In the debut of the New York Times–bestselling Victorian crime series, Inspector Thomas Pitt seeks an elusive strangler among upper-class British society.
Panic and fear strike the Ellison household when one of their own falls prey to the Cater Street murderer. While Mrs. Ellison and her three daughters are out, their maid becomes the third victim of a killer who strangles young women with … strangles young women with cheese wire, leaving their swollen-faced bodies on the dark streets of this genteel neighborhood. Inspector Pitt, assigned to the case, must break through the walls of upper-class society to get at the truth. His in-depth investigation gradually peels away the proper veneer of the elite world, exposing secrets and desires until suspicion becomes more frightening than truth. Outspoken Charlotte Ellison, struggling to remain within the confining boundaries of Victorian manners, has no trouble expressing herself to the irritating policeman. As their relationship shifts from antagonistic sparring to a romantic connection, the socially mismatched pair must solve the mystery before the hangman strikes again.
Rich with authentic period details and blending suspenseful mystery with a budding romance between Inspector Pitt and Charlotte Ellison, The Cater Street Hangman launched the long-running series by Edgar Award–winning author Anne Perry, with recent titles including The Angel Court Affair and Treachery at Lancaster Gate. Also the creator of the William Monk Novels, Perry has become one of the great names in detective fiction. As the Philadelphia Inquirer says, “Pitt’s compassion and Charlotte’s cleverness make them compatible sleuths, as well as extremely congenial characters. . . . Perry has the gift of making [the Victorian era] seem immediate and very much alive.”
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This book series is one of my favorites! I love the gritty realism of the historical differences between the Victorian era classes, the plot twists, and the characters. I am really enjoying the Thomas and Charlotte Pitt series and highly recommend them to anyone who loves a historical mystery.
Although I never lived in the 1800s, of course, the description of the setting and the times seemed very real to me. I felt that I was walking the streets of London with the characters. The characters were well-drawn; so much so that I felt like reaching out and shaking ones that exasperated me! I highly recommend Anne Perry’s books!
I do not read fiction often, but my interest in Anne Perry has lead to my picking up a few of her titles. This is the first of a series, Charlotte and Thomas Pitt mysteries. I really enjoyed it, and didn’t see the end coming! I particularly enjoyed the depth of interpersonal dynamics, and the way the entire family had to grow in their understanding of one another. I highly recommend it!
A great traditional UK read.
If I didn’t know this book was just the start of a series, I’d have given it one star. I mean to say, I found it more acceptable for this book to be largely character introduction and development rather than actual mystery-solving, since I knew it would continue into more books with hopefully more detecting and less…character and world building I guess. I mean, it’s all well and good, but this didn’t give me much to sink my teeth into plot-wise or mystery-wise. In fact, most of the mystery was kept largely on the fringes of the book and it wasn’t until the end that I saw who the murderer was- not in a “oh wow what a good plot twist” way but a “well, I really didn’t feel like I had enough information to be getting anywhere close to that” way.
That being said, the characters were interesting enough, Charlotte gets a lot of the spotlight, which I’m hoping continues into other books in this series as the reason I picked this up was “Ooooh. Future husband-and-wife crime solving duo!” which would be disappointing if that isn’t fully followed through with in the coming books as an equal partnership. Pitt was an unlikely yet totally likable suitor, and I genuinely routed for the couple, whose courtship I appreciated for being both slow and subtle. No overly flowery speeches or grand declarations, but the words came across as sincere and the emotion was there, so I was happy with it.
I’m not going to rush out to buy the second book, but if I find it on sale, I’ll pick it up.