What do you think?
Rate this book
Charlotte & Thomas Pitt #16
Pentecost Alley
The ritual murder of a prostitute named Ada McKinley in a bedroom on decrepit Pentecost Alley would ordinarily occasion no stir in Victoria's great metropolis. But, under the victim's body, the police find a Hellfire Club badge inscribed with the name Finlay Fitzjames--a name that instantly draws Superintendent Thomas Pitt into the case.
Finlay's father, immensely wealthy, powerful, and dangerous, refuses to consider the possibility that his son has been in Ada McKinley's bed. The implication is clear: Pitt is to arrest someone other than Finlay Fitzjames for Ada's demise. But Thomas Pitt is not a man to be intimidated, and with the help of his quick-witted wife, Charlotte, he stubbornly pursues his investigation - one that twists and turns like London's own ancient streets....
Finlay's father, immensely wealthy, powerful, and dangerous, refuses to consider the possibility that his son has been in Ada McKinley's bed. The implication is clear: Pitt is to arrest someone other than Finlay Fitzjames for Ada's demise. But Thomas Pitt is not a man to be intimidated, and with the help of his quick-witted wife, Charlotte, he stubbornly pursues his investigation - one that twists and turns like London's own ancient streets....
406 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
411 people are currently reading
1363 people want to read
About the author
Anne Perry
364 books3,384 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
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 175 reviews
September 5, 2013
Anne Perry has written many masterpieces. The Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series has it all - romance, history, drama and action. Written with such a feel for Victorian society and sensibility - to read them is to get lost in London's foggy streets and sparkling drawing rooms. Perry takes the reader there and paints the picture in her words. The stories are gripping, the characters maddeningly appealing, and the plot lines generous and logical. But of all these mysteries, Pentecost Alley has to be my favorite.
Two years after the Whitechapel Murders, another prostitute is tortured and murdered in the same seedy streets. Thomas arrives to find a crime scene strewn with incriminating evidence implicating the privileged son of powerful man. That's the setup. What follows is a twisting search from the opulent mansions of western London to the squalid streets of the east end. Perry takes the reader seamlessly through these varied locales and never loses the feel for time and place. Coal fires blaze, middens puddle and hansoms race through fog shrouded cobblestone streets. All along we feel the mist on our face and smell the tea in our cups.
Pentecost Alley is a four-hundred page mystery that had me guessing until the very end. And then Perry, true to form, delivers a thrilling conclusion.
Buy this book.
Two years after the Whitechapel Murders, another prostitute is tortured and murdered in the same seedy streets. Thomas arrives to find a crime scene strewn with incriminating evidence implicating the privileged son of powerful man. That's the setup. What follows is a twisting search from the opulent mansions of western London to the squalid streets of the east end. Perry takes the reader seamlessly through these varied locales and never loses the feel for time and place. Coal fires blaze, middens puddle and hansoms race through fog shrouded cobblestone streets. All along we feel the mist on our face and smell the tea in our cups.
Pentecost Alley is a four-hundred page mystery that had me guessing until the very end. And then Perry, true to form, delivers a thrilling conclusion.
Buy this book.
February 11, 2010
The fact that I stayed with this book to the end has more to do with having nothing, and I do mean nothing, else to read. With none of the great, layered details of a well-drawn historical setting and too much overwriting re the facial expressions and attitudes of the characters mixed into great swaths of redundant, overwritten scenes--I dragged through a book that was five times as long as the plot would have supported. If you don't get the entire plot by the second mention of the underling's son's education--well, what can I say. Go back for remedial mystery reading. I know this is one in a series. I have not read others, but I do hope they are more carefully and thoughtfully written.
May 20, 2024
7.5/10
Although this mystery was somewhat complicated——I thought some of the clues to unraveling it were somewhat obvious and yet overlooked by the usually very astute Thomas Pitt.
Although this mystery was somewhat complicated——I thought some of the clues to unraveling it were somewhat obvious and yet overlooked by the usually very astute Thomas Pitt.
