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Charlotte & Thomas Pitt #17
Ashworth Hall
With every book she writes, Anne Perry, the supreme enchanter among historical novelists, contributes a mesmerizing new chapter to her magical re-creation of Victorian England. Here, she abandons London's cobblestone streets and exclusive drawing rooms for a great country house, Ashworth Hall, where a fateful secret conference is about to begin.
The gathering has the appearance of a smart autumn house party -- stunning womena and powerful men enjoying a few days of leisurely pleasure in a setting of exquisite beauty. In fact, the guests are Irish Protestants and Catholics gathered in a reluctant parley over home rule for Ireland, a problem that has plagued the British Isles since the reign of Elizabeth I. When the meeting's moderator, government bigwig Ainsley Greville, is found murdered in his bath, the negotations seemed doomed.
Superintendent Thomas Pitt of Scotland Yard almost despairs as divorce proceedings involving the great Irish Nationalist leader Charles Stewart Parnell and his mistress, Kitty O'Shea, become an open scandal. To make matters worse, it seems the late Greville himself may have had a less than savory personal life. The surviving guests -- six men and five women -- unleash their true feelings, or perhaps only pretend to do so. Their servants follow suit. Unless Pitt and his clever wife, Charlotte, can root out the truth, simmering passions above and below stairs may again explode in murder, the hopeful home rule movement may collapse, and civil war may destroy Ireland.
Never before has Pitt borne such terrible responsibilities, and never has Charlotte been less able to share them.
The gathering has the appearance of a smart autumn house party -- stunning womena and powerful men enjoying a few days of leisurely pleasure in a setting of exquisite beauty. In fact, the guests are Irish Protestants and Catholics gathered in a reluctant parley over home rule for Ireland, a problem that has plagued the British Isles since the reign of Elizabeth I. When the meeting's moderator, government bigwig Ainsley Greville, is found murdered in his bath, the negotations seemed doomed.
Superintendent Thomas Pitt of Scotland Yard almost despairs as divorce proceedings involving the great Irish Nationalist leader Charles Stewart Parnell and his mistress, Kitty O'Shea, become an open scandal. To make matters worse, it seems the late Greville himself may have had a less than savory personal life. The surviving guests -- six men and five women -- unleash their true feelings, or perhaps only pretend to do so. Their servants follow suit. Unless Pitt and his clever wife, Charlotte, can root out the truth, simmering passions above and below stairs may again explode in murder, the hopeful home rule movement may collapse, and civil war may destroy Ireland.
Never before has Pitt borne such terrible responsibilities, and never has Charlotte been less able to share them.
373 pages, Hardcover
First published March 11, 1997
409 people are currently reading
1271 people want to read
About the author
Anne Perry
362 books3,378 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
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 181 reviews
September 19, 2010
I love Anne Perry for many reasons. She teaches us effortlessly and her mysteries are also historical novels in a sense. This one is steeped in "The Irish Problem."
Her understanding of humans and our frailties and motivations is so deep and subtle. She also understands and portrays love in a way that few can match.
Ashworth Hall was another great experience, but I wish that she had provided some map of all the characters and their affiliations and motivations. I know that that is almost an admission of failure for an author, but in a plot so complex you need it.
Her understanding of humans and our frailties and motivations is so deep and subtle. She also understands and portrays love in a way that few can match.
Ashworth Hall was another great experience, but I wish that she had provided some map of all the characters and their affiliations and motivations. I know that that is almost an admission of failure for an author, but in a plot so complex you need it.
April 11, 2021
Entretenida novela policiaca ambientada en la época victoriana. Es bastante previsible, pero es muy interesante leer sobre las costumbres de la época y sobre todo sobre el conflicto irlandés.
June 10, 2017
4.25 stars!
The Irish situation, that's how The Pitt called it.
The story description will give you enough idea what is this story all about.
When both side started their arguments, you couldn't help to believe how passionate and convinced they were in them and as an outsider you do feel despair sometimes about it, like Charlotte's feel.
She thought, if this situation keep on like that, there will be no peace for another 50 years.
Well Charlotte, the peace came at last, only took longer than you predicted.
I keep coming back to this series:)
How to compare how the Pitt works in each book actually?
Well, something more like Ms. Christy's Miss Marple I think.
By doing lots lots of questions:)
19th century Ireland, always beautiful..
The Irish situation, that's how The Pitt called it.
The story description will give you enough idea what is this story all about.
When both side started their arguments, you couldn't help to believe how passionate and convinced they were in them and as an outsider you do feel despair sometimes about it, like Charlotte's feel.
She thought, if this situation keep on like that, there will be no peace for another 50 years.
Well Charlotte, the peace came at last, only took longer than you predicted.
I keep coming back to this series:)
How to compare how the Pitt works in each book actually?
Well, something more like Ms. Christy's Miss Marple I think.
By doing lots lots of questions:)
19th century Ireland, always beautiful..
March 28, 2014
I obviously love the Charlotte & Thomas Pitt books a lot, and the way Anne Perry whips the solution to the mystery at the very end and then is like "okay whatever nothing else that's been going on plot wise matters", but this one could definitely have used another few pages after the mystery's resolution.
October 14, 2018
Average. My main issue with this installment is that the characters who might have committed the murder are given so little insight that, in the end, I didn't care at all who the perpetrator was.
August 30, 2021
I was lent six Anne Perry murder mysteries as part of a library of friendship arrangement. I picked this one from the pile as it features the Irish Problem during an ambiguous mid-Victorian period. As in the previous Charlotte & Thomas Pitt novel I read, Half Moon Street, I was not at all invested in the murder but enjoyed the Victorian social mores. 'Ashworth Hall' has a strong claim to depicting the most awkward house party I've ever read. The titular mansion hosts a tense negotiation between Protestant and Catholic leaders. Such a setup already promises very little social ease, then the awkwardness increases exponentially with revelations of adultery, murder, and sabotage. I appreciated the conversations about how and why Ireland's long-standing conflict continues, as well as wise Great Aunt Vespasia's reflections upon fake news:
This is alarmingly relevant to the current situation with anti-vaxxers. I gather that when Trump tried to tell supporters at a rally that the covid vaccine is safe and they should get it, he was booed. I found such moments that reflected thoughtfully on 19th century politics, and current events by analogy, the highlights of the book. Thomas Pitt is unfortunately very dull to me and I dislike Perry's habit of writing working class servants' speech phonetically. Thus the setting was great and some of the characters were appealing, but I struggled to care about the central murder mystery.
"Why do legends grow up around anything?" Vespasia picked up her fork and began to eat again slowly. "Because someone leaps to a conclusion... a conclusion that suits the emotions they feel and wish to arouse in the others. After a while everyone believes it, and then even if the truth is known, it is too late to tell it. Everyone has too much invested in the myth, and the truth would destroy what they have built and make liars of them."
"They aren't lying, they really believe it." Charlotte picked up her wineglass, full of clean, cold water. "I suppose it was thirty years ago, and there's no one about now who was involved, at least not in present-day politics. And they aren't going to tell people they lied to them."
"Nobody would believe them if they did," Vespasia argued. "The powers of legends which tell us who we are, and justify what we want to do, is far too great to take notice of a few inconvenient facts and dates."
This is alarmingly relevant to the current situation with anti-vaxxers. I gather that when Trump tried to tell supporters at a rally that the covid vaccine is safe and they should get it, he was booed. I found such moments that reflected thoughtfully on 19th century politics, and current events by analogy, the highlights of the book. Thomas Pitt is unfortunately very dull to me and I dislike Perry's habit of writing working class servants' speech phonetically. Thus the setting was great and some of the characters were appealing, but I struggled to care about the central murder mystery.
April 6, 2011
This is another excellent book by Anne Perry. It is one of the books in the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series and takes place in the 1890's at the home of Charlotte's sister, Emily. Emily's husband is a member of Parliament. A meeting between the differing factions in the "Irish Problem" is being held at Emily's home. Two of men involved are murdered. It is Thomas's job, as a police superintendent, to find out who did it and why. Charlotte is also a house guest and gets involved in the investigation. As always, the ending has a twist. Anne Perry really makes her books more realistic by not using the same old "the butler did it" type of ending. I would highly recommend all of her books. She has obviously done a lot of research into the Victorian period. She really shows what life was like. I did a little checking of some of her facts after I read my first book by her. She is remarkably accurate. If you like this type of period piece please pick up one of her books. I would recommend starting from the beginning of the series as each book has references to the books that came before.
