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Charlotte & Thomas Pitt #10
Bethlehem Road
The gentleman tied to the lamppost on Westminster Bridge is most elegantly attired --- fresh boutonniere, silk hat, white evening scarf --- and he is quite, quite dead, as a result of his thoroughly cut throat.
Why should anyone kill Sir Lockwood Hamilton, that kindest of family men and most conscientious member of Parliament? Before Inspector Thomas Pitt can even speculate on the reasons, a colleague of Sir Lockwood's meets the same fate in the same spot.
Public indignation is boundless, and clever Charlotte Pitt, Thomas's well-born wife, can't resist helping her hard-pressed husband, scouting society's drawing rooms for clues to these appalling crimes. Meanwhile, the Westminster Bridge Cutthroat stalks still another victim ...
Why should anyone kill Sir Lockwood Hamilton, that kindest of family men and most conscientious member of Parliament? Before Inspector Thomas Pitt can even speculate on the reasons, a colleague of Sir Lockwood's meets the same fate in the same spot.
Public indignation is boundless, and clever Charlotte Pitt, Thomas's well-born wife, can't resist helping her hard-pressed husband, scouting society's drawing rooms for clues to these appalling crimes. Meanwhile, the Westminster Bridge Cutthroat stalks still another victim ...
313 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published June 1, 1990
569 people are currently reading
1255 people want to read
About the author
Anne Perry
360 books3,375 followersAnne Perry, born Juliet Hulme in England, lived in Scotland most of her life after serving five years in prison for murder (in New Zealand). A beloved mystery authoress, she is best known for her Thomas Pitt and William Monk series.
Her first novel, "The Cater Street Hangman", was published in 1979. Her works extend to several categories of genre fiction, including historical mysteries. Many of them feature recurring characters, most importantly Thomas Pitt and amnesiac private investigator William Monk, who first appeared in 1990, "The Face Of A Stranger".
Her story "Heroes," from the 1999 anthology Murder And Obsession, won the 2001 Edgar Award For Best Short Story. She was included as an entry in Ben Peek's Twenty-Six Lies / One Truth, a novel exploring the nature of truth in literature.
Series contributed to:
. Crime Through Time
. Perfectly Criminal
. Malice Domestic
. The World's Finest Mystery And Crime Stories
. Transgressions
. The Year's Finest Crime And Mystery Stories
Her first novel, "The Cater Street Hangman", was published in 1979. Her works extend to several categories of genre fiction, including historical mysteries. Many of them feature recurring characters, most importantly Thomas Pitt and amnesiac private investigator William Monk, who first appeared in 1990, "The Face Of A Stranger".
Her story "Heroes," from the 1999 anthology Murder And Obsession, won the 2001 Edgar Award For Best Short Story. She was included as an entry in Ben Peek's Twenty-Six Lies / One Truth, a novel exploring the nature of truth in literature.
Series contributed to:
. Crime Through Time
. Perfectly Criminal
. Malice Domestic
. The World's Finest Mystery And Crime Stories
. Transgressions
. The Year's Finest Crime And Mystery Stories
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 223 reviews
August 24, 2023
3 stars
The 10th Inspector Pitt mystery, "Bethlehem Road," focuses on the growing support for women's rights, especially women's suffrage, in the late 1880s.
For series fans, this is the novel in which Emily marries Jack Radley.
While the novel is mostly what you'd expect from a Thomas & Charlotte Pitt, it reads like a heated political essay in parts. Certainly, British law at the time was not very kind to women - nor children, nor the poor, nor the working classes (see Dickens) - but the repetition and vehemence with which Perry has her characters pulpit pound is unusual for the series.
For the first 200 pages -that is, for the bulk of the novel - it's a pretty good read. But in the last 50 pages, the plot suddenly grows a donkey head and pulls itself backward through a hedge before trotting merrily down to Dover to throw itself off a picturesque cliff.
It's like Perry didn't know how to resolve the mystery, or never intended to. She mainly wanted to bang on about women's rights and independence, and simply crammed everything into that theme.
The Teder Unsatisfactory Ending Alert™ is almost too weak for the last ludicrous, sloppily stitched together part and the resolve, but I'll sound it anyway.
Too bad. Recommended only for series fans.
The 10th Inspector Pitt mystery, "Bethlehem Road," focuses on the growing support for women's rights, especially women's suffrage, in the late 1880s.
For series fans, this is the novel in which Emily marries Jack Radley.