July 8, 2011
16th in the series. As is often the case, there is quite a dramatic crescendo at the ending of this installment, and several plot turns and twists to sustain curiosity. As I enjoy so much consistently in the series, we get plenty of details of social behavior, etiquette, and accepted rules of interaction across social classes here, along with a series of grisley murders of prostitutes, frightening many denizens of London and allowing the press to stir up an angry mob mentality to blame the police--and ultimately, Thomas. It all is connected back to an upper class gang of four youths sowing their wild oats several years earlier, via a club pin from the Hellfire Club found underneath the tortured body of one of the victims in the opening pages.
We get considerable insight into the daily life and dialect of prostitutes in late 19th century London in this novel. Also, by this point, keeping up with the doings of Aunt Vespasia, Emily, Jack, Gracie the maid, little Jemima and Daniel, and even the two family kittens--it's like checking in with old friends. The happiness of this model Victorian homelife that the Pitts enjoy (with their progressive, to the point sometimes of anachronistic liberal attitudes) offers wonderfully mellow and perhaps needed escapist counterbalance to the often grim realistic portrayal sufferings of so many in the lower classes of that time and place, while at the other extreme we can revel in the wealth and conveniences enjoyed by the Radleys or Aunt Vespasia.
We get considerable insight into the daily life and dialect of prostitutes in late 19th century London in this novel. Also, by this point, keeping up with the doings of Aunt Vespasia, Emily, Jack, Gracie the maid, little Jemima and Daniel, and even the two family kittens--it's like checking in with old friends. The happiness of this model Victorian homelife that the Pitts enjoy (with their progressive, to the point sometimes of anachronistic liberal attitudes) offers wonderfully mellow and perhaps needed escapist counterbalance to the often grim realistic portrayal sufferings of so many in the lower classes of that time and place, while at the other extreme we can revel in the wealth and conveniences enjoyed by the Radleys or Aunt Vespasia.
August 27, 2008
This is another in the Thomas and Charlotte Pitt series. Thomas is now a superintendent on the police force. He is called in to investigate the murder of a prostitute that appears to involve a young man from a very prominent member of London society. Subsequently and with in days of one another, a second prostitute is murdered in exactly the same manor. This takes place within two years of the Jack the Ripper murders and in the same part of London. This puts all London on edge. The investigation becomes difficult and threatens the career of Thomas Pitt. Hence, his wife Charlotte and her high society sister Emily, step-in to help Thomas solve these murders. As always, with Ms.Perry's books, you are right there in the middle of Victorian London. Her descriptions are so vivid that you really do get the feel of what Victorian England must have felt like to those who lived out there lives during that age in England.
February 4, 2021
This was easily the most ridiculous book of this series (so far). The books where Emily gets involved are always eye-rolling experiences but this one takes the cake (so far). I'm not sure what Emily did would have been considered illegal or not at the time but there definitely should have been consequences. Pitt was not mad enough.
If this is how these books are going to trend, this series will go the way of the Monk series. I'll give it another book or two just because I've put so much time into it. However, it's on a short leash.
If this is how these books are going to trend, this series will go the way of the Monk series. I'll give it another book or two just because I've put so much time into it. However, it's on a short leash.
April 17, 2021
Leído justo después de Las cinco mujeres. Las vidas olvidadas de las víctimas de Jack el Destripador de Hallie Rubenhold. Me quedé enganchada con el Londres victoriano y recordé la saga de Thomas Pitt, cuyos libros devoré hace ya muchos años. Y -además de los 4 últimos publicados en España- resulta que este no lo había leído en su momento. Así que me lancé de cabeza
Y para quien ha leído ya esta saga de Anne Perry el libro tiene pocas sorpresas: una trama ligeramente sórdida, que implica a personas de la alta sociedad, con víctimas pobres; una investigación calmada, en la que se inmiscuyen -cómo no- Charlotte Pitt y su hermana Emily; y una ambientación fantástica, que te traslada al Londres de fines del siglo XIX, sus ruidos, las mansiones, las calles malolientes y peligrosas, las criadas, los trabajadores, los señores. sus ropas y comidas, así como algunas costumbres algo disolutas.
Pensaba que después de tantos años me costaría engancharme a la historia, pero lo cierto es que me metí en ella en seguida y recordé a personajes de otros libros, sus circunstancias y aventuras, y la lectura volvió a ser un pasatiempo encantador.