August 18, 2019
This was a very wordy story with murders happening but with far too many details: people's feelings and emotions and a big host of suspects. It ended rather quickly with solutions but the whole plot was slow and it just didn't do anything for me. I did learn a bit about the hatred of the Irish for the English in the time when people rode horseback, buggies, rode trains and yet had telephones.
October 16, 2020
This was an utterly disappointing outing from the usually reliable Anne Perry. The plot had much potential focusing on the Irish situation of the late 1800’s, a turbulent and tragic time in the United Kingdom’s history. Thomas and Charlotte Pitt find themselves ensconced at Ashworth Hall as Charlotte’s sister Emily and her husband Jack Radley are asked to host a summit bringing the two Irish warring fractions together (Catholics and Protestants) to come to some kind of compromise. Thomas and his second-in-command, Tellman, are ordered to be at Ashworth Hall as guest and his valet to protect the mediator of the summit who already has had his life threatened once. With such an interesting aspect of British history as the underlying plot and the collection of disparate and passionate individuals under one roof that the summit has brought together, fireworks are bound to happen and a complex mystery with political undertones has the opportunity to unfold. Unfortunately what results is a messy, disjointed and insipid bit of storytelling. No focus at all is paid to the participants in the summit and the thorny and complicated issues they’re trying to address. Instead the focus for over half the book is on the women guests and their overly dramatic and uninteresting histrionics. When a murder does happen, the reader sees none of the investigation conducted by Pitt and Tellman and is left with the infighting of the women and the distinct impression that nothing is being done by the two policeman present to determine who committed what was quite a bold and calculated murder. The plot picks up towards the end of the book and I took heart thinking that the remainder would be more engaging than the former. Thus was not to be. Instead we’re left with Charlotte’s petty jealousy and insecurities (so out of character for her), Emily’s selfish and silly behavior and a sloppy and impossible-to-understand resolution to the crimes committed. I will attempt one more book in this series (having so few left to read) and hope it will be more reflective of Perry’s excellent earlier work. Otherwise this may have to be one series I abandon midstream.
March 2, 2021
Anne Perry does not know how to write a denouement. However, her mysteries in this series have usually been clever enough that I just grit my teeth at the ends of them, where she never "finishes" anything, leaving the reader to feel as if there should be another few pages.
But Ashworth Hall is absolutely aggravating. The plot goes along very well, and two criminal characters are obvious long before the end. One of the criminals is set to be brought to justice at the end of the book, but Pitt chooses to let the other go free. (Ugh.) But the real problems are that the mysterious first murderer is neither caught nor identified by the end of the book and that the criminal mastermind is identified but her/his extent of involvement is not clear AT ALL.
In short, the end is confusing and unsatisfying. Justice is not served, and the reader is left to feel cheated and angry.
But Ashworth Hall is absolutely aggravating. The plot goes along very well, and two criminal characters are obvious long before the end. One of the criminals is set to be brought to justice at the end of the book, but Pitt chooses to let the other go free. (Ugh.) But the real problems are that the mysterious first murderer is neither caught nor identified by the end of the book and that the criminal mastermind is identified but her/his extent of involvement is not clear AT ALL.
In short, the end is confusing and unsatisfying. Justice is not served, and the reader is left to feel cheated and angry.
April 20, 2022
I enjoyed this novel very much. As usual, I am left with questions. While the culprit is discovered in the end, the circumstances of others in the novel are not revealed. One or two pages more could have resolved that. The intrigue involving the struggle for Irish independence from England was overshadowed by the hatred of Protestants for Catholics and vice versa. I had hoped some of the questions I had at the end of the previous novel (Pentecost Alley) would also be answered, but they were not. Nevertheless, I am excited about reading the next novel, Brunswick Gardens.
June 14, 2024
7.5/10
Perry’s books often end abruptly and this one definitely did—too abruptly, in my opinion. And the “Irish Question” was vastly simplified, as I suppose it had to be. Still the author captured a taste of the terrible wrongs on both sides, the intransigence and deep passion. And the mystery was complex, as were some of the characters.
