Bethlehem Road by Anne Perry

 The Book

    Pitt is called in to investigate the death of Sir Lockwood Hamilton, MP, who was found by a prostitute this throat slit and tied up to a lamppost by his own scarf. Pitt diligently traces through all aspects of this politician's life and comes up empty. He's beginning to think it will never be solved with Sir Vyvyan Etheridge, also an MP. With the two men having very little in common, Pitt begins to wonder if there is a political motive after all. When he follows up a clue that leads him to a woman who has had her child removed from her by her controlling ex-husband, he believe Ms. Florence Ivory has what it takes to murder. Since Etheridge had promised to help her and then recanted, perhaps she killed Hamilton by mistake? It seems plausible, the two men, despite nearly a decade apart in age, did look remarkably similar. especially since they were both walking home late at night, wearing heavy coats and silk top hats. This is his best lead. 

    But Great Aunt Vespasia is a friend to a remarkable woman, Zenobia Gunne who is the aunt of Ms. Ivory's best friend. She won't let the matter rest and allow the niece to be charged as an accomplice without thoroughly investigating the possibilities. She calls in Charlotte. 

    Charlotte is happy to help, but she conceals from Vespasia that Thomas is in charge of the case. It grinds onwards, looking every bleaker until Cuthbert Sheridan, MP is also murdered in the same grisly manner as the other two. With nothing else to go on, Pitt is forced to acknowledge he may have a lunatic on his hands. 

My Thoughts

    This is the 10th book in Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series. It seems Thomas offered a promotion when his current case is over. His new boss, Micah Drummond likes him. And Thomas is overdue. Although he wants the bump in pay, and to be able to give Charlotte more of the things she gave up to marry him, he can't deny to himself that he will miss going out on the street and doing the work himself. He's not ready to ride a desk. We see Thomas come into his own professionally, finally given a boss who likes and respects him. 

    Emily is taken out of the book through her marriage, and hey...guess who walked her down the aisle... If you guessed Dominic Corde then you win a smiley face. GRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!! There are not enough anythings to express my frustration with the continuity errors all over her work. And seriously, I don't get it. I just don't get it at all.

    Dominic wasn't dead, but in the previous book we are inside of Charlotte's head where she says her brother-in-law is dead. She's not going to be mistaken about something like that. Or was she referring to George? I suppose that's a plausible answer, but both were her brother in law and at the very least Dominic should have been accounted for in Charlotte's at the time. She thinks about him all the time in other places in this world. I have no reason to believe she was thinking of George as she has no habit of doing so in the past. There is definitely a world building mistake. 

    And in this book, the errors continue where Thomas this of Charlotte as Emily.  THERE'S NO WAY THAT WOULD HAPPEN! Better editing, if this is the best trad publishers have to offer, then well...why read trad publishing? 

How Much My Library Card Saved Me

    This book was sent to me from the Evanston Area Library. It's a first edition published in 1990. In this edition the order of the novels in the front of the book is correct. Interesting that between then and and the first edition Charlotte and Thomas Pitt novel Ashworth Hall I own, the order of Rutland Place and Bluegate Fields will be incorrectly reversed. This copy has been well read. There are little dog ears on the pages all over this one, so I think it was dog eared by more than one person. Our corrector of record is back, crossing out Emily's name and writing in Charlotte's. I believe this person is in my own library, as I have seen a number of these books that my library owns corrected in the same manner. But I can't prove it. Whoever they are, they have neat handwriting and the same literary tastes as me. The dust jacket says the book cost $17.95. 

This Book                         $ 17.95

This Summer                   $436.87