No es un libro profundo, ni que deje huella, pero sí hace pasar un momento entretenido con una lectura amable, fácil y con su toque de drama y escándalo. Para tomarse un té con galletitas una tarde de lluvia.
No lo recomiendo como lectura sola, pero si ya te gustó alguno de la serie, sí vale la pena leerlo.
Y para quien ha leído ya esta saga de Anne Perry el libro tiene pocas sorpresas: una trama ligeramente sórdida, que implica a personas de la alta sociedad, con víctimas pobres; una investigación calmada, en la que se inmiscuyen -cómo no- Charlotte Pitt y su hermana Emily; y una ambientación fantástica, que te traslada al Londres de fines del siglo XIX, sus ruidos, las mansiones, las calles malolientes y peligrosas, las criadas, los trabajadores, los señores. sus ropas y comidas, así como algunas costumbres algo disolutas.
Pensaba que después de tantos años me costaría engancharme a la historia, pero lo cierto es que me metí en ella en seguida y recordé a personajes de otros libros, sus circunstancias y aventuras, y la lectura volvió a ser un pasatiempo encantador.
No es un libro profundo, ni que deje huella, pero sí hace pasar un momento entretenido con una lectura amable, fácil y con su toque de drama y escándalo. Para tomarse un té con galletitas una tarde de lluvia.
No lo recomiendo como lectura sola, pero si ya te gustó alguno de la serie, sí vale la pena leerlo.
September 22, 2020
Tending to melodrama in parts and a bit overlong, Pentecost Alley still provides an interesting read. Now Superintendent, Thomas Pitt is called in to investigate the vicious torture and murder of a young prostitute when telling pieces of the evidence at the scene appear to implicate the son of a wealthy and influential man in Society. When another young prostitute is murdered in similar fashion, Pitt is left second guessing himself with the solution he came to in the first murder. As expected, Pitt’s determined wife Charlotte and her precocious sister Emily become involved and unearth key information that pulls the threads of these complex cases together. Always adept at showcasing the societal and political mores of Victorian times, Perry provides enough twists and turns in this story to keep you guessing and engaged to the end.
September 14, 2017
Il titolo italiano, come al solito, non c'entra proprio un tubo con la storia.
Classico giallo vittoriano della Perry, ben scritto, bella storia.
Classico giallo vittoriano della Perry, ben scritto, bella storia.
March 21, 2018
Pentecost Alley is the sisteenth book in the Thomas and Charlotte Pitt series. I guess it’s time that I write a review! I was given sixteen books in this series and I haven’t want to set the books down, as I close the cover on one book I want to start the next one!
The series starts with a murder of a young aristocrat. A young policeman named Thomas Pitt is commissioned to investigate. As Charlotte’s sister mourns the death of her husband, Charlotte helps Thomas solve the mystery. In the process, Charlotte and Thomas fall in love and marry.
Charlotte (and various family members) often help Thomas solve crimes.
By the time we arrive at “Pentecost Alley”, Thomas had been promoted to Commissioner with a reputation of getting to the truth, Thomas and Charlotte’s first child is now ten years old and her mother has married below her class.
So when the newspapers blast Pitt when he makes a mistake on a political and societal sensitive case, Charlotte drops the kids off with Mom and joins her sister in talking to the prostitutes affected to find important clues.
I love these stories set in the late 1800’s England. They are creatively written. The characters have depth and the history has been well researched. The crime mysteries make the stories real page turners.
If your looking for something to read, I highly recommend these books!
Now if you excuse me, I’m going back to read the next book in the series. Thank you, Anne Perry!
The series starts with a murder of a young aristocrat. A young policeman named Thomas Pitt is commissioned to investigate. As Charlotte’s sister mourns the death of her husband, Charlotte helps Thomas solve the mystery. In the process, Charlotte and Thomas fall in love and marry.
Charlotte (and various family members) often help Thomas solve crimes.
By the time we arrive at “Pentecost Alley”, Thomas had been promoted to Commissioner with a reputation of getting to the truth, Thomas and Charlotte’s first child is now ten years old and her mother has married below her class.
So when the newspapers blast Pitt when he makes a mistake on a political and societal sensitive case, Charlotte drops the kids off with Mom and joins her sister in talking to the prostitutes affected to find important clues.
