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Luke Jerod Kummer

Writer & Editor

Takers Mad

A tantalizing drama pulled from New York's gritty past, TAKERS MAD guides listeners down a shadowy path to explore a true crime that haunted the Gilded Age. As newspapers reported in the 1890s, a woman dubbed 'Shakespeare' was found dead in a seedy hotel along the waterfront by Manhattan's South Street Seaport. The chilling scene recalled for press and police alike Jack the Ripper's victims in London. Panicked New Yorkers worked feverishly to halt that maniac's spree from expanding across the Atlantic. The city only sighed relief after detectives abruptly arrested a traveling Algerian ex-soldier for the crime. In this reimagining, our narrator Flora – an aspiring pulp writer who grew up worlds away from Manhattan – arrives at the story over a decade later, after her dreams of a perfect wedding are dashed. It turns out Jacob Riis, the disapproving father of Flora's new groom, and America's most famous muckraker, played an unexpected role in this mystery earlier in his career. As Flora digs into the case, more questions about what really happened in the hotel on that monstrous night begin to reveal themselves. Did the police scapegoat the man arrested for the crime? What about the blood that detectives found? Or did authorities actually let Jack the Ripper walk free? Flora hopes if she unlocks these puzzles it might win over her father-in-law, plus grant the entrance to New York publishing she craves. Based on historical research and fresh findings in a real-life case that dominated headlines before the turn of the century, TAKERS MAD is a ruminative, atmospheric, and sometimes morbidly funny work of literary suspense that follows one of the most memorable heroines in recent crime fiction as she stalks Gotham, confronts corruption, and delves into who really murdered 'Shakespeare.'

 

Based on new evidence the author uncovered in a real-life case that captivated New York during the Gilded Age. As newspapers reported in 1891, a woman dubbed "Shakespeare" was found dead in a seedy hotel along the waterfront near Manhattan's South Street Seaport. The coroner soon announced the chilling scene was the work of Jack the Ripper. As panic spread across the city, authorities chased down leads and caught dozens of witnesses and suspects in a dragnet. New Yorkers only sighed relief after detectives abruptly charged an immigrant, a traveling Algerian ex-soldier, with the crime. TAKERS MAD is a ruminative, atmospheric, and sometimes morbidly funny work of literary suspense based on a true story. It follows Flora Riis, the daughter-in-law of famed muckraker Jacob Riis, as she stalks Gotham, confronts corruption, and delves into who murdered the mysterious woman known as "Shakespeare."

 

(Audible Originals, September 2021)

Praise for Takers Mad

 

"It's a historical narrative look at one of the most notorious crimes of the Gilded Age … wrapped up in a great story, plus lots of great voice acting." — Scott Rank, host of the History Unplugged podcast

 

"During the course of his own investigations/research, Kummer found critical documents and a piece of evidence in the New York State Archives.... It plays an important role in the story and raises questions about who actually killed Carrie Brown as well as what motives were behind her murder. I won't ruin the story for you — you'll enjoy listening to Flora tell it through the voice talent of Khristine Hvam." — Joane Austin, editor of Weird N.J. 

 

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