Highgate Rise, by Anne Perry

 

The Book

    Thomas Pitt is one of the few Bow Street detectives not assigned to chase the madman terrifying London in the fall of 1888. As such, when the badly burned body of Clemency Shaw is found at an arson, being the best detective available, Pitt is sent to investigate. Even though he is out of his area, the victim, Clemency Shaw is the granddaughter of a very famous bishop, who was quite well respected when he was alive. But as well liked as her grandfather was, her husband, Dr. Shaw, was not. He's an eager debater of new ideas. A man who has a quick, but sometimes cruel wit, with no patience for hypocrisy. 

    Constable Murdo is sent to help Pitt investigate. Murdo is torn between his loyalty to his station, and the insult dealt to them by sending in Pitt and his admiration for the untidy detective. As the case progresses, Murdo finds himself admiring, perhaps a bit more than he ought, the daughter of a business magnate. She's supposed to marry for connections, her inheritance being the lure for a so-called "respectable families". But instead, all anyone's tongue can wag about is how Dr. Shaw wants her for his money. And while Shaw may not deserve her, she may not be any better than should be. 

    With Murdo, young and preoccupied, Pitt can't really make head nor tails of the case. Meanwhile, Charlotte's grandmother sweeps her into this world. Charlotte likes Shaw, but the bodies keep piling up around him. And the truth is, either he's a cold blooded murderer, or someone is so obsessed with murdering him, they don't care how many people they kill. 

My Thoughts

    In many of Anne Perry's Charlotte and Thomas Pitt books we find a lot of the victims are victims of circumstance, and that's the case here. But, when everything is finally revealed, the full ugliness of humanity is left on display, and all anyone is left to feel is the sheer waste of murder. 

    There are errors in this book. Here I see a decline in editing quality. There are confused scenes. Inexplicably Caroline Ellison (Charlotte's mother) is back on Cater Street, and yet, there's a whole book Rutland Place where the Ellisons are new to the neighborhood. The explanation given that they moved because living in Cater Street was too painful. There are other errors, splattered throughout the book. 

And the corrector of record is nowhere to be found. I don't know if they missed this book, or missed the details.

    If this is your first Anne Perry, or Charlotte and Thomas Pitt book the continuity errors, however glaring, aren't noticeable. And perhaps, if you're reading the books many years or months apart, the move to Rutland Place might be forgotten. 

    It's a book worth reading, as we find out that Gracie (the Pitt's loyal maid) can't read. And we get to see how well she does outside of her duties. It's a fun read, all things considered. 

How Much My Library Card Saved Me

    This book has been in my library since at least 11/04/03, the date hand written into the top right corner of the top page. It also still has a card pocket on it, showing that we had not yet gone to a digital check out system yet. Interesting. This is the year my second child was born, and I don't remember how much library reading I did that year. I would do a whole bunch three years later, at another small county library in the south. I believe they still used check out cards at that time. The following year, I had my library card with the Charlotte Mecklenburg Public Library, and they were online reservations and online checkout. 

    I suspect this book is older than that though. This is a hardcover with the original artwork on it. The date of release is May 1991. This books has been gently ready, but several times and is easy to hold open. The price on the jacket says $18.00

This Book                             $18.00

This Summer                     $544.86

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