Most helpful customer reviews
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3.0 out of 5 stars
Anne Perry's contribution to the serial-killer genre, Jan 19 2004
What do a wife-beating Captain of the Royal Navy, a sensitive musician, a callous bus-driver and a haughty butler have in common? Their bodies are discovered in Hyde Park - decapitated. Police superviser Thomas Pitt meets two widows: one feels relieved, the other one is cheerful. We learn more details about the "inner circle" of a secret organization that controls key officials under the coat of charity. And Charlotte decorates her new house. At times Perry is in danger of trespassing Patricia Cornwell territory - no ghastly details from the morgue please! -but the scene where the ladies cross their swords with a smug wannabe Member of the Parliament is priceless. (Uttley reminds me of Paul Krendler in Thomas Harris' HANNIBAL). Not my favorite Anne Perry novel, but it will do.
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1.0 out of 5 stars
Tiresome, Pretentious & Redundant, Nov 28 2000
I tried to listen to the taped version. It's 12 two-sided tapes, with an advertised running time of 15 hours and 5 minutes. After about 10 hours into a car trip, we voted unanimously to put in the last tape, just so we could satisfy our "Who dunnit?" curiosity. Alas, even that strategy was frustrated, as only one of the murders is solved on the last tape. The writer's style is both pretentious and repetitious, a deadly combination. After we had heard "lugubrious" for the third time, the groans became audible, even above the traffic noise. The writer's obvious fascination with the styles, manners and customs of London in 1890 have led her to assume that all her readers are similarly inclined. For me, they got in the way of the story... constantly! I got the book/tapes from the local library, so it was free. It still wasn't worth the price. Unless you're fascinated by the trivial aspects of living in London circa 1890, save yourself from a gruesome ordeal.
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1.0 out of 5 stars
Tiresome, Pretentious & Redundant, Nov 28 2000
I tried to listen to the taped version. It's 12 two-sided tapes, with an advertised running time of 15 hours and 5 minutes. After about 10 hours into a car trip, we voted unanimously to put in the last tape, just so we could satisfy our "Who dunnit?" curiosity. Alas, even that strategy was frustrated, as only one of the murders is solved on the last tape. The writer's style is both pretentious and repetitious, a deadly combination. After we had heard "lugubrious" for the third time, the groans became audible, even above the traffic noise. The writer's obvious fascination with the styles, manners and customs of London in 1890 have led her to assume that all her readers are similarly inclined. For me, they got in the way of the story... constantly! I got the book/tapes from the local library, so it was free. It still wasn't worth the price. Unless you're fascinated by the trivial aspects of living in London circa 1890, save yourself from a gruesome ordeal.
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by Anne Perry
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