I love these stories set in the late 1800’s England. They are creatively written. The characters have depth and the history has been well researched. The crime mysteries make the stories real page turners.
If your looking for something to read, I highly recommend these books!
Now if you excuse me, I’m going back to read the next book in the series. Thank you, Anne Perry!
June 12, 2016
This was the first Pitt story I have read and while I hate to read out of order it didn't hurt that I started here. It hasn't been that long since the Ripper terrorized White Chapel. Pitt is called in when the murder of a prostitute is laced with proof of the murderer's identity. A murderer in high places. But Pitt isn't afraid of going after VIPs, but he wants to be sure. Despite the evidence he uncovers the real murderer. But then another prostitute is killed. Could Pitt have been wrong? It took a long time for this story to get to the point but the denouement was worth it.
December 18, 2014
Another five star Thomas and Charlotte Pitt novel. I was very pleased with the whole book, and felt the emotions that many of the main characters experienced. It was the fastest of this series for me to read as well. I also really liked the ending better than most. Often there is an ironic ending with the criminal(s) not actually facing justice from the police and the court but a kind of justice just the same. I also found that I was wanting to tell Thomas who might have perpetrated the crime and who he should question! It was great!
August 24, 2018
Excellent mystery here; I think it's my favorite Pitt so far. The clues piled up and the answer seemed tantalizingly close but neither Pitt nor the reader could totally dig it out. I knew for a while that one of the characters had to be involved in the solution somehow but couldn't figure out how. The conclusion was satisfying as Charlotte finds one fact that makes Pitt fit all the pieces together and get justice accomplished. Very good story.
April 28, 2021
"A work of art accepted by everyone is damned from the start....If you don't offend anyone at all, you might as well not bother to speak."
This was one of my favorite Pitt mysteries so far. There was no Inner Circle, other than one brief mention. The ending was really good, too - I had suspected something close to what ended up happening
I like how they kept referencing Jack the Ripper and how that was never solved and why the pressure on Pitt to find the murderer was even more important.
Takes place summer/fall (august/Sept) 1890.
This was one of my favorite Pitt mysteries so far. There was no Inner Circle, other than one brief mention. The ending was really good, too - I had suspected something close to what ended up happening
I like how they kept referencing Jack the Ripper and how that was never solved and why the pressure on Pitt to find the murderer was even more important.
Takes place summer/fall (august/Sept) 1890.
November 20, 2020
For readers who have followed this series, this is a particularly good addition. Inspector Pitt is searching for a serial killer responsible for a gruesome series of murders on young woman. The solution rests with a group of men who formed a club in their youth, the consequences of which followed them all of their lives.
December 30, 2019
Personajes con circunstancias propias que un principio parecen no tener sentido pero conforme avanza la lectura de los capítulos se les va encontrando un sentido que despierta ansiedad y satisfacción en el lector.La manera en que cada personaje contribuye en una conclusión que te vuela la cabeza merece todos los respetos hacía la autora. Una joya del género policial y un episodio ideal para iniciar en la saga de Thomas Pit.
June 4, 2023
Muy bueno! Me ha gustado bastante. Hay alguna cosa predecible, pero en general está muy bien
April 8, 2023
Another excellent Anne Perry mystery set in Victorian England. Loved it; one of best.
July 15, 2019
What an ending! Once again Pitt has found the truth behind the murders, all three of them. This one wasn't easy but none of these stories are easy to guess at. Ms. Perry gives us several avenues to the killer and none of them are dead ends but are they the real murderer(s)?
I usually think I've chosen or know for sure who did it but there are always twists that make me doubt my selection and I've learned not to skip dialogue, especially in the last one hundred pages. One or two lines on the page will change the entire direction of the plot.
Charlotte, Emily, and Aunt Vespacia have small parts in this story but as usual one of them learns something that helps Pitt to crack the case wide open. Love those ladies and their resourcefulness!
I usually think I've chosen or know for sure who did it but there are always twists that make me doubt my selection and I've learned not to skip dialogue, especially in the last one hundred pages. One or two lines on the page will change the entire direction of the plot.
Charlotte, Emily, and Aunt Vespacia have small parts in this story but as usual one of them learns something that helps Pitt to crack the case wide open. Love those ladies and their resourcefulness!