While the novel is mostly what you'd expect from a Thomas & Charlotte Pitt, it reads like a heated political essay in parts. Certainly, British law at the time was not very kind to women - nor children, nor the poor, nor the working classes (see Dickens) - but the repetition and vehemence with which Perry has her characters pulpit pound is unusual for the series.
For the first 200 pages -that is, for the bulk of the novel - it's a pretty good read. But in the last 50 pages, the plot suddenly grows a donkey head and pulls itself backward through a hedge before trotting merrily down to Dover to throw itself off a picturesque cliff.
It's like Perry didn't know how to resolve the mystery, or never intended to. She mainly wanted to bang on about women's rights and independence, and simply crammed everything into that theme.
The Teder Unsatisfactory Ending Alert™ is almost too weak for the last ludicrous, sloppily stitched together part and the resolve, but I'll sound it anyway.
Too bad. Recommended only for series fans.
September 27, 2020
What a long way to fall. Mysteries ending with somewhat conceivable motives for crimes is essential but often fumbled. I loved this book and was envisioning 5-star appreciation, until a couple of chief plotlines were dropped. They would have delineated clearer foundations for a murder. Bringing in a scarcely-named person was a disconnecting, almost Deus-ex-machina twist. I see evidence that reviewers praising twisty plots overmuch and declaring it a weakness if they guess who a criminal is, is ruining the focus of authors! They cater to the shell game, to the detriment of the story’s strength!
“Bethlehem Road”, published in 1990 and featuring 1888, was built around a sobering demonstration of how women and children suffered from their inability to vote. One furious suffragette was suspected of killing three members of parliament, because one declined to stop an ex-husband from taking her daughter. He kept their son when permitting her to leave the bleak marriage. The right to vote means more than gender equality! Anne Perry portrayed history’s consequences starkly, in an unexpected, even more distressing storyline at the last-minute. If we are not among those shaping our countries, there is no hope of making laws that protect our own wellbeing fairly.
Four stars would show my pleasure in the reading of this story for a great number of reasons: beloved characters, real emotion, humour, original mysteries, and strong series development. I regret to dip further to 3 stars, due to the crime case portion of this largely very strong novel, ending in a preposterously weak scene. Whenever any character makes heedlessly dangerous missteps, it creates incredulity instead of action. A book’s grade goes down, no matter how wonderful most of it is. I am pleased that 5-star quality returned 3 months after reading this, with “Highgate Rise”, book #11.
“Bethlehem Road”, published in 1990 and featuring 1888, was built around a sobering demonstration of how women and children suffered from their inability to vote. One furious suffragette was suspected of killing three members of parliament, because one declined to stop an ex-husband from taking her daughter. He kept their son when permitting her to leave the bleak marriage. The right to vote means more than gender equality! Anne Perry portrayed history’s consequences starkly, in an unexpected, even more distressing storyline at the last-minute. If we are not among those shaping our countries, there is no hope of making laws that protect our own wellbeing fairly.
Four stars would show my pleasure in the reading of this story for a great number of reasons: beloved characters, real emotion, humour, original mysteries, and strong series development. I regret to dip further to 3 stars, due to the crime case portion of this largely very strong novel, ending in a preposterously weak scene. Whenever any character makes heedlessly dangerous missteps, it creates incredulity instead of action. A book’s grade goes down, no matter how wonderful most of it is. I am pleased that 5-star quality returned 3 months after reading this, with “Highgate Rise”, book #11.
June 27, 2024
Enjoyable Victorian mystery with the married duo of Inspector Thomas Pitt & wife Charlotte. Someone is murdering Members of Parliament and there seems to be no connection between them outside of being elected to Parliament. Thomas is assigned the case & Charlotte gets pulled in by her Great-Aunt Vespasia who wants to help a friend whose niece is a suspect. Standard murder mystery fare. What I liked best was how the nascent suffragette movement was woven throughout the story. A reminder of how hard it was for women to be taken seriously in society and the almost total dominion men had over women in every way.
August 12, 2015
Read by Davina PorterDescription: The gentleman tied to the lamppost on Westminster Bridge is most elegantly attired—fresh boutonniere, silk hat, white evening scarf—and he is quite, quite dead, as a result of his thoroughly cut throat. Why should anyone kill Sir Lockwood Hamilton, the kindest of family men?
