There can be no question that the contents of this book will prove extremely controversial. Many people will be deeply shocked by the nature of Watson's statement. Many will no doubt prefer to reject it rather than surrender the beliefs of a lifetime. Others will at least regret that two of the great mysteries of crime are finally solved...

An extraordinary document comes to light which for fifty years had been held on deposit by the bankers of the deceased John Herbert Watson MD - better known as Dr Watson.

The document, written by Dr Watson himself, opens in the East End of London in 1888. Three women have been savagely murdered. To calm the public outcry, Scotland Yard approaches London's most eminent detective, Sherlock Holmes, and asks him to investigate the killer.

Can Holmes solve the mystery of Jack the Ripper? And why has this story been suppressed for so long?

Michael Dibdin was born in 1947, and attended schools in Scotland and Ireland and universities in England and Canada. He is the author of the internationally bestselling Inspector Zen Mystery series. The first novel in the series, Ratking, won the Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger. Other titles in the series include Medusa, Back to Bologna and End Games. He died in 2007.