Half Moon Street

Charlotte & Thomas Pitt #20

by Anne Perry, Terry Wale

Perry delivers another stunning novel filled with the darkest of secrets and guiltiest of pleasures in late Victorian London. When Inspector Thomas Pitt is called to a shocking murder scene, his determined search leads him deep into London's bohemia and into studios where masters of light and shadow experiment with the new art of photography.

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical Mystery, Historical, Crime, Audiobook

Audio CD

First published March 1, 1998

About the author

Anne 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

Reviews

[Paul Weiss · Rating 4 out of 5]

A commentary on Victorian society

Anne Perry is certainly a prolific author. At some point, her prodigious output will almost certainly rival that of Agatha Christie, the acknowledged queen of the mystery genre. HALF MOON STREET is #20 in her much-loved, long-running Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series which, at this moment, extends to a rather impressive 32 titles.

But buyer beware! If you picked up HALF MOON STREET looking for a head-scratching, perplexing mystery, you’re probably in for a disappointment. HALF MOON STREET, while not a total failure, is pedestrian at worst and workmanlike at best. It’s a police-procedural with a straight up linear plot completely devoid of any red herrings, blind alleys or twists and turns. Pitt is portrayed as simply a competent Victorian cop following the clues, dotting the I’s and crossing the t’s necessary to secure a solid case and a conviction. Few readers would award it more than 2- or 3-stars.

On the other hand, if you’re willing to read with an open mind, with no expectations as to what the story might be, then you’ll discover that HALF MOON STREET is a compelling, thought-provoking essay on systemic misogyny, the problematic issues of censorship, and some of the early effects of photographic pornography in what was arguably the most sexually repressive and patriarchal society ever created by mankind. For my money, HALF MOON STREET was a very pleasant change of pace and a most enjoyable novel.

Highly recommended.

Paul Weiss

[Deb · Rating 2 out of 5]

Done. Done. Complete. Finished. Fini. Fin. Adios. Au Revoir. Auf Wiedersehen Adios. Ba-Bye. Toodles. Going. Going. Gone!!

Omg I couldn't wait to finish this thing! Let me be completely frank here.. this is a prime example of extreme wordiness getting in the way of what could have possibly been a good story. But alas, it was not. It niggled me to no end. I waded through this. I couldn't wait to finish. I ended up skimming and skipping through to the finished line but had actually given up the race a long time ago.

The book jacket and the synopsis lead me to believe this was an Victorian mystery. Upon beginning the book, yes we are met with a murder on the Thames and a detective. He starts to investigate. I thought, "Ooo. This is good!"
But then as I got to the next chapter, a whole new story begins about a society relative of his and a trip to the theater in play by play detail of the entire experience.. who visits the theater box, world opinions are discussed, views on life, goodness.. morality.. I was bored to tears. I thought, "Oh no.. this is bad".
But, nevertheless, I pressed on with the intense hope that we would get back to our mystery and our detective. And we did. Crowded within the constant refuse of ideals and conversations and opinions and views, there were nuggets of story. I plodded on. Every time I felt, I shall surely put this down, there'd be another nugget wrapped in a balled up piece of propaganda. I felt as if I was trecking through 8 inches of snow chasing a piece of cheese trying to get home. Make sense? I know! That's my point. I know the author intended a murder mystery. I know the author also intended to discuss the Victorian idea of morality and how it was a changing time for the world and society. (Ah ha! You see author I did get the point.) But this was lengthy. This was needling. This was tiring. It was just too much. I get that as an author you can't help but leave pieces of your self within your work. As an avid reader and budding writer, I get this completely. But I tire endlessly of books where author's come out of the story line to ramble on endlessly about their views or ideals or sermons. Come out from behind the guise of fiction, call it non fiction, say what you have to say until your heart feels lighter and allow me to avoid it because I wanted to read fiction. Or master the art of sliding those lessons into the story in such a way that they are enjoyable. It's reminiscent of how everyone wants to be so quote unquote healthy and everyone wants to be so opinionated. If you hand me a block o' tofu and say, "here it's healthy, eat this". I'm going to cover my mouth like a little kid and mumble between my fingers "nah ah". But if you put that thing into a dish with spices and other tasty items, I just might eat it and get nourished. Stir your stories up authors!