Increasingly turned off by Perry's books. I put this on to perform a scale of extreme ironing that only comes from five weeks summer bumming. I preferred the monotomy of smoothing combined with the smell of starch on crisp linen to this bloated snoozefest. Expect the rest from this author to hit the OTBRIWPB shelf sooner rather than later.NEXT
3* Paragon Walk (Charlotte & Thomas Pitt, #3)
3* Death in the Devil's Acre (Charlotte & Thomas Pitt #7)
CR Bethlehem Road (Charlotte & Thomas Pitt, #10)
3* The Face of a Stranger (William Monk, #1)
3* A Dangerous Mourning (William Monk #2)
2* A Sudden, Fearful Death (William Monk, #4)
3* The Shifting Tide (William Monk, #14)
4* Dark Assassin (William Monk, #15)
4* Execution Dock (William Monk, #16)
3* A Christmas Guest (Christmas Stories, #3)
3* A Christmas Beginning (Christmas Stories, #5)
July 25, 2009
I'm going to have to think about this one a bit. The mystery part of it was excellent as always. The characters were great. It's a little different than the Pitt books have been so far in that you don't find out who and why on the second to last page, you find out the who a bit sooner. So, that's a fun difference. What left me a little bit unsettled is that the plot seems to be just a prop for her soapbox of women's rights. Not that I don't think women should have rights or be able to vote or have property of their own if they want. But, at times I wondered if she was condescending to women who "bear and raise children and order a house which is a refuge of quiet and decency" (although I'm not sure how anyone could have quiet and children in the same house). I'm ready to think about something now other than women's suffrage. And I'm sure that we're supposed to not like the bad man character and feel so sorry his the poor suppressed yet strong wife but I thought the woman a bit stupid and the man's character developed contradictorily. Perry usually touches on issues of the day, but this was a little overload to me.
I think this is the first book so far where Thomas hasn't tried to forbid Charlotte from getting involved in his cases her own way. It's nice to see them working together, but I wondered what brought about the 180 degree change. Maybe that he knew the book was about woman's rights and so he wanted to give his wife some rights. Smart man. He would have seemed like quite a jerk if he did his usual "I forbid you to meddle in this dangerous case" bit in a book that was about women's property, thoughts and actions being controlled by men.
Some of the names in this book tripped me up. Is it really possible that there were actually brothers and a sister in 1880's England named Jasper, Garnet and Amethyst? Seriously? And Zenobia? Cuthbert? Parthenope?
A few quotes I liked "A woman's appearance is her fortune, and what she seems to be will be the measure of what other people assume she is." I'm not sure if Perry was trying to make a statement about the 1800's, but to a large extent, things haven't changed much.
"Pitt was unruffled: it was faintly satisfying that their dislike was mutual" Just sort of funny to me.
On a different note, I do sort of wonder, if Society is really as small as it is said to be in every one of these Pitt mystery books, why Society hasn't caught on that Charlotte Pitt is a policeman's wife and is trying to discover things about you. But, no character so far has said anything like "Ah yes, Charlotte Pitt, I remember my friend Afton from Cardington Square talking about you".
I think this is the first book so far where Thomas hasn't tried to forbid Charlotte from getting involved in his cases her own way. It's nice to see them working together, but I wondered what brought about the 180 degree change. Maybe that he knew the book was about woman's rights and so he wanted to give his wife some rights. Smart man. He would have seemed like quite a jerk if he did his usual "I forbid you to meddle in this dangerous case" bit in a book that was about women's property, thoughts and actions being controlled by men.
Some of the names in this book tripped me up. Is it really possible that there were actually brothers and a sister in 1880's England named Jasper, Garnet and Amethyst? Seriously? And Zenobia? Cuthbert? Parthenope?
A few quotes I liked "A woman's appearance is her fortune, and what she seems to be will be the measure of what other people assume she is." I'm not sure if Perry was trying to make a statement about the 1800's, but to a large extent, things haven't changed much.
"Pitt was unruffled: it was faintly satisfying that their dislike was mutual" Just sort of funny to me.
On a different note, I do sort of wonder, if Society is really as small as it is said to be in every one of these Pitt mystery books, why Society hasn't caught on that Charlotte Pitt is a policeman's wife and is trying to discover things about you. But, no character so far has said anything like "Ah yes, Charlotte Pitt, I remember my friend Afton from Cardington Square talking about you".
November 28, 2025
Este tomo de la saga Pitt me ha encantado. Lo leí hace muchos muchos años y ya no recordaba nada. Ha conseguido engancharme de principio a fin y no me vi venir al culpable.
July 4, 2022
This one could have been much better. Say, for example, if it had made any sense at all. The rest of this review is filled with spoilers, starting now.
Ugh. Very maddening. Here's hoping #11 will be back to normal, meaning my complaints are many but mostly good-natured.
Ugh. Very maddening. Here's hoping #11 will be back to normal, meaning my complaints are many but mostly good-natured.
November 10, 2014
1.5 stars. I’ve read a couple dozen of Anne Perry’s Victorian mysteries now, and this is probably my least favorite. It has all of Perry’s usual weaknesses - tiresome repetition and relentless harangues about Victorian social ills - combined with an especially weak ending to an initially promising mystery.
When Thomas can’t figure out who is killing Members of Parliament as they’re walking home after late sessions, Charlotte goes into action, borrowing clothes and using her maiden name while she visits with all the high-society ladies concerned. Husband and wife flail around looking for suspects with a personal motive, while the press worries about anarchists and Fenians.
The social issue highlighted here is women’s legal rights, or the lack thereof, and Perry hits it hard with long rants from an embittered woman who has lost custody of her child. The lectures would perhaps be more interesting to a reader who previously had no idea that Victorian men held legal rights to their children, and to their wives’ property and income, etc.
This book was published the same year as the first of her William Monk books. I like that series better than this one, and I keep hoping the quality here will improve.
When Thomas can’t figure out who is killing Members of Parliament as they’re walking home after late sessions, Charlotte goes into action, borrowing clothes and using her maiden name while she visits with all the high-society ladies concerned. Husband and wife flail around looking for suspects with a personal motive, while the press worries about anarchists and Fenians.
The social issue highlighted here is women’s legal rights, or the lack thereof, and Perry hits it hard with long rants from an embittered woman who has lost custody of her child. The lectures would perhaps be more interesting to a reader who previously had no idea that Victorian men held legal rights to their children, and to their wives’ property and income, etc.
This book was published the same year as the first of her William Monk books. I like that series better than this one, and I keep hoping the quality here will improve.
October 26, 2019
In this novel Ms. Perry gives the reader a more fleshed out ending that does not seem as chopped off at the conclusion like the neck of one condemned to the sharp blade of the guillotine. Some readers are annoyed with Anne Perry's rendition of the plight of women's rights during the late 1880's in Victorian England. One should keep in mind that this series is as much an historical novel as well as a mystery both of which Perry is a true master.
May 31, 2017
The reason why this crime happened is shocking, not expected at all.
Thomas get promoted after that to be a Chief Inspector, he excepted thought the money will good for the family, even though he will dislike the job, you see, just sitting in the office instead go out there to do the investigation he love.
Luckily darling Charlotte not having that, she love Thomas too much and understood how he felt!:)
Thomas get promoted after that to be a Chief Inspector, he excepted thought the money will good for the family, even though he will dislike the job, you see, just sitting in the office instead go out there to do the investigation he love.
Luckily darling Charlotte not having that, she love Thomas too much and understood how he felt!:)
September 17, 2011
Tenth in the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt mystery series set in the late 19th century in London revolving around Thomas' career as a policeman and the help provided him by Charlotte.
The Story
Some madman, or woman, is murdering Members of Parliament only moments after they leave a late sitting in Parliament and no one has seen a thing. Thomas and his superior, Micah Drummond [at last! A good boss for Thomas!!], are completely baffled. It takes a great deal of tedious footwork and questioning. Always taking a different angle, a different approach before the key clue is discovered.
My Take
A horrifying look at the lack of women's rights in the late 19th century in England. I really don't care what excuses the Establishment came up with as to why women couldn't think for themselves. When Florence Ivory unleashes her tirade at Charlotte…I just wanted to cry. It's all well and good to make laws forcing women to be beholden to their husbands or fathers for every single object, thought, or happiness. It's quite another to expect that every one of those husbands or fathers would be concerned with actually considering their true welfare. Too many people, men or women, are tempted by absolute power.
I couldn't help but wonder at the women who so vociferously protested that women were not competent at holding opinions how they dared, or even could, come up with an opinion. Since they were not competent enough to do so…
It took a while to figure out the identity of the culprit but I never would have guessed at such a second-hand distance! I just love Perry's C&T Pitt series, she has such an excellent eye for the time period. And makes me so grateful to be living in today's world!
