2007: #21 – The Cater Street Hangman (Anne Perry)

Book #21 was The Cater Street Hangman, the 1st book in Anne Perry’s Thomas Pitt series. The back of the book reads:

While the Ellison girls were out paying calls and drinking tea like proper Victorian ladies, a maid in their household was strangled to death. The quiet and young Inspector Pitt investigates the scene and finds no one above suspicion. As his intense questioning causes many a composed facade to crumble, Pitt finds himself couriously drawn to pretty Charlotte Ellison. Yet, a romance between a society girl and so unsuitable a suitor was impossible in the midst of a murder….

How can I not like this? It combines two of my favorite things… historical fiction and a murder mystery! It’s set in Victorian-era England, and I think all the intricacies of social life at that time are well portrayed. It must have been so stressful living at that time and always worrying if you’re doing and saying the right things! It seemed to me that the worst thing one could do was be “impertinent”.

I’m not sure how I feel about Anne Perry’s somewhat sordid past, but I really enjoyed this book and I look forward to reading/listening to the others in the series.

Page count: 288 | Approximate word count: 101,645 | Filed in: