This is Isabel Allendes first time writing in the crime fiction genre and the result is quite interesting. Ripper is a novel thats more character saga with a small crime plot that runs through it, rather than a full blown whodunnit. Lovers of traditional crime fiction may find it a bit slow to start but lovers of Allende and her fantastic writing will find this right up there with her other bestsellers. She spends the majority of the book fleshing out the characters that play an online game called Ripper where they try to solve real life crime from their computers. Amanda is the leader of Ripper and the daughter of the Deputy Chief of the San Francisco Police. Bodies start turning up in weird circumstances and the players of Ripper start believing theres a link between the deaths. The crime plot has such potential but takes a back seat to the characters within the book and this could be frustrating for those wanting a meaty crime novel, but her brilliant writing makes up for this and turns Ripper into, dare I say it, a ripper read.