A scientist and a soldier are sent back in time to Victorian England from 21'st century America to catch a (literal) mad scientist who escaped to the past in order to change history and amass power for himself.
A noble born (younger son) police detective is on the trail of a serial killer called Jack the Ripper in the year 1888.
As the two cases converge, not only the British Empire, but the very fabric of time becomes endangered.
This might sound like a rather weird premise for a novel - but it works very well in Virginia Baker's Jack Knife.
The beginning is a bit confusing, as you are sort of thrown into the middle of things without much explanation, but as it goes along it gets more and more enjoyable.
Action, mystery, espionage, poltics, police procedure, science fiction, horror - a little bit of a lot of stuff all mixed in together very nicely. Very promising and unusual first novel from a new author.