December 8, 2010
So I had heard that this book was fabulous and her books were enjoyable...but I thought this book was very CSI-ish. I was terribly bored 5 pages into the book and I ignored my 75 page rule...b/c of the great things I had heard about AP...but I should have stopped at 5. The characters were annoying and flat. The story was gruesome. The setting (Jack the Ripper local) was taken straight from JtR literature/stories. I would not suggest this read...too much and at the same time too little!
October 18, 2021
Victorian England, about 1890. Murder most foul in Whitechapel - no surprise...
Decent job, but there is a lot of repetition. The reader has a pretty good idea of the structure of the "solution" to the puzzle long before it is revealed.
Personally, if I want a good dose of Victorian writing and musing about the condition of women (and I do from time to time!), I read George Eliot or Charlotte Brontë.
Decent job, but there is a lot of repetition. The reader has a pretty good idea of the structure of the "solution" to the puzzle long before it is revealed.
Personally, if I want a good dose of Victorian writing and musing about the condition of women (and I do from time to time!), I read George Eliot or Charlotte Brontë.
April 12, 2016
I was really surprised at Emily's "tampering with the evidence" in this one, I thought she would know better and her reason was quite flimsy. I would have thought Thomas would be more upset about it.
This is another one that I sort of guessed correctly about the doctor and why the Hellfire Club disbanded and I just wanted to finish reading it just so that I can confirm my guess. :)
This is another one that I sort of guessed correctly about the doctor and why the Hellfire Club disbanded and I just wanted to finish reading it just so that I can confirm my guess. :)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 6, 2009
I may or may not have read this one so I started it (again)... it reminds me of how much I love Anne Perry mysteries... I may go back and start at the beginning so I can catch the ones I missed along the way.
April 10, 2015
had me guessing the whole time "who done it?"
This is another great story by Anne Perry. I like it when everyone helped Pitt to solve it like his wife, Charolette, Ellen his sister-in-law, and Aunt Vespia. Great ending!
This is another great story by Anne Perry. I like it when everyone helped Pitt to solve it like his wife, Charolette, Ellen his sister-in-law, and Aunt Vespia. Great ending!
March 2, 2019
I was a bit disappointed in this one. The book was slow and repetitive and the climax rushed with very little explanation. On one page Pitt did not have enough evidence to make an arrest then on the very next page, he was making an arrest. I'm still baffled.
October 31, 2024
Both Emily and Charlotte get involved in Pitt's latest case, which has what I can only call an explosive conclusion.....
January 24, 2026
I find Anne Perry's books fascinating - the characters, the setting, the culture, the plot.
I did not guess whodunit, but I think we didn't have enough clues beforehand. I did guess a more minor culprit, but I'm not sure I definitively had that person without doubts.
There were a couple of characters I was glad it wasn't. Some of them tried so hard.
SPOILER .... I was horrified that one of the main characters (one of the "good" people) tampered with evidence, a serious offense if you actually want justice. I agree with the reviewer who said that she should've faced more repercussions from that. I found that difficult to word because there was other evidence tampering going on as well. Actually, three different people were tampering with evidence in a variety of motives and levels of "goodness/badness." Any worthy lawyer would've had a field day with all that evidence-tampering, having things thrown out of the court, etc.
One other reviewer was confused that Pitt thought he didn't have enough evidence for an arrest and then suddenly he made an arrest. The reviewer didn't understand the sudden change in just a couple of pages. Well, .... there was a confession between those pages.
Favorite quotes:
"If you object, ~, I suggest you take it up with God. He will decide who can be forgiven their faults and weaknesses and who cannot." [Said in defense of someone, in favor of forgiveness.]
"He did not want to speak of it. Perhaps he did not want its ugliness or its threat to intrude into their home. This was the one place he could be free of it."
"One cannot undo the selfishness of youth, but one can leave it behind, learn from its mistakes, and avoid too quick or too cruel a judgment in those who in their turn do likewise."
"He's honest. I don't just mean he doesn't take things that aren't his, I mean he doesn't even want to. He doean't lie to other people, but he doesn't lie to himself either. That's rare, you know? ... I don't mean he's tactless or cruel. I just mean he has a sort of ... light inside him. He's whole. His mind doesn't have lots of different pieces, like most people's."
