Category: Historical Mystery

Death With A Double Edge by Anne Perry

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, George V - 1910- 1936, Historical MysteryLeave a comment

Death with a Double Edge: A Daniel Pitt NovelBarbara’s rating: 3.4 of 5 stars

Series: Daniel Pitt #4
Publication Date: 4/13/21
Number of Pages: 304
** 3.4 STARS **

I love this author and this series, but this is my least favorite book so far. I’m not saying it isn’t a good read, I’m just saying that it isn’t as good as previous books. I am usually very good at figuring out whodunit, following the clues, etc. but this one just kept me scratching my head throughout – not in a good way. I just didn’t get some of those ‘logic leaps’ that were made and I’ll give you some reasons below.

Daniel Pitt, twenty-five years old, a lawyer in the law chambers of fford Croft and Gibson, son of Sir Thomas Pitt, head of Special Branch, receives a summons from the police to come to the morgue to identify a body. The only identifiable item on the body was Daniel’s business card. Daniel had already been worrying about his friend and fellow lawyer, Toby Kitteridge because he was always early, never late – and today he was late to work. Daniel, filled with fear and trepidation at what he might see when he gets into the morgue, seems to have his worst fears confirmed when he sees Kitteridge’s unsightly coat hanging in the morgue. Then, they escort him into the area where the body has been kept. Daniel swallows hard, takes a deep breath, and tells them he is ready. What he sees will haunt him forever – a horribly slashed face (and body) – but it isn’t Kitteridge – it is another lawyer from their firm, Jonah Drake.

Why would Jonah Drake be in that depraved part of London – in the wee hours of the morning? Was he pursuing some perverse inclinations at one of the bawdy houses? Not likely. Was he pursuing leads on a case on which he was working? His current case was a tangled financial one, not something that should take him to that area. Is it something from a previous case? It could be. As they question and look into Jonah’s life and cases, they meet a man they didn’t know existed. Jonah was seen as aloof and cold – a workaholic at the office – no personal life, yet, in the notes and drawings they find as they go through his paperwork, they get to know a brilliant mind, a perceptive mind, a witty mind, a lonely man. How could they all have ignored this man who was so much more than they ever imagined?

As their investigation goes on, Daniel’s father gets involved as well as others who have made appearances in previous books. We have more bodies turning up in almost the same place and still no idea who or why the murders have happened.

For me personally, this wasn’t a great mystery – but it was a lovely way to see Daniel grow as a person, and perhaps that was one of the purposes of the book. Daniel has been sort of a man-child who was learning his way in the world and trying to get out of the shadow of his wonderful larger-than-life father. He also sees his own shortcomings in judging someone by outward appearances/actions. His learning to appreciate Jonah as the person he was rather than the person he projected hopefully taught Daniel a valuable lesson he’ll use in future books. He saw his father was human and vulnerable just like everybody else and that was a good thing.

Here are some of the reasons the mystery part of this book left me scratching my head: (1) Daniel seemed totally inept and almost played a secondary role. (2) Daniel, his father, and Kittreridge went over the same evidence time-after-time-after-time. (3) Daniel, his father, and Kittridge asked the exact same questions of themselves and each other time-after-time-after-time. (4) Giant leaps in the progress of the case would happen, with nothing to support it. They just all suddenly decided this is what happened and off they went. (5) Somehow, because Marcus is getting forgetful, they immediately start assuming he must have done something shady. (6) When Charlotte is kidnapped, Daniel and his father sit around reading files trying to solve the murder. How is that going to tell them where Charlotte is being kept? Why didn’t they just ask Roman Blackwell and his mother to check the area where they were sure Charlotte was being held – after all, that area is their old stomping grounds?

Anyway, the book was an okay read, but I wouldn’t read this one again. I’ll certainly be looking forward to the next book and will be hoping that a post-COVID book will have a different flavor/feel than one written during COVID.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

What The Devil Knows by C.S. Harris – Blog Tour

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Blog Tour, Historical Mystery, Regency Era (1811-1820), Top Pick - Highly RecommendedLeave a comment
Releases April 6, 2021

About The Book

Sebastian St. Cyr thought a notorious killer had been brought to justice until a shocking series of gruesome new murders stuns the city in this thrilling historical mystery from the USA Today bestselling author of Who Speaks for the Damned.

It’s October 1814. The war with France is finally over and Europe’s diplomats are convening in Vienna for a conference that will put their world back together. With peace finally at hand, London suddenly finds itself in the grip of a series of heinous murders eerily similar to the Ratcliffe Highway murders of three years before. 

In 1811, two entire families were viciously murdered in their homes. A suspect–a young seaman named John Williams–was arrested. But before he could be brought to trial, Williams hanged himself in his cell. The murders ceased, and London slowly began to breathe easier. But when the lead investigator, Sir Edwin Pym, is killed in the same brutal way three years later and others possibly connected to the original case meet violent ends, the city is paralyzed with terror once more. 

Was the wrong man arrested for the murders? Bow Street magistrate Sir Henry Lovejoy turns to his friend Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, for assistance. Pym’s colleagues are convinced his manner of death is a coincidence, but Sebastian has his doubts. The more he looks into the three-year-old murders, the more certain he becomes that the hapless John Williams was not the real killer. Which begs the question–who was and why are they dead set on killing again?

Barbara’s Review – 5 STARS

Long before Victorian London had Jack the Ripper, Regency London had the Ratcliffe Highway murders.  Two families, seven people including a 3-month-old baby were brutally murdered.  The culprit was caught and he hung himself in his jail cell.  Three years later there is another murder that is the same as those from Ratcliffe Highway – and then another, and then another.  Did they get the wrong murderer three years ago?  Did that murderer have a partner who is now killing again?  Is it a copyist who is doing the murders?  Sebastian has a very dangerous task ahead of him, but he must sort out all of the players and their various roles from three-years ago and now. 

When the body of Sir Edward Pym is found in a filthy alley where his throat had been cut and his head bashed in, Sir Henry Lovejoy, a Bow Street Magistrate, immediately seeks the aid of his friend Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin.  Edward Pym was one of the magistrates responsible for the solution to the Ratcliffe Highway murders.  As Devlin investigates, he discovers that there was another recent murder that was committed in the same manner.  Devlin is pretty sure that the current murders are related to those of three-years ago – and after Mr. Nathan Cockerwell, another magistrate, is found murdered in the same manner, Devlin is positive they have to be connected.

There are many factions at work and some very powerful people want things their own way.  Are they involved in both sets of crime?  With so many undercurrents and factions involved, it is like a bowl of spaghetti for Devlin to unravel.  So many innocent victims – so many guilty victims – what a tangled web. 

Many other things are going on in Devlin’s life as well – some are tangentially related to the case and some are not.  Devlin gets some new information on his missing mother’s whereabouts; Hero and Simon are in danger when someone breaks into their home; Jarvis makes a huge announcement; There is a new addition (or two) to the St. Cyr family.  I’m very curious to see what is going to happen with Mrs. Victoria Hart-Davis and I wonder if Jarvis will survive it. 

This is a really exciting read and I couldn’t put it down.  The writing, as always was excellently done, the pacing was perfect and the mystery was riveting.  Just when you think you are sure you know what happened – a new fact drops in your lap or the investigation heads off in a different direction.

I definitely recommend this book – and this series – and I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

About The Author

C.S. Harris is the USA Today bestselling author of more than twenty-five novels, including the Sebastian St. Cyr mystery series; as C. S. Graham, a thriller series coauthored by former intelligence officer Steven Harris; and seven award-winning historical romances written under the name Candice Proctor.

Photo By: Samantha Brown