Perry’s books often end abruptly and this one definitely did—too abruptly, in my opinion. And the “Irish Question” was vastly simplified, as I suppose it had to be. Still the author captured a taste of the terrible wrongs on both sides, the intransigence and deep passion. And the mystery was complex, as were some of the characters.
November 24, 2020
Although the story takes place more than a century ago, the tension between Irish Catholics and Protestants continues today. The storyline was interesting but I would have liked more development of the relationship between Pitt and his wife Charlotte.
July 21, 2017
Another good read by Anne Perry featuring Thomas and Charlotte Pitt.
October 20, 2017
Uno dei migliori della Perry come storia e ambientazione.
June 26, 2023
This is my first Charlotte & Thomas Pitt, which means I read it out of sequence, but that didn't affect the story line at all. Unfortunately, I wasn't enthralled enough to want to go back and read the Pitt's previous stories. Keeping the characters straight was tricky for me and then it wrapped up so quickly that I thought a chapter was missing. I guess just not my style.
June 21, 2017
I didn't like it. I didn't like how it is written. Always just short phrases, I don't get why I should stand it. An expression of a thought in one sentence, how can you express a thought in one short sentence? And what the hell is going on? We found out about who did it in the last 5 pages. And again we don't know in details what happened. He have just somehow been there, and the other one is somehow connected to it. What the hell? And why the whole novel have detectives been telling us: oh yes, they for sure didn't do this because they have been talking to each other, how is this an argument??? And why does the maker of dynamites so easily let the girl come in his room? So that she would tell her detective-friend? I just didn't like it. Will look more carefully at all books I buy since that one.
But I should admit it had some interesting thoughts in some episodes. Without these I would hate it to the bones. Now I just hate it but still appreciate it for these small flashes of light.
But I should admit it had some interesting thoughts in some episodes. Without these I would hate it to the bones. Now I just hate it but still appreciate it for these small flashes of light.
June 23, 2024
Thomas and Charlotte are guests at Emily and Jack’s country manor where a conference is being held to address the “Irish Problem,” as they refer to Ireland’s quest for home rule and independence from England. The descriptions of the passionate arguments on both sides of the “problem” are well done. My only problem with this book was that there were too many characters, not all of whom were very well developed, many of whom had Irish sounding surnames, but who were not all on the Irish side of the battle. I had to keep flipping back through the pages to remind myself of the characters’ allegiances and political stands.
November 7, 2022
Editing errors/That's the End?! (No spoilers)
Editing errors continue to plague this series, and so I have lowered my rating again. The butler, Mr. Dilke is written as "Dukes", with an umlaut added for good (bad) measure!
Ms. Perry continues to bring her stories climax to an almost abrupt conclusion, with little further explanation. Other authors I've been reading in this genre, Patricia Wentworth's Miss Silver series and Ngaio Marshes Roderick Alleyn books also have this quirk-although not to the extent that Perry ends her books. While a little rereading can clarify some of my confusion, there are some loose ends in her plots.
Editing errors continue to plague this series, and so I have lowered my rating again. The butler, Mr. Dilke is written as "Dukes", with an umlaut added for good (bad) measure!
Ms. Perry continues to bring her stories climax to an almost abrupt conclusion, with little further explanation. Other authors I've been reading in this genre, Patricia Wentworth's Miss Silver series and Ngaio Marshes Roderick Alleyn books also have this quirk-although not to the extent that Perry ends her books. While a little rereading can clarify some of my confusion, there are some loose ends in her plots.
February 19, 2010
Torn between 3 & 4 stars. Classic cozy of murder during a house party at a country estate.
Gracie gets a lot of time in this one, and meets the antagonistic Tellman.
spoilery stuff ...
Did not like the resolution of the Justine subplot .. is it just me or does it echo the Heavenly Creatures crime justification too much?
The major whodunit is also fuzzy to me. How exactly did th eone guy conspire with the other two guys? I wanted mor edetails.
Gracie gets a lot of time in this one, and meets the antagonistic Tellman.
spoilery stuff ...
Did not like the resolution of the Justine subplot .. is it just me or does it echo the Heavenly Creatures crime justification too much?
The major whodunit is also fuzzy to me. How exactly did th eone guy conspire with the other two guys? I wanted mor edetails.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 14, 2018
Another great Perry story, this one concerning the Irish Problem and all the attendant hatred & prejudice. It comes to a head with murder at a peace conference held at Charlotte's sister's home, Ashworth Hall, where Pitt & Charlotte are sent to protect the chairman. It all goes downhill & Pitt has to solve a murder with the help of Charlotte & their maid, Gracie. Well-told, interesting, enjoyable, and satisfying.
February 18, 2019
Is it really worth 4 stars? Honestly, the writing for me is what makes this series. The mystery was good. I like the characters. It took me longer to get all the new characters straight than I would have liked.
I enjoy historical fiction. It gives a glimpse into actual history but in an entertaining way. This book got into the long-running Irish independence conflict which I really don’t know very much about. I did some Wikipedia research into a few things covered. So hey...knowledge!
I enjoy historical fiction. It gives a glimpse into actual history but in an entertaining way. This book got into the long-running Irish independence conflict which I really don’t know very much about. I did some Wikipedia research into a few things covered. So hey...knowledge!
June 1, 2019
#17, amazing. I am reading another book at the same time about Ireland in the early 1900's. So the Irish problem was already in.my head reading this book. A particularly complicated plot, and a very confusing ending.Gracie had a big part in this book, as did Tellman. Emily and Jack also had a part, and it was interesting seeing their interactions as well as what life eas.like in a big house like Ashworth Hall. On to the next one.
September 12, 2019
4 stars again but despite the wordy, convoluted and confusing road to a conclusion—of sorts. But Perry won me over again with her characterizations and her detailed historical settings. Gracie suffers a crisis of conscience that nearly wrecks the investigation and Tellman finally reveals his softer side. And Charlotte gets to be a fly on the wall when Justine reveals her secret to Piers and he has to reimagine their future together.
July 15, 2021
Probably the last of hers I’ll read. Interesting for look at how servants and aristocracy interacted but plot was convoluted and non-sensical.
May 15, 2018
it is a longish while since i have read an Anne Perry novel, in either the Pitt series or the Monk series, and as always i am not dissapppointed. i find her novels very descriptive and informative as to the Victorian era and society and also the historical content- much better than reading a dry school history book. The overall plots are well presented .
The one thing i feel is apparent in her books is her clear wish to tell the reader especially about the upper classes at the time, and all its constraints and rules and customs, sometimes this aspect is a bit dominant I think, but it highlights how the upper classes either behaved or had to behave according to their rules. But it also of course highlights how much the upper classes felt they could get away with so much just because of who they were. Equally, her novels are either concerning the upper classes or aristocracy, or at the other end of the scale, the very poor and criminal society, there doesnt always seem to be any middle ground.
i do stil feel that Anne Perry is a good writer of these novels
The one thing i feel is apparent in her books is her clear wish to tell the reader especially about the upper classes at the time, and all its constraints and rules and customs, sometimes this aspect is a bit dominant I think, but it highlights how the upper classes either behaved or had to behave according to their rules. But it also of course highlights how much the upper classes felt they could get away with so much just because of who they were. Equally, her novels are either concerning the upper classes or aristocracy, or at the other end of the scale, the very poor and criminal society, there doesnt always seem to be any middle ground.
i do stil feel that Anne Perry is a good writer of these novels
July 18, 2019
Ashworth Hall is the home of Emily (Charlotte Pitt's sister) and her current husband Jack. They are hosting a very important political conference by which England hopes to solve and bring peace between Ireland's Protestants and Catholics. The house if full of important people along with their butlers, ladies maids, coachman, and the regular staff of Ashworth Hall, so its pretty crowded, but its a very big house.
Story wise, this is my favorite in the series. Its tense, there's lots of action, never a lag in the story and even though the setting is the late 1800's Ireland's problems are still current. The entire story occurs within Ashworth Hall and would make a great movie.