The Cover
The cover is certainly symbolic with its top hat on its side, the ends of a white silk scarf spilling from it topped with a primrose on a railing at Westminster Bridge. The title itself is a clue.
The Story
Some madman, or woman, is murdering Members of Parliament only moments after they leave a late sitting in Parliament and no one has seen a thing. Thomas and his superior, Micah Drummond [at last! A good boss for Thomas!!], are completely baffled. It takes a great deal of tedious footwork and questioning. Always taking a different angle, a different approach before the key clue is discovered.
My Take
A horrifying look at the lack of women's rights in the late 19th century in England. I really don't care what excuses the Establishment came up with as to why women couldn't think for themselves. When Florence Ivory unleashes her tirade at Charlotte…I just wanted to cry. It's all well and good to make laws forcing women to be beholden to their husbands or fathers for every single object, thought, or happiness. It's quite another to expect that every one of those husbands or fathers would be concerned with actually considering their true welfare. Too many people, men or women, are tempted by absolute power.
I couldn't help but wonder at the women who so vociferously protested that women were not competent at holding opinions how they dared, or even could, come up with an opinion. Since they were not competent enough to do so…
It took a while to figure out the identity of the culprit but I never would have guessed at such a second-hand distance! I just love Perry's C&T Pitt series, she has such an excellent eye for the time period. And makes me so grateful to be living in today's world!
The Cover
The cover is certainly symbolic with its top hat on its side, the ends of a white silk scarf spilling from it topped with a primrose on a railing at Westminster Bridge. The title itself is a clue.
September 11, 2025
Me ha sorprendido el final, la verdad es que cuando compré en un quiosco este libro de segunda mano por 1€ no sabía que pertenece a una serie tan larga. Me ha gustado la forma de escribir de Perry y también los subtemas que trata la novela (sufragio femenino y feminismo en general). Ahora quiero leer el resto de libros para comprender mejor a los personajes, ya que aunque Pitt me ha caído estupendamente bien, su esposa Charlotte me ha decepcionado en las ultimas páginas con su comportamiento imprudente e incluso egoísta. En fin, todo un descubrimiento esta novela.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 13, 2024
As with a number of Perry's works, the ending just didn't work well for me, and I wish that I could give this a 3.75, but I will leave it at 4 stars.
June 25, 2021
J'ai bien aimé ce livre et son intrigue si ce n'était pour son dénouement que je juge un peu bâclé et invraisemblable.
May 14, 2017
Promising start to this story but disappointing finish.
April 9, 2011
Tenth in the series of Victorian mysteries featuring the investigative strategies and life experiences of Inspector Thomas Pitt and his forthright wife Charlotte. This one explored the suffragette question as it affected various levels of London society in 1888. We get some long speeches on both sides of the issue which didn’t tell me anything about the Cult of Domesticity as it was practiced in this society that I didn’t already know; still, the revelation of just how few basic rights women legally had, and the controlling power their fathers and husbands could wield over them—for both good or bad—is important historical information that many readers who don’t know about this should learn..
I particularly liked the villain’s modus operandi in this one: a serial killer is picking off Members of Parliament crossing Westminster Bridge over the Thames late at night, after a late sitting of Parliament has adjourned. As they hurry briskly home through the damp and fog, to their comfortable homes on the south side of the river, someone is catching politicians of this august body alone, slitting their throats, and then using their white silk scarves to tie their dead bodies, like overdressed scarecrows, to lampposts scattered along the famous crossway. Who is to blame? Is it the diabolical work of anarchists, an embittered suffragette, or a lunatic—-or might it be some personal vendetta? Thomas must investigate, and Great-aunt Vespasia gets Charlotte involved, probing the mystery from another direction, and unbeknownst to Thomas. In this installment, we also come to better know and appreciate Thomas’s new supervisor, Micah Drummond.
I particularly liked the villain’s modus operandi in this one: a serial killer is picking off Members of Parliament crossing Westminster Bridge over the Thames late at night, after a late sitting of Parliament has adjourned. As they hurry briskly home through the damp and fog, to their comfortable homes on the south side of the river, someone is catching politicians of this august body alone, slitting their throats, and then using their white silk scarves to tie their dead bodies, like overdressed scarecrows, to lampposts scattered along the famous crossway. Who is to blame? Is it the diabolical work of anarchists, an embittered suffragette, or a lunatic—-or might it be some personal vendetta? Thomas must investigate, and Great-aunt Vespasia gets Charlotte involved, probing the mystery from another direction, and unbeknownst to Thomas. In this installment, we also come to better know and appreciate Thomas’s new supervisor, Micah Drummond.
Read
January 4, 2017Starting Words:Hetty stood at the Westminster bridge and stared across the dark roadway at the man lounging rather awkwardly against the beautiful three-headed lamppost on the far side.
Ending Words:She did not ever see Pitt come in the door, ashen-faced,Forbes at his elbow, but she felt his arms go round her as she breathed in the familiar smell of his coat feeling the texture of it under her cheek.
The story had to do with a lunatic who had a grudge against member or members of Parliament (MP) who live on the South side of river of Westminster bridge and before you know it three members of Parliament (MP) are dead and nobody seems to know who is doing the killings and why.
The narrative was smooth and I guess nobody tells a story about Victoria London like Anne Perry
I enjoyed it and i will give it 3stars
Ending Words:She did not ever see Pitt come in the door, ashen-faced,Forbes at his elbow, but she felt his arms go round her as she breathed in the familiar smell of his coat feeling the texture of it under her cheek.
The story had to do with a lunatic who had a grudge against member or members of Parliament (MP) who live on the South side of river of Westminster bridge and before you know it three members of Parliament (MP) are dead and nobody seems to know who is doing the killings and why.
The narrative was smooth and I guess nobody tells a story about Victoria London like Anne Perry
I enjoyed it and i will give it 3stars
February 27, 2018
I would have to say, for me, this was the most intriguing Charlotte and Thomas Pitt novel! I never was expecting that ending!
Ms. Perry's ability to paint a scene, a character or the atmosphere will never cease to amaze to me. I am immediately drawn in and completely captivated with how she brings out the grittiness of life in Victorian England. Whether it be political, religious or personal, these issues are seamlessly written into the story.
In this novel, the murder of three Members of Parliament sets the city on edge with no real reason as to why. Finding suspects is even harder. There was one individual who I felt had some claim to responsibility in this story but not in the way I was expecting.
September 13, 2017
Solito romanzetto della Perry dove il finale e' come al solito racchiuso nelle ultime pagine e dove molte cose restano senza risposta.
Questa volta ha comunque il pregio di illustrare la condizione femminile nell'epoca vittoriana, anche se pur molto velatamente e solo per le classi alte.
Perfetto per chi e' stressato, come me in questo periodo, e non vuole pensare ne' coinvolgersi troppo.
Questa volta ha comunque il pregio di illustrare la condizione femminile nell'epoca vittoriana, anche se pur molto velatamente e solo per le classi alte.
Perfetto per chi e' stressato, come me in questo periodo, e non vuole pensare ne' coinvolgersi troppo.
February 6, 2017
Great details of the era, characters I enjoy , and plotting that keeps me thrilled to be in suspense as Thomas and Charlotte Pitt work out the solution...
July 6, 2019
This was very boring. I skimmed the last 30 pages. It was just so.... tiresome and all the characters started blending together. I think I’m going to take a break from this series.
June 2, 2020
This is more Charlotte than her husband and I loved it!!! Thomas loves her forever and totally and this book shows it greatly!
July 18, 2020
Another exciting book featuring Thomas and Charlotte Pitt! It features murders and religious oppression with a hint of the eventual right to vote for women in England.
August 8, 2023
Very promising story line with multiple suspects. Unfortunately the ending was contrived and unbelievable.
December 6, 2020
A relatively weak entry.
March 10, 2017
So, after the total CLUSTERFUCK of the previous case, Thomas has a new boss, Micah Drummond, who is really awesome. Thomas is investigating the death of a member of Parliament whose throat was slashed while he was walking across the bridge away from the Parliament building. Then the killer tied him by his neck scarf to a lamppost and left him there to be discovered by a soliciting prostitute. As you do.
Also, Charlotte's interested in women getting the right to vote, which at this point was still highly debatable. Because why would women want to vote? It would overheat their tiny brains and besides men need to lead them around by the hand and treat them like toddlers. (Needless to say, suck it.)
Thomas looks into the first guy (yeah, first guy, there will be more), Barclay Hamilton, who was married to a woman named Amethyst (whose parents apparently didn't care about being even remotely normal). Amethyst has two brothers named Jasper and Garnet because, again, WHY NOT NAME YOUR KIDS AFTER PRETTY THINGS, SHUT UP. Barclay had a son by his first marriage (Amethyst is his second wife), and, uh, Amethyst and her stepson are in love. So, yeah.
The next one is something Carfax, and everyone's freaking out. ANARCHISTS! MAYBE? But the anarchists are like "we have important explodey things to do in Ireland so whatev, no throat-slitting for us."
Then Zenobia Gunne approaches Great-Aunt Vespasia and says her niece Africa (yep, she's white) is roommates with (also in love with maybe?) Florence Ivory, who had a hell of a motive to kill Carfax (I think it was Carfax?). Florence left her asshole husband and took her daughter with her, but the husband decided to be a dick and demanded full custody of the daughter, citing Florence's work to get women the vote as proof she was an unstable, dangerous lady. Florence went to an MP who promised to help, and then knuckled under when the asshole husband sent him a few letters. Dick.
But Zenobia wants to clear Florence, so Charlotte gets involved. Charlotte likes Amethyst a lot, and she's kind of freaked out by Florence, because Florence is like on fire with rage over having lost her child. (I mean, who wouldn't be?) Zenobia knew Mary Carfax, the Carfax widow, and they hate each other, but she renews the acquaintance.
Then a third guy is killed, and everyone's flipping the fuck out.
Eventually, through a shit ton of police work (which earns him a promotion), Thomas figures out that a flower seller is likely responsible. Garnet volunteers to be bait by crossing the bridge at night, and the murderous flower seller approaches with a straight razor! Pitt smacks her on the arm with his truncheon but Garnet shoots her ass STONE DEAD and hooray, she's caught! Garnet says "Oh yeah, she was my wife's maid and she was so fucking overcome with grief when my wife died of scarlet fever that I just dropped her off at the insane asylum so she could get right again." Like 15 years ago.
So Thomas eventually figures out that Garnet's wife DIDN'T die of scarlet fever. She became involved in some stupid Christian cult and Garnet was like "fuck no you don't" and his wife Naomi was like "fuck yes I DO YOU DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO" and fucking STARVED HERSELF TO DEATH when her husband refused to let her out of her room until she basically recanted. He finds letters basically filling that in.
So Charlotte, wanting to start some shit, took the letters to Garnet, basically a fuck-you of "now you know I know," and after he basically tells her to fuck off, he comes out and tries to push her into the Thames! And she basically ducks and he dies like an evil movie villain!
And Thomas refuses his promotion because he enjoys his job and wants to be doing it, but he only does that after Charlotte tells him to because she loves him and knows how he is.
So, yeah. Um, I had some questions. The identity of the killer doesn't quite make a ton of sense. Why did she tie them up by their scarves, just to be a dick? What about the mistaken identity? She wanted to kill Garnet, so the other three were apparently just practice or accidents.
Also, Charlotte's interested in women getting the right to vote, which at this point was still highly debatable. Because why would women want to vote? It would overheat their tiny brains and besides men need to lead them around by the hand and treat them like toddlers. (Needless to say, suck it.)
Thomas looks into the first guy (yeah, first guy, there will be more), Barclay Hamilton, who was married to a woman named Amethyst (whose parents apparently didn't care about being even remotely normal). Amethyst has two brothers named Jasper and Garnet because, again, WHY NOT NAME YOUR KIDS AFTER PRETTY THINGS, SHUT UP. Barclay had a son by his first marriage (Amethyst is his second wife), and, uh, Amethyst and her stepson are in love. So, yeah.
The next one is something Carfax, and everyone's freaking out. ANARCHISTS! MAYBE? But the anarchists are like "we have important explodey things to do in Ireland so whatev, no throat-slitting for us."
Then Zenobia Gunne approaches Great-Aunt Vespasia and says her niece Africa (yep, she's white) is roommates with (also in love with maybe?) Florence Ivory, who had a hell of a motive to kill Carfax (I think it was Carfax?). Florence left her asshole husband and took her daughter with her, but the husband decided to be a dick and demanded full custody of the daughter, citing Florence's work to get women the vote as proof she was an unstable, dangerous lady. Florence went to an MP who promised to help, and then knuckled under when the asshole husband sent him a few letters. Dick.
But Zenobia wants to clear Florence, so Charlotte gets involved. Charlotte likes Amethyst a lot, and she's kind of freaked out by Florence, because Florence is like on fire with rage over having lost her child. (I mean, who wouldn't be?) Zenobia knew Mary Carfax, the Carfax widow, and they hate each other, but she renews the acquaintance.
Then a third guy is killed, and everyone's flipping the fuck out.
Eventually, through a shit ton of police work (which earns him a promotion), Thomas figures out that a flower seller is likely responsible. Garnet volunteers to be bait by crossing the bridge at night, and the murderous flower seller approaches with a straight razor! Pitt smacks her on the arm with his truncheon but Garnet shoots her ass STONE DEAD and hooray, she's caught! Garnet says "Oh yeah, she was my wife's maid and she was so fucking overcome with grief when my wife died of scarlet fever that I just dropped her off at the insane asylum so she could get right again." Like 15 years ago.
So Thomas eventually figures out that Garnet's wife DIDN'T die of scarlet fever. She became involved in some stupid Christian cult and Garnet was like "fuck no you don't" and his wife Naomi was like "fuck yes I DO YOU DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO" and fucking STARVED HERSELF TO DEATH when her husband refused to let her out of her room until she basically recanted. He finds letters basically filling that in.
So Charlotte, wanting to start some shit, took the letters to Garnet, basically a fuck-you of "now you know I know," and after he basically tells her to fuck off, he comes out and tries to push her into the Thames! And she basically ducks and he dies like an evil movie villain!
And Thomas refuses his promotion because he enjoys his job and wants to be doing it, but he only does that after Charlotte tells him to because she loves him and knows how he is.
So, yeah. Um, I had some questions. The identity of the killer doesn't quite make a ton of sense. Why did she tie them up by their scarves, just to be a dick? What about the mistaken identity? She wanted to kill Garnet, so the other three were apparently just practice or accidents.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 14, 2024
One of the better Charlottes and Thomas Pitt novels. Frustrating that information leading to killer is introduced very late in the story.
February 21, 2011
This was one of the more complex of the Thomas and Charlotte series. The story begins when a Member of Parliament is found on Westminster Bridge with his throat slit. There seems to be no reason for his death until a second Member of Parliament is killed in the same way. Suspicion falls on the suffragettes and especially one woman in particular who has been greviously wronged by one of the victims, her estranged husband.
As this series continues, Anne Perry is giving a riviting description of the state of women during the Victorian era when husbands had complete control of their wives including their money and children. At the time of this novel, laws had just been passed to consider a woman in her own right and not as chattel to her husband. She was also in control of her own money, but things were not a whole lot better. The prime suspect has had her children taken from her including her 6 year old daughter and was cast out without any resources never to see her children again. She was considered an unfit mother because she was a suffragette and, because she did not have independent means, was left to the mercy of friends or a life on the street. Some of the most extreme Victorian attitudes are fleshed out in this story making for some very interesting reading.
As this series continues, Anne Perry is giving a riviting description of the state of women during the Victorian era when husbands had complete control of their wives including their money and children. At the time of this novel, laws had just been passed to consider a woman in her own right and not as chattel to her husband. She was also in control of her own money, but things were not a whole lot better. The prime suspect has had her children taken from her including her 6 year old daughter and was cast out without any resources never to see her children again. She was considered an unfit mother because she was a suffragette and, because she did not have independent means, was left to the mercy of friends or a life on the street. Some of the most extreme Victorian attitudes are fleshed out in this story making for some very interesting reading.
October 21, 2013
4.5 stars. This tenth offering in the series was the best so far. It was a complicated mystery and although I thought I had it all sewed up early on, I was way off base. A murderer is stalking MP's as they walk across the Westminster Bridge after late night sittings of the House of Commons and returning to their homes. The victims seem to be unrelated and Pitt gets more and more discouraged as he searches for clues and finds none that tie the murders together. The subplot is the fight for women's rights in Victorian England and there is some interesting background available here. The final solution was a surprise to me with and it didn't come at the very end, but allowed for some further action after the solution. Well-done. I alternately read and listened and Davina Porter was good as always.
November 3, 2025
Audio...I could hardly recall much from the previous time I listened until reaching the latter half of this book. So second time around gets 5 stars. A good tale. MP's are being murdered, but by whom and why? We get a hint or two of who might be a villain and a history lesson of women's status in Victorian England. A rich narrative as in most of Anne Perry's work An enjoyable read..no vile language, no hackneyed phrases-- Just an intricate plot with memorable characters that wrapped up nicely.
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