Anne Perry
Death In The Devil's Acre (1985)
Author: Anne Perry
Genre: Mystery (Historical)
Plot Summary:
A doctor is found murdered and brutally mutilated just outside a brothel in the Devil's Acre, an infamous London slum. In quick succession, three other bodies are found, each killed and mutilated in the same way as the first. Police Inspector Thomas Pitt must delve into the underworld of Victorian London to find the killer before even more bodies are found. When he discovers that the murders may be tied to London high society, his wellborn wife Charlotte and her sister Emily decide to take matters into her own hands and do a little investigating of their own in the parlors of the upper-class. SPOILER: Charlotte and Emily discover that Max Burton, formerly a footman to families in the highest echelon of society, has since opened a brothel that caters to well-bred men, using bored society women who venture into the Devil's Acre for a break from the monotony of life as Victorian society matrons. In the end, the killers are discovered to be women who run a rival whorehouse.
Geographical Setting: London
Time Period: 1887
Series: Book 7 in the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series
Appeal Characteristics:
Readers will relish the period detail that Perry includes. 1880s London is depicted in all its grimy glory, complete with killing fogs, miserable slums, criminal characters - and upper-class society. The story is a page-turner, although with all the historical detail that is included it can't be described as particularly fast-paced. The author's characterization is strong, and she delves into psychology and the social ills of Victorian England in explaining why characters act as they do.
Read-alikes: Readers who enjoy this book should explore the rest of Anne Perry's offerings. This is only one in a long series of Charlotte and Thomas Pitt novels, beginning with The Cater Street Hangman. Readers may also enjoy Perry's other Victorian mystery series, featuring amnesiac Inspector William Monk. The first book in that series is The Face of a Stranger. Readers looking for other Victorian mysteries in a more cozy vein may enjoy the Kate and Charles Sheridan mysteries, by Robin Paige. The first in the series is Death at Bishop's Keen. Another Victorian mystery series with a harder edge and stronger historical ties is David Dickinson's Lord Powerscourt series, the first of which is Goodnight, Sweet Prince. Another mystery series set in Victorian and Edwardian times and with plenty of historical detail, although set in Egypt and the middle east, is Elizabeth Peters' Amelia Peabody mysteries, beginning with Crocodile on the Sandbank. Finally, those interested in diving a little further back in time might like Stephanie Barron's Jane Austen mysteries, starring Austen herself and beginning with Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor.
Red Flags: Each of the victims is brutally mutilated and his genital organs are removed. Perry describes the state of each body but refrains from heavily gory detail.
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