"The one thing you must never do is blame someone else because you have chosen the wrong way. Be honest with yourself."
"Doing good works can be gray ["bland"]. Being good isn't, because that involves feeling, caring abut what you do. It isn't a bloodless sort of thing at all. Selfishness is gray [bland] in the end. It may not look it to begin with, but when you realize someone is essentially interested only in themselves , and even if they have to choose between what they like and what you need, you will lose. That's gray. Cowardice is gray ... the people who run away and leave you to fight alone when it looks as if the danger is real and you might not win. Liars are gray, people who tell you what you want to believe whether it's true or not. It's generosity, courage, laughter and honesty which are really the bright colors."
"When we speak of affections for a person, we might be speaking only of the way they make us feel, but if it is really a love, or even liking, we should also be speaking of some concern for what they feel. Isn't love supposed to be an unselfish thing? A placing of someone else's wellbeing before your own?"
I did not guess whodunit, but I think we didn't have enough clues beforehand. I did guess a more minor culprit, but I'm not sure I definitively had that person without doubts.
There were a couple of characters I was glad it wasn't. Some of them tried so hard.
SPOILER .... I was horrified that one of the main characters (one of the "good" people) tampered with evidence, a serious offense if you actually want justice. I agree with the reviewer who said that she should've faced more repercussions from that. I found that difficult to word because there was other evidence tampering going on as well. Actually, three different people were tampering with evidence in a variety of motives and levels of "goodness/badness." Any worthy lawyer would've had a field day with all that evidence-tampering, having things thrown out of the court, etc.
One other reviewer was confused that Pitt thought he didn't have enough evidence for an arrest and then suddenly he made an arrest. The reviewer didn't understand the sudden change in just a couple of pages. Well, .... there was a confession between those pages.
Favorite quotes:
"If you object, ~, I suggest you take it up with God. He will decide who can be forgiven their faults and weaknesses and who cannot." [Said in defense of someone, in favor of forgiveness.]
"He did not want to speak of it. Perhaps he did not want its ugliness or its threat to intrude into their home. This was the one place he could be free of it."
"One cannot undo the selfishness of youth, but one can leave it behind, learn from its mistakes, and avoid too quick or too cruel a judgment in those who in their turn do likewise."
"He's honest. I don't just mean he doesn't take things that aren't his, I mean he doesn't even want to. He doean't lie to other people, but he doesn't lie to himself either. That's rare, you know? ... I don't mean he's tactless or cruel. I just mean he has a sort of ... light inside him. He's whole. His mind doesn't have lots of different pieces, like most people's."
"The one thing you must never do is blame someone else because you have chosen the wrong way. Be honest with yourself."
"Doing good works can be gray ["bland"]. Being good isn't, because that involves feeling, caring abut what you do. It isn't a bloodless sort of thing at all. Selfishness is gray [bland] in the end. It may not look it to begin with, but when you realize someone is essentially interested only in themselves , and even if they have to choose between what they like and what you need, you will lose. That's gray. Cowardice is gray ... the people who run away and leave you to fight alone when it looks as if the danger is real and you might not win. Liars are gray, people who tell you what you want to believe whether it's true or not. It's generosity, courage, laughter and honesty which are really the bright colors."
"When we speak of affections for a person, we might be speaking only of the way they make us feel, but if it is really a love, or even liking, we should also be speaking of some concern for what they feel. Isn't love supposed to be an unselfish thing? A placing of someone else's wellbeing before your own?"
March 16, 2023
I'm shocked that this novel only gets less than four stars. For me, it's one of the most entertaining and surprising Thomas Pitt books, set in Victorian England. In fact, I forgot that I read this book a few years ago but since I didn't remember who the culprit was, I was absorbed in the mystery once again. Ms. Perry's writing is that good.
Two years after the Jack the Ripper case which frightened London, particularly the Whitechapel area, with the grisly deaths of several prostitutes, someone kills Ada McKinley, a smart but greedy young prostitute.
Two clues to the culprit are left at the scene of the crime, and Pitt is called in to handle what could be a very explosive, political case involving the wealthy, powerful businessman Augustus FitzJames and his spoiled young son, Finlay.