(T.V. Announcers voice):Here is a mystery...
And just when it's getting good.
(Announcer): We interrupt this mystery to bring you...the author, droning on about her personal ideas, opinions, thoughts, visions, research, day to day activities, more ideas.. opinions...
Viewer: Comatose. Steam above head. Eyes crossed. Slouches, slides out of chair onto floor.
And scene.

Scores? For me this is a 2 all day. It had potential but then got side tracked and gave me a headache. I didn't quit because I was too far in and needed to know the result. I stopped watching the movie.. but I still hit the fwd button just in case. I didn't want to miss "IT" if it happened... it didn't. Deb looks directly through screen, makes deep eye contact with reader. Shakes head in sorrow. "It never did." A moment of sad silent reflection ensues.

Do I recommend it? Who am I to deny someone who enjoys "sifting". Maybe that's your thing. Sift away. It reminded me a bit of those books from the 1800's and the only way the author could get their opinions out there was to attempt to put a fiction cloak on it... but in my opinion after 1980 that way is less than necessary.

My shelves are bursting... on to the next book!!

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wa sreally suprised by this book because what seemed to be an ordinary criminal history set in the 19th century turned out to be an overwhelmingly written story about Victorian moral ideas and how they change and influence people.
The underlying story about pornography, murder and photography accompanied it very well, but really this book is not worth reading for the mystery but for its really fine descriptions of the tension that moral ideas and their real "counterparts" create in all of us.

[Ed · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have always enjoyed Perry's Victorian period mysteries and they usually get a 3 or 4 rating. This one gets an extra rating for all the subplots going on as the mystery unfolds. Early photography as an artistic endeavor then as a way to sell pornography, theatre to show the new ideas developing about women and their position in society and in their own families, censorship versus the sharing of forbiddentopics to the harm that can come from unrestricted expression. A wonderful way to get into the time, the place and issues of Vicorian London.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

The idiosyncratic selection of books I've borrowed from Libraries of Friendship includes a small pile of Anne Perry novels lent by a friend's Mum. This is the first I've read, as I'd never heard of them and was unsure where to start. Somehow I've ended up starting with the twentieth in a series, which worked perfectly well as a self-contained novel. I am admittedly no great enthusiast of murder mysteries. It was therefore a pleasant surprise to discover that the murder in 'Half Moon Street' was part of the plot without dominating it. The book opens with Inspector Thomas Pitt examining the newly discovered corpse, however he is not the sole protagonist and his investigation is not all that occurs. I found the female characters and their dilemmas rather more interesting than whodunnit. The most vivid scenes in the book featured the dynamic between Pitt's mother-in-law and her mother-in-law. The latter is an acerbic woman, to the point of meanness, who is attempting to hide a shameful secret. The former has to put up with this, while challenged by the gulf in social mores between her conservative friends and her younger husband's acting set.

'Half Moon Street' includes some insightful and involving scenes showing the painful evolution of Victorian attitudes to marriage and divorce, as well as censorship. Perry takes the reader deep into the thoughts of her protagonists and the plot progresses via dialogue rather than action. I enjoyed this rather dilatory approach and several picturesque touches like a brief cameo from Oscar Wilde. I was less keen on the way lower class characters' accents were transcribed, e.g. '"I dunno, sir, 'cept I reckon 'e must be, or 'ow would 'e know 'oo they are?"' That was a bit awkward. I also found the denouement unsatisfactorily melodramatic. Despite the final scene taking place in a theatre among actors, I still found it excessive. Cecily Antrim's motivations were also rather baffling to me, as the reader never gets to see her point of view as we do Caroline's and Mariah's. Indeed, I would have preferred it had the whole novel contained no murder at all and just been a family drama examining Victorian social mores. Nonetheless, it was diverting enough that I will try another and hope Caroline has an equally significant role.

