Thrifty Thursday is a meme from Motion Sick Lit (check it out here). The rules are as follows:

1. Each week’s link-up will be posted on Thursday.
2. Post or talk about a used book you’ve found, preferably in a book store or thrift shop. The more unusual, the better!
3. The book must cost less than $5.
4. Be sure to return for the link-up!

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Ripperology: A Study of the World’s First Serial Killer and a Literary Phenomenon (True Crime)Hardcover – May 26, 2006

From the Publisher. Ripperology – a sometimes obsessive interest in studying the crimes of Jack the Ripper – is a subject of timeless interest that has suffered from confusion, exaggeration, and hyperbole for over a century. Jack the Ripper was probably the first serial killer to appear in a large metropolis at a time when the general populace was literate and the press was a force for social change. The press was also partly responsible for creating many myths surrounding the Ripper. Robin Odell’s “Ripperology” is the first study to present a sequential history of literary investigations of Jack the Ripper’s crimes and to address the seven principal phases of Ripper speculations: the initial wave of journalism that followed the 1888 murders; the “revelations” of highers-up in Scotland Yard who pretended to know more than they actually did; the period between 1925 and 1949 when sensational and factually shaky book-length “solutions” were proposed, including the theories that Jack avenged his son’s syphilis or was a female midwife in disguise; the dawn of more responsible study, between 1950 and 1975, in which the author himself played an important role; better documented studies spurred by the opening of Scotland Yard files in 1976; the explosion of new Ripper hypotheses in the 1990s; and current theories, including Patricia Cornwell’s DNA-based accusation of artist Walter Sickert. “Ripperology” does not attempt to give a detailed, encyclopaedic account of the murders. Rather, its aim is to tell the story of the extraordinary literary efforts directed at solving the mystery. While there are no formal conclusions, and this book does not seek to saturate the reader with minutiae, exaggerated claims are debunked and misconceived ideas are dispelled. Author Odell, having studied these unsolved serial killings for four decades, guides the reader in his easy narrative rich with documentation. “Ripperology” will be welcomed by true crime aficionados.
Why I bought this. I am fascinated with the title and that it deals with how literature has speculated over the crimes over so many years. I’ve read some of these books, including Patricia Cornwell’s Portrait of a Killer. When I saw the title at the used book store, it jumped out at me as a must have for my mystery shelf at home. Plus, who knew Ripperology was an -ology? This book retails for around $20 on Amazon and I picked it up for $3.99. An unusual book and a good buy!
Here’s a shout-out to Heather at Bits n Books for introducing me to this meme and sight. You can see her Thrifty Thursday pick here:  https://bitsnbooks.wordpress.com/2016/02/18/thrifty-thursday-2-tales-of-natural-and-unnatural-catastrophes/