As Pitt works with Inspector Ewart, the local detective assigned to solve the murder, his wife Charlotte and her sister Emily can't help but get involved in helping Pitt solve the case, as he could lose his job if he doesn't do so quickly.
People at the lower end of the socioeconomic scale, stirred up by the newspapers, become angry and even violent when a second murder occurs after McKinley's pimp is convicted.
Ewart and Pitt are beyond frustrated when another young prostitute is killed in the same impoverished area, where someone who looks like Finlay FitzJames has been spotted leaving the crime scene.
Meanwhile, Emily, who's bored with being the lady of the manor and wishing to avoid her querulous, live-in grandmother, befriends Tallulah FitzJames, the suspect's younger sister.
She sets about helping Tallulah prove her brother's innocence, much to Pitt's later dismay. Emily initially hides her involvement from Pitt and her husband, Jack Reed, a member of Parliament.
Charlotte Pitt is torn between loyalty to her sister and her husband as she helps Emily check out FitzJames' alibi for the evening Ada McKinley was strangled.
Emily's aunt, Vespasia Cummings-Gould, again advises Thomas because she is part of FitzJames' social class. Her wisdom and class always provide some entertaining reading.
While investigating, Emily and Charlotte learn of a third murder six years before, and Pitt must deal with another mystery. Is there a serial killer afoot? The unsolved Jack the Ripper case has everyone in London on edge, not just the prostitutes.
Tirelessly, Pitt returns again and again to question the other women living at the whorehouse and actually treats them with respect and patience, despite having to wake them up after a hard night of work, as he races to save his job and his reputation.
You'll be surprised by who else is involved in the case and how it all turns out.
Thanks to the surprise ending and all the plot twists and turns, I gave this five stars. Most ingenious of Anne Perry! She never disappoints.
Two years after the Jack the Ripper case which frightened London, particularly the Whitechapel area, with the grisly deaths of several prostitutes, someone kills Ada McKinley, a smart but greedy young prostitute.
Two clues to the culprit are left at the scene of the crime, and Pitt is called in to handle what could be a very explosive, political case involving the wealthy, powerful businessman Augustus FitzJames and his spoiled young son, Finlay.
As Pitt works with Inspector Ewart, the local detective assigned to solve the murder, his wife Charlotte and her sister Emily can't help but get involved in helping Pitt solve the case, as he could lose his job if he doesn't do so quickly.
People at the lower end of the socioeconomic scale, stirred up by the newspapers, become angry and even violent when a second murder occurs after McKinley's pimp is convicted.
Ewart and Pitt are beyond frustrated when another young prostitute is killed in the same impoverished area, where someone who looks like Finlay FitzJames has been spotted leaving the crime scene.
Meanwhile, Emily, who's bored with being the lady of the manor and wishing to avoid her querulous, live-in grandmother, befriends Tallulah FitzJames, the suspect's younger sister.
She sets about helping Tallulah prove her brother's innocence, much to Pitt's later dismay. Emily initially hides her involvement from Pitt and her husband, Jack Reed, a member of Parliament.
Charlotte Pitt is torn between loyalty to her sister and her husband as she helps Emily check out FitzJames' alibi for the evening Ada McKinley was strangled.
Emily's aunt, Vespasia Cummings-Gould, again advises Thomas because she is part of FitzJames' social class. Her wisdom and class always provide some entertaining reading.
While investigating, Emily and Charlotte learn of a third murder six years before, and Pitt must deal with another mystery. Is there a serial killer afoot? The unsolved Jack the Ripper case has everyone in London on edge, not just the prostitutes.
Tirelessly, Pitt returns again and again to question the other women living at the whorehouse and actually treats them with respect and patience, despite having to wake them up after a hard night of work, as he races to save his job and his reputation.
You'll be surprised by who else is involved in the case and how it all turns out.
Thanks to the surprise ending and all the plot twists and turns, I gave this five stars. Most ingenious of Anne Perry! She never disappoints.