[LeslieVA · Rating 2 out of 5]

:( After Bedford Square I was hoping that the Pitt series was back on track. The mystery part of the book would have made a wonderful novella. Unfortunately more than half of the book was about Charlotte's mother and grandmother and Perry was not able to weave the development of those characters into the mystery as she did with Dominic Corde's character in Brunswick Gardens. I felt it was any unnecessary plot line and if I hear the phrase "the old lady" one more time I am going to scream!!!!

[Kathi · Rating 3 out of 5]

7/10
A LOT of commentary on censorship/freedom of expression, and some revelations about some of the continuing characters in this series. But, as always, impeccable historical research underpinning the narrative, fascinating characters, & a complex mystery, which almost took a backseat to some of the other themes.

[Paraphrodite · Rating 2 out of 5]

The murder mystery was incidental in this, I think the author just wanted to be able to express her thoughts on pornography. This was the most preachy yet of the series.

[Simona Moschini · Rating 3 out of 5]

Il tema sarebbe anche interessante: siamo negli anni 90 dell'Ottocento, ormai, e per quanto la Perry voglia restituirci l'oppressione mentale, sociale e linguistica vittoriana, già da qualche romanzo ha giocoforza inserito - probabilmente anche per speziare la solita minestra - frizzanti elementi di disturbo che in realtà sono i semi del rinnovamento in atto: comparsate qua e là di Oscar Wilde, di qualche preraffaellita, il mondo della prostituzione a Whitechapel, fumatori di oppio, timide vedove borghesi che si invaghiscono di giovani attori ebrei (Cielo, un israelita, che volgarità! - Ma anche Cristo era ebreo! - E allora Disraeli?) arrivando a impalmarli con grande scandalo delle ex suocere, e così via. Tutto un ronzio vitale che non sarebbe dispiaciuto a Praz.

Poi, certo, l'autrice non è Dickens e nemmeno Wilkie Colins; se la cavicchia, si ripete all'infinito cercando disperatamente variazioni sul genere.

Qui assaporiamo un poco dello stupore vittoriano per la novità della fotografia, che portava con sé, inevitabile, la crescente riproducibilità tecnica della pornografia; e nel contempo ci addentriamo sempre più nel turbinante mondo del teatro londinese, tra un Ibsen chiuso per censura dopo la prima e un Amleto foriero di sventure, che del resto già il cadavere iniziale in posa Ofelia lasciava presagire.

[Melissa Riggs · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came close to putting this away without reading-when it was known that Charlotte, Emily, AND Gracie would not be part of this story. I'm so glad I read on-and got to know Charlotte's mother and grandmother in quite a shocking disclosure from the past. Also, the coming together as almost partners of Pitt and Tellman. It would not be as meaningful if you haven't experienced the first 19 books.

"For Superintendent Thomas Pitt, the sight of the dead man riding the morning tide of the Thames is unforgettable. The corpse lies in a battered punt drifting through the early mist, clad in a torn green gown and bestrewn with flowers. Pitt’s determined search for answers to the victim’s identity leads him deep into London’s bohemia—to the theatre where beautiful Cecily Antrim is outraging society with her bold portrayal of a modern woman, and into studios where masters of light and shadow are experimenting with the fascinating new art of photography. But only Pitt’s masterly investigative skills enable him to identify the wildfire passions raging through this tragedy of good and evil, to hunt down the guilty and protect the innocent."

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's been awhile since I read a full-length Perry novel & I'd forgotten how much philosophy there is in her books, where the characters have to wrestle with hefty issues of moral values & how they affect their behavior & consciences. It's one of the things I like about her books-the way the Victorian morals are being challenged by the modern world. There is also her trademark detailed storytelling, cleverly plotted mystery, & intertwining stories. Charlotte has been invited to visit Paris with Emily & so is absent for the entire book, allowing Pitt & the irascible Sgt. Tillman to solve the murder on their own. A definite change. There is an involved story involving Charlotte's mother, Caroline, & grandmother, Mariah Ellison, that seemed completely separate for most of the volume, but it all came together in the end. There is also a dip into the seamier side of Victorian London, as usual, but also fascinating peeks into the theatre world & the growing art of photography, as Pitt learns more than he wants to know about its various uses. I listened & read alternately, & it was wonderfully read by the reliably good Davina Porter.

[David]

This one is curious. A principal character insists on the right to self expression, art, individual morality, gender equality, and many other things that we would consider extremely important. The actions of this character, emotionally disturbed to other characters sufficiently that murder is the result. Who is right? On one level, of course, not the killers--ever. No matter how they felt themselves provoked murder wasn't the solution. But in a story set while Ibsen and A Dollhouse, and Oscar Wilde (a character) are challenging social norms, one cannot help but wonder to what extent the anti-censorship, pro-individualist character is at all responsible for reactions provoked. Add some tension between public and private, strangers and family, and stir until something explodes. It seems to me to move slowly, however. I suppose it is the 1890s. But I don't know that that's adequate explanation for tempo, especially given the issues the story examines.

[Amber Voskuil · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was quite serious and disturbing. It deals with murder, pornography, and the question as to how far one should go in an effort to change the way people think… Anne Perry deals with it fairly well but leaves it mostly to the reader’s own idea of what is moral and right. The only thing she missed was in pointing the reader to the Truth which is Jesus. There is no morality without the word of God. Without the Word, anything and everything is open for one’s personal interpretation. There is no right or wrong only what you as an individual feel is right at one time or another. All you have then is chaos and disorder.
God’s ways are not are ways and when we choose our own selfish way instead of his, we always go too far the wrong way and cannot imagine the damage we create and inflict on other people. Which this story does a good job at showing.

“.. but the values we adopt will be the ones the next generation will live by.” Pg 246

Everything we do has a reaction, has a ripple, and will affect other people maybe far more than we realize. Choose your actions and those things you hold to be true with care.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars rounded up to 4 Stars. The ending, for me is what saved the story. The chapters concerning Mariah Ellison were way too drawn out. She is an unsympathetic character even after the reveal of her past since she retaliated with verbal and mental cruelty towards others. Two long chapters devoted to her plight were in essence just a bit too much and in no way changed my opinion of her. She still remains an unsympathetic character.

[Puck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Muy buen libro. La verdad es que el misterio se mantiene bastante, y al estar más relacionado con el teatro le da una perspectivo más refrescante comparado con otros libros. El final es mucho más coherente y sólido comparado con otros libros de la saga, y me gusta bastante el giro que toma. También tiene cierto giro un poco precipitado, pero nada que estropee la historia o el final. Lo recomiendo como libro para explorar la autora y la saga.

[Pam Romain · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I picked this book up I didn’t realize I’d already read it. I’m a long time fan of Charlotte and Thomas. In view of our world now I took a lot more from the book this time. Less about the plot and more about the social commentary. It’s a well written tale with a rich, thought provoking subtext.

[Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one raised a lot of questions that are pertinent today: what is pornography, who gets to decide what is censored, how do we react to those who don't follow social norms. It was interesting to see what had made Mrs. Ellison such a bitter woman. I look forward to seeing what happens next to Charlotte and Thomas.

[Geri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another Anne Perry that I enjoyed.
Charlotte being on holiday had Thomas
pretty much on his own in this mystery.

[Correen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Using Hamlet as a framework, Perry builds a complex story of family conflict, betrayal, and avenge. She has constructed a set of characters that allow her to present opinions and actions of persons across social class. Unlike most persons of that time and much to the horror of family members, her characters marry across class lines. In this book, the socially rigid grandmother lives with her disfavored daughter-in-law who after the death of her first husband has married a Jewish actor. Grandmama has no choice but live as a guest in the house of the man who has inappropriately replaced her beloved son. One of Grandmama's granddaughters has married a policeman, very much beneath her in class. The other granddaughter married above her rank but upon his death, married a man without title who with the granddaughter's help his elevated himself to Parliament. There is also a great aunt of very high stature, some servants, and other characters as needed.

Policeman Superintendent Pitt is always there to manage the mystery but his complicated family connections provide the vehicle for the Victorian social structure to emerge. This novel centers on the Jewish actor (step-father to Pitt's wife) and his theater colleagues. Grandmama provides a side-story that explains the motive for the murder.

