History and Mystery Reads

Rating: 6/10

• Accuracy: Good on Victorian domestic life and the gulf between classes, though the dialogue is sometimes modern.
• Plot: Maids and young women are strangled in a London neighbourhood, and a police inspector investigates the Ellison household.
• Clues: Adequate, with an emphasis on social tension.
• Reveal: Plausible but somewhat melodramatic.

In 1881 a series of young women are strangled in Cater Street. The Ellisons, a respectable middle-class family, are shaken when one of their maids is killed. Inspector Thomas Pitt, a policeman of working-class origin, investigates. He is attracted to Charlotte Ellison, an outspoken daughter who resents the restrictions placed on women.

Anne Perry’s first novel launched a long series featuring Thomas and Charlotte Pitt. Its strengths are its portrait of Victorian domestic life, the strain of respectability, and the tension between classes. Charlotte is a lively heroine, and the romance between her and Pitt is the heart of the book.

The mystery, however, is less satisfying. The investigation is slow, and the solution depends on psychological revelations that feel melodramatic. The novel’s view of Victorian repression is sometimes simplistic.

The 6 reflects a promising start to a very popular series. Later Pitt novels are more confident, and Perry’s William Monk series is often considered stronger.