The Ripperologists is a contemporary thriller about two competing experts who are forced to work together to beat the clock when a copycat serial killer begins recreating Jack the Ripper's 1888 murder spree. Famous mystery novelist Barbara Thomas -- who has once again topped the best-seller lists, this time with a new, nonfiction book she claims reveals, once and for all, the true identity of Jack the Ripper -- is paired with legendary Ripperologist Henry McHugh, a renowned and beloved expert in the field. With wit and suspense -- and set against the backdrop of the fascinating subculture of Ripperologists -- the story takes equal stabs at the disparate worlds of publishing, Ripper studies, fan conventions, and Internet chatrooms, as our two unlikely heroes employ their (often contrary) knowledge of a 120-year-old phantom to hunt down a modern killer.