Spring-heeled Jack

by John David Buchanan

Belching fire and jumping rooftop to rooftop, Spring-heeled Jack returned to terrorize Londoners.

Doctor Pendergrass had settled into London and his surgeon’s job at Saint Bartholomew’s Hospital. He loved the city, but he detested its criminal element. At night, in the dark alleys and lanes, Pendergrass did what constables at Scotland Yard could not. His dark excursions were ripe with hypocrisy, not to mention the risk of going to prison, or the gallows if he were caught.

The year was 1889, and an old menace returned to terrorize London’s inhabitants. Old timers said it was a ghost that had come back to haunt them. Countless theories about who, or what, Spring-heeled Jack might be filled the newspapers. Doctor Pendergrass thought the theories were rubbish.

308 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 16, 2019

About the author

I grew up in San Antonio, Texas watching science fiction cartoons on television and acting out adventures in my backyard. At the age of 8 I published a small comic strip that my cousin and I briefly marketed to the neighborhood. By middle school I had my first set of drums and a band. In high school I played sports, joined another band, and watched all the science fiction programming available on television. I attended college at Southwest Texas State University, and it was there that I discovered creative writing. Six years later I graduated with a Masters in Science and began my career as an environmental specialist. To address my love of music I joined a Pink Floyd cover band - Anybody Out There? - and began writing lyrics for a solo CD. When my young daughter began reading a series of fiction books I read them with her, and that ignited my desire to write a science fiction book. the result - Jump Starting the Universe, the first book in a series by the same name. The second book, The Edge of Nothing and Everything, was released in May 2016. Book 3 of the series - World Eaters - was published December 2017.

I've been to London several times and began toying with the idea of writing a historical fiction novel with a twist. The result was The Obsession of Dr. Pendergrass, published May 30, 2018. Since then I've published two more books in the series; Spring-heeled Jack, and Sarah Shelley and the Deadly Aperitifs.

Reviews

[Join the Penguin Resistance! · Rating 5 out of 5]

1803, 1821, 1837, 1889: quite a long duration for one individual to terrorize the Great City of London with numerous inexplicable assaults and injuries and seemingly supernatural feats. Doctor Pendergrass of London Hospital, freah from his dealings with Jack the Ripper, determines to stop whoever and whatever this might be. London Hospital is to minister to the ill, not to be overtaken by suffering victims of crime. As a sort of self-appointed silent nocturnal vigilante, Doctor Pendergrass is the man for the job.

[juana june ponder · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved the 1st Pendergrass book but this one was too strange. There is a lot I dont know about Victorian England or Londons history and sincerely appreciate the author's research, unfortunately I didnt enjoy it. Loved the heck out of the 1st Pendergrass book. That said, please keep writing as I'm looking for the next installment.