hammett. In 1929, Hammett visited London to find more information about the Maltese Falcon at the British Museum. He wakes up one morning to find himself somehow in the Victorian London of 1888. To support himself,  he searches for a writing job,  planning to use his writing background in advertising, magazine stories, and mystery novels. As he visits the museum and familiarizes himself with Victorian London, he meets John Watson, and they become good friends. One night Hammett comes across a police investigation of a very recent gruesome murder in Whitechapel. Using his experiences as a writer, Hammett rapidly gathers on-the-scene information: sketches, notes, and interviews with locals. The editor of The Daily Telegraph is impressed by Hammett’s reporting and hires him as an investigative reporter. More brutal and horrifying murders are committed in Whitechapel. Through John Watson, Hammett meets the famous detective Sherlock Holmes. The two sleuths team up to search for the murderer known as Jack the Ripper.  

A gripping novel right from the outset, I thoroughly enjoyed the remarkable characters and the richly imagined and evocative world-building of Victorian London in 1888. I also enjoyed the perspective that Dashiell Hammett brings to the story as narrator. I liked how Gregory Urbach creates an evocative atmosphere through characters, settings, and particularly dialogue that reflects the English of Victorian times and American English of the 19th century. I particularly liked the character development of Dashiell Hammett and  Sherlock Holmes as they pool their different investigative talents and skills to find Jack the Ripper. I think the other characters, including Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens), John Watson, and Elizabeth Cochran, created great depth, as they brought their own perspectives to the murders. I enjoyed very much how Mark Twain gets ideas for his next novel when he meets Dashiell and the other characters and even goes to Whitechapel. The graphics of the Whitechapel murders added another suspenseful dimension to the story. The graphics as well as the detailed descriptions in the narration and dialogues expressed very well how the terrifying murders fueled fear, frustration, rage, and turmoil in Whitechapel. I was riveted as the twists and turns turned more frightening and life-threatening. Dashiell Hammett vs Sherlock Holmes: In Search of Jack the Ripper is a terrific read, with fantastic characters and a highly imaginative Victorian London.