I like Perry's work. She constructs complex plots, includes artistic references, describes life in the late 19th century, and poses questions of values and conscience (rights of women, pornography, censorship, income inequality, discrimination, etc.)

[The Library Lady · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed in 2022:
Anne Perry's Thomas Pitt books are uniformly excellent. But this is an especially interesting one, with Charlotte, Emily and even Gracie offstage, so to speak, and I put it that way because a good deal of the story centers around the theater. Instead, the women here are Caroline, and Mariah Ellison, her vastly unlovable mother-in-law. But a revealed tragedy of the past changes both Caroline's and we the readers' understanding of Mariah, and Caroline herself shows wonderful depths previously not allowed her character.And Tellman has another important moment in his growth as his watching a Shakespeare play continues the ongoing broadening of his mind. Another splendid volume in this series.

[William · Rating 1 out of 5]

Far and away the most boring book I've read in MANY years! The murder investigation was nothing more than a minor subplot that was barley covered while the author droned on about morals and censorship in the late nineteenth century and the personal relationships of the characters. I am interested in reading historical mysteries and if there is also a minor "soap opera" story line, I can accept that, but this book was a soap opera where the "mystery" was a very minor story line.

It's taken me over three and a half years to read the first twenty books in this series, since I kept running into ones that I didn't care for and would then take two or three months before reading the next one, but this is probably the last I'll read at least for the next six months.

[Joan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a pretty hard book critic. I give very few 5 star ratings and only a few 4's. Most of mine are in the 3 star category and this is one included in that rating. Most people who have read it gave it a 4. I won't go into detail because there are twists and turns in this story that would be spoilers if I told them. Anne Perry is a good writer. This is the first of her books that I have read. I must admit that I am a prude and in some ways this book shocked me. It wasn't crude for crude's sake, bit it was a bit disturbing.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This author was highlighted at the library, and I picked this one up, thinking to find a light fun mystery set in Victorian England, maybe reminiscent of Sherlock Holmes. And it was a good mystery, but it contained a large part of the book that was deeper, looking into censorship, pushing boundaries, and in the harm that can be done when rebelling against traditional views is done without thought of consequences or repercussions. A pleasant surprise. I might read more from this author.

[Lori · Rating 2 out of 5]

I listened to this as an audio book and I liked the narrator but I probably would not have finished if I would have read it. The story didn't fully unfold and the Caroline subplot never went anywhere. What happened with her at the end? We will never know. The constant analyzing of each character's reading of eye movements, glimmers and widening or narrowing, seemed a stretch. Just a boring story.

[Sue · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the first Anne Perry book that I didn't really enjoy. I didn't like the subject matter.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Anne Perry's novels, all of them, for the vitality and complexity of her characters and her keen depiction of 19th century England. If only there were more than the great stack I've read.

[Janine · Rating 5 out of 5]

The storyline has everything, including the appearance of a certain well known author. who it is, you'll just have to read the novel

[Chloe · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the first Anne Perry book that I've read and since finishing it I have discovered that it is book 20 of her series following Charlotte and Thomas Pitt. It reads well as a stand alone book and other than deeper knowledge of Thomas (Charlotte was on vacation for the entirety of this book), I don't think more context is needed to enjoy this read.

I do find that the description in the blurb is slightly misleading. From the blurb I thought the book would be more mystery focused and have more interesting people introduced as potential criminals, but that was not the case. In the beginning based on the interactions of Pitt and Tellman, I thought this book would be a murder mystery with some casual misogyny on the side of the sake of "historical accuracy." However, I pleasantly discovered that the characters are well developed and emotionally complex, making them fun to engage with regardless of whether or not you agreed with everything they believed. Themes of women's expression and censorship are handled in a way that feel both accurate for the time as well as satisfying for the modern reader, perhaps with the exception of the ending that I found quite abrupt and incohesive with the rest of the book (which is why the score is a 3 instead of a 4).