Emily and Charlotte are not happy with each other. Their concern for their husbands causes lots of tension between them, but the star of this show is Gracie. She's all grown up and gets her first kiss! She finds out valuable information that leads to Pitt solving the case.
As usual the person you will most suspect of the murders probably isn't the right one, or perhaps they are. :)
Story wise, this is my favorite in the series. Its tense, there's lots of action, never a lag in the story and even though the setting is the late 1800's Ireland's problems are still current. The entire story occurs within Ashworth Hall and would make a great movie.
Emily and Charlotte are not happy with each other. Their concern for their husbands causes lots of tension between them, but the star of this show is Gracie. She's all grown up and gets her first kiss! She finds out valuable information that leads to Pitt solving the case.
As usual the person you will most suspect of the murders probably isn't the right one, or perhaps they are. :)
June 22, 2025
3,5 rounded up as I tend to do with Anne Perry's bo0ks because I'm committed to the series. As usual there was too much melodrama and an interesting case that took too long to solve when it shouldn't have been that hard. And also, as always there was an important social issue - this time the "Irish Question". The best thing about this is that it inspired me to do a little research. Now I know way too much about the Great Famine.
It's depressing that humans can't get over their prejudices. And it was very ironic (and naive) when it was decided that if 2 of the characters moved to America, they wouldn't face prejudice for their faith or ethnicity!
Also ironic was this quote: You can't get freedom for people just by killing other people who stand in your way. What kind of a person does that make you?
I can tell you what that makes you - a soldier who often is just following orders. What did William Wallace shout in Braveheart as he went into battle to kill people who stood in his way?
It's depressing that humans can't get over their prejudices. And it was very ironic (and naive) when it was decided that if 2 of the characters moved to America, they wouldn't face prejudice for their faith or ethnicity!
Also ironic was this quote: You can't get freedom for people just by killing other people who stand in your way. What kind of a person does that make you?
I can tell you what that makes you - a soldier who often is just following orders. What did William Wallace shout in Braveheart as he went into battle to kill people who stood in his way?
September 21, 2022
Thomas (and Charlotte) are undercover at a weekend house party where an English representative and an Irish representative are attempting to find common ground. And then someone is murdered and Thomas has to needs to figure out if it was for political reasons or personal.
What Perry does best is characters to deeply self-reflect. Charlotte worries whether she's too capable and if Thomas, who does seem to cater to damsels in distress, would prefer her to be more of a DID. Thomas feels guilty that he can't give Charlotte the world she was born into. Emily is worried for her husband, but it comes out sidewise by giving her sister a hard time. All while trying to solve a murder and keep the potential for common ground open.
The who-done-it reveal is a bit rushed (one of Perry's struggles), and while we want to know who and why, Perry's books are more about how everyone deals with the fall out.
What Perry does best is characters to deeply self-reflect. Charlotte worries whether she's too capable and if Thomas, who does seem to cater to damsels in distress, would prefer her to be more of a DID. Thomas feels guilty that he can't give Charlotte the world she was born into. Emily is worried for her husband, but it comes out sidewise by giving her sister a hard time. All while trying to solve a murder and keep the potential for common ground open.
The who-done-it reveal is a bit rushed (one of Perry's struggles), and while we want to know who and why, Perry's books are more about how everyone deals with the fall out.
September 20, 2022
This was my first Anne Perry mystery. I picked the oldest Anne Perry book in my library hoping to get as close to the start of the series as possible. And it was still #17. This author has written a lot of books. The pace could have been better in the first part of the book but maybe pace was different back in 1997. I would have liked to have read a different topic having just finished a book on the "Irish Problem" in the Barker & Llewellyn series by Will Thomas.
The thing that struck me the most about this book was the abrupt ending. I'm used to a lovely wind down with reflection in the Barker & Llewellyn series. After a slow wind up I wasn't expecting the killer to be revealed and caught in about two pages. Not sure if this standard for this author. I'll have to read a few more to get a better sense.
The thing that struck me the most about this book was the abrupt ending. I'm used to a lovely wind down with reflection in the Barker & Llewellyn series. After a slow wind up I wasn't expecting the killer to be revealed and caught in about two pages. Not sure if this standard for this author. I'll have to read a few more to get a better sense.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 181 reviews