September 22, 2017
1^lettura:
A parte il titolo italiano, che trovo proprio poco azzeccato, il libro conferma il grande talento di Anne Perry nel tratteggiare le complesse problematiche sociali della società vittoriana, attraverso l'omicidio di una prostituta. Se ad alcuni può parere lento e con poca azione, allora non conosce la Perry: i suoi libri sono così e, se decidi di leggerli o continuare a leggerli, sai a cosa vai incontro. Un omicidio apparentemente inspiegabile, conflitti sociali e ambientazioni contrastanti molto ben delineate, indagini apparentemente statiche che solo nell'ultimo capitolo trovano il loro vero senso e il disvelamento della soluzione. Pitt, qui diventato sovrintendente, è il vero perno 'sociale' che fa da collante fra personaggi altolocati e di bassa estrazione: come poliziotto, per la società del tempo apparteneva alle classi inferiori; ma grazie al matrimonio con Charlotte si è in qualche modo elevato ed è comunque legato alle classi superiori. Nel corso della serie arriva a fare carriera grazie ai suoi meriti e mantenendo la sua integrità morale.
Buona la storia che potrebbe sembrare uno scimmiottamento dei delitti di Jack lo Squartatore, ma che trova una soluzione dai connotati originali.
2^ lettura:
confermo la prima recensione, anzi, ribadisco ancor più il mio apprezzamento per la Perry. Non mi annoia mai. Ma, come sempre, tutto dipende dalle aspettative di ciascun lettore. L'importante è sapere quali sono le proprie e sapere a cosa si va incontro. Inutile bocciare "perché non è quello che volevo io"!!!
A parte il titolo italiano, che trovo proprio poco azzeccato, il libro conferma il grande talento di Anne Perry nel tratteggiare le complesse problematiche sociali della società vittoriana, attraverso l'omicidio di una prostituta. Se ad alcuni può parere lento e con poca azione, allora non conosce la Perry: i suoi libri sono così e, se decidi di leggerli o continuare a leggerli, sai a cosa vai incontro. Un omicidio apparentemente inspiegabile, conflitti sociali e ambientazioni contrastanti molto ben delineate, indagini apparentemente statiche che solo nell'ultimo capitolo trovano il loro vero senso e il disvelamento della soluzione. Pitt, qui diventato sovrintendente, è il vero perno 'sociale' che fa da collante fra personaggi altolocati e di bassa estrazione: come poliziotto, per la società del tempo apparteneva alle classi inferiori; ma grazie al matrimonio con Charlotte si è in qualche modo elevato ed è comunque legato alle classi superiori. Nel corso della serie arriva a fare carriera grazie ai suoi meriti e mantenendo la sua integrità morale.
Buona la storia che potrebbe sembrare uno scimmiottamento dei delitti di Jack lo Squartatore, ma che trova una soluzione dai connotati originali.
2^ lettura:
confermo la prima recensione, anzi, ribadisco ancor più il mio apprezzamento per la Perry. Non mi annoia mai. Ma, come sempre, tutto dipende dalle aspettative di ciascun lettore. L'importante è sapere quali sono le proprie e sapere a cosa si va incontro. Inutile bocciare "perché non è quello che volevo io"!!!
January 8, 2026
**MINOR SPOILERS**
This book is part of the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series. References to prior events were explained.
A prostitute is killed and Thomas Pitt is called in because evidence at the scene points to the son of a wealthy and influential man. The story moves a bit slowly in spots. At the end, there is a set of twists and turns. There are two characters that have a connection that should have left one of them suspicious of the other (trying not to give spoilers). The book lost a star for that as well as a choice Emily made.
In a side story, Emily, Pitt’s sister in law is feeling unnecessary in her own life and begins to insert herself in the investigation from a tangential direction. She does something very inappropriate which she should not have done.
The characters were well drawn with distinct personalities. The dialogue seems appropriate to the time. The author did a good job at describing facial movements and gestures that a person would naturally make. The point of view varies between Thomas, Charlotte, and Emily. It is easy to tell when the POV changes.
I thought the ending was a bit abrupt and there should have been a post-climatic wrap up or possibly an epilogue.
I enjoy the vocabulary used in the book. Although it happens rarely, I did disagree with it once in a while. For example, someone was described as avuncular but having a filthy temper.
Small suggestion to the author/editor: a map would have been a nice-to-have addition.
I plan to continue reading this series.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 175 reviews