The murder plot that follows Thomas Pitt is mild and unengaging in terms of giving the reader enough information to create solid theories before the information is spelled out for them. The discussion of censorship Pitt's chapters bring up are boring and the argument isn't made until the very last chapter, in which the murderer is revealed and the motivations are bland. Pitt takes a backburner position to the more interesting plotline that follows his mother-in-law, Caroline, and explores her relationship to her own mother-in-law, her husband, and herself. Perry writes these women with a severe complexity without the need for a tidy redemption arc that makes them painfully and extraordinarily human. As they are challenged to understand what brings about change and if change should even be brought about, the reader is similarly challenged. Censorship is a poignant topic of political relevance in any era and the answer isn't simple. Half Moon Street explores this in characters that suffer the consequences of being too far on either side of the argument.

tldr; if you want to read about an interesting murder case as it unfolds, skip this one. If you want to read a fascinating character study of two women struggling with their inner demons and outward composure appropriate for the time (mid to late 1800s) with a soft side of murder mystery, then this book is worth a read.

[Lisa Shafer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm working on reading this whole series, and I've noticed that not only does Perry have no clue how to write a denouement (and thus leaves her readers feeling cheated at the end) but she's also really preachy. Oh, she has her characters ponder women's rights, but the men always step in and tell the women what to do. In this book, for example, even after Joshua learns that Caroline has done absolutely nothing wrong, he forbids her from a friendship, and she accepts his control meekly. Also, Perry is repeatedly anti-abortion, never showing or addressing why it was necessary and dangerous and never showing any sympathy for characters who undergo the process.
In this book, one of her favorite topics to hate shows up as the motive for murder in a completely unbelievable way. It's so ridiculous that it becomes almost deus ex machina as she stretches for a solution to who murdered the victim and why.
SPOILERS:
One of the side plots is the character development of the unlikable Tellman. He's uptight and uneducated; he sees the world in black and white and has no comprehension of anything outside of his views. And this is why what Perry does with him in this book makes no sense.
For one thing, she has him touched by viewing Hamlet. Really? It's extremely unlikely that such a man would grasp the complexities of the character of Hamlet; it would be way over his head. Now, if she'd had him watch A Comedy of Errors or had him relate to the abusive Petrucchio in Taming of the Shrew, that would fit.
And then he freaks out when he discovers porn. This is OK on the surface, but Tellman is clearly sexually repressed, views women as less than men, and has no tolerance for anyone who is different from himself. This is exactly the type of man who would rant about making porn illegal yet become addicted to it in secret. (A lot of modern outwardly religious men do this in the 21st Century. Tellman would be no different.)

END SPOILERS
I like most of the characters in Perry's books and her plots are usually good, even if not thoroughly ended, but I'd recommend readers skip this one.
And I'm not sure I'll finish the series if she keeps up her pretense of being pro-women while she really isn't.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I read Anne Perry maybe fifteen or twenty years ago...the first several each of her William Monk and Charlotte and Thomas Pitt books, and then I stopped, although I’d enjoyed them. It occurred to me I might try one again and at this much later date I decided to just plunge into the middle of either series...the chances of finding the older ones and being able to read them in order seeming slim. So I checked out two on CD. Since both were from the C &T Pitt series I started with the earlier of them.

I’m not sure I would have loved this book if I’d continued reading them all in order as they came out. Charlotte is offstage the entire time. We get three letters from her and that’s it. Even the mystery plot involving Thomas seems at times to be more of the “B” story rather than the main story. The rest of the book is taken up with Pitt’s mother-in-law Carolyn and her relationships and concerns. And as it turned out, I truly loved Carolyn. I thought she was very interesting, very likable, quite courageous, incredibly compassionate, and worth rooting for. She was my favorite character in the book, followed by Pitt, I think.

There was a lot of philosophy and debating of issues in this book-both between various characters and within individual character’s thoughts. I enjoyed it, probably more listening to it than if I’d been reading it. I do think the mystery took backseat to the exploration of those issues and ideas, and that might bother some.

I’m not a history scholar and unless the error is egregious, I may not know if an author gets it right or wrong. It seems to me I’ve always heard Anne Perry gets it right, which would be a plus. But she is definitely exploring modern issues and ideas through her historic characters and settings. I’m not saying the same issues weren’t discussed back in that time period, but I felt the modern connection to the ideas more than the historical one. Maybe simply because I’m alive now and relate anything I read to my own life now.