Born bad or simply mad? Meet Frederick Deeming, the man known and reviled throughout the United States, England, and Australia as the Criminal of the Century – a murderer, swindler, bigamist, and suspect in the Jack the Ripper killings.
Claiming to be haunted by the ghost of his dead mother, Deeming spent years roaming the planet under various aliases, preying on the innocent, the gullible, and the desperate. But the discovery by Australian police in 1892 of the body of one of his wives in a shallow concrete grave triggered one of the greatest manhunts in history and exposed a further series of grisly murders – those of his first wife and four children – that stunned the Victorian era.
The Devil’s Work is a gothic journey into the twisted mind of a serial killer, set in the dying years of the 19th century when science and religion collided and some of the world’s most powerful people believed in spirits and an afterlife.
Most of us have heard of Jack the Ripper – I remember learning about his brutal Victorian-era killing spree in school. But have you heard the name Frederick Deeming? This lesser-known Frederick has been connected to Jack the Ripper, with some suspecting them to be the same man. In The Devil’s Work, Australian journalist and true crime writer Garry Linnell conducts a compelling investigation into the life of Deeming, and what led to his hanging at Melbourne Gaol in 1892.
Linnell has the skill of making a true crime story read like a gripping thriller. He cleverly weaves multiple perspectives and historical evidence into each chapter. He follows the American journalist Sidney Dickinson, who covered the case and visited Deeming in gaol, alongside Deeming’s defence lawyer Alfred Deakin – the man who would go on to become the second Prime Minister of Australia. Both were interested in the spiritualist movement, seances, and the possibility of connecting with the dead – just like Deeming. Linnell explores this fascinating trend of the Victorian era, in all its dark, macabre, and sometimes downright scary nature. Take note, this read is not for the faint-hearted.
Equal parts murder mystery, ghost story, and historical deep dive, The Devil’s Work doesn’t shy away from some gruesome descriptions. If you’re a fan of true crime novels, historical cold cases, and an enthralling globe-spanning story, this is the book for you.
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