Time After Time (1979) - a science fiction romantic comedy with serial killer

"IMAGINE! A scientific genius named H.G. Wells stalks a criminal genius named Jack the Ripper across time itself in the most ingenious thriller of our time." The poster pretty much says it all. Throw in some light romance and comedy and you pretty much have it. Seriously though this movie is quite fun, and exciting too. Directed by Nicholas Meyer and starring Malcolm McDowell as H.G. Wells and David Warner as Jack the Ripper. Mary Steenburgen, providing the romantic interest, plays Amy Robbins, a liberated 70s gal.

Basically, it's London in 1893, H.G. has just built a time machine, but has yet to try it out. Before he can, Jack steals it to escape the coppers, lands in 1979 San Francisco and quickly gets up to his old bad ways. H.G. realizes what has happened and tracks him down (the time machine automatically returns home to whoever has a certain key). Amy helps him in his endeavors.

Much of the fun here is Wells' befuddlement at all of the strange things 1979 has to offer. The future is certainly not the utopia he had imagined. Along the way he meets Amy and strikes up a mutual interest. McDowell is cast perfectly for this and you feel for him and his predicament.  This was one of Steenburgen's first major rolls and she's very likeable as well. Warner does a terrific job as the Ripper - he's mean and arrogant and finds that 1979 suits him just fine. A great musical score, by long-time film composer Miklos Rozsa, adds a nice ambience and enhances the action. This was Nicholas Meyer's first directorial effort and he succeeds winningly. He had previously written the excellent "Seven Percent Solution", and subsequently would direct "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan".

Sharp Practice by John Farris (1974) - a southern gothic psychopathic maniac suspense thriller

1988 printing, uncredited artwork, small wonder

John Farris is the author of many horror novels, the most famous being When Michael Calls (1967) and The Fury (1976), both of which were made into movies. Sharp Practice starts out in England where there is a ripper-like psycho about killing young women with large knives. The main characters are erudite upper crust academics who may or may not be targeted by said psycho. There are many twists and turns in this very entertaining suspense thriller, and as the action moves from Oxford to a college in Tennessee things seem calm for awhile...

Farris is expert at having a seemingly placid scene suddenly erupt into shocking violence. He also writes well drawn three-dimensional characters, whose actions are always in keeping with their character. The plot gets pretty thick but never confusing. It's a fast read, overall a recommendable thriller from the 70s, especially for fans of John Farris.

A note on the cover art: I haven't been able to find a good shot of the 1974 edition of this book. No doubt it is better than the one above. In the 1980s they started overusing that embossed foil stamping, especially rampant in horror fiction, and the artwork became secondary.