Midnight at Marble Arch, by Anne Perry

 

The Book

Thomas Pitt is now the head of Special Branch and his former boss, Victor Narraway has been "elevated" to the House of Lords. The new job means Pitt and his wife Charlotte now have a number of social functions the should attend in order for Pitt to keep up with his job. Charlotte realizes she doesn't really miss it, when she decides she rather likes Isaura Castlebranco, the wife of the Portuguese ambassador. While at the party, Charlotte and Aunt Vespsasia (Lady Vespasia Cumming-Gould) witness a spoiled, rich young man being verbally cruel the Isuara's daughter, Angeles. Charlotte attempts to intervene. 

Meanwhile, Pitt and Narraway are having a conversation with successful financier Rawdon Quixwood, when the police approach. Thinking he's needed, Pitt has a conversation with the constable, but it's not Pitt the constable needs to see, it's Quixwood. His wife was brutally murdered and now, he's got to go identify the body. Narraway agrees to go help him. 

But the case is both horrific and mysterious. Narraway, liking the financier, agrees to help him find out who brutalized his wife. 

Meanwhile, rumors abound that Angeles may have been the victim of more than just cruel taunts at the hands of the young man. 

Pitt is disturbed by the violence, but it's not the job of Special Branch, until it is. Then with Narraway, Vespasia, Charlotte and Pitt all investigating, they are bound to figure out the truth. But can they do it before a man hangs for a crime he did not commit? 

My Thoughts

This is a fast paced, well written book, exploring the unfortunate theme of how sexual assault was treated in the past. Regrettably, it seems as if those opinions have carried on into the modern day. I read somewhere, before DNA conclusively proved if the accused had sexual contact with his victim, the most common thing was to claim the police came to the wrong conclusion about who assaulted the victim, not the if the victim consented or not. Now, since there is no denying you were the one who left the DNA, defendants argue the victim consented. This is how and why so many assualts go unprosecuted in the modern day.

And for a story about violent assaults, this one takes remarkably few twists and turns, focusing more on can they prove who did it and what can be done, than on who the perpetrator is. It's more of a how to solve societies ills than a whodunit. 

I love Charlotte and Thomas. This whole series has been fun. Worth the re-read, but maybe not as much as some of the others. 

How Much My Library Card Saved Me

This book came to me from Lake Forest Public Library. If the pencil markings on the sticker at to be believed, it entered their system in April of 2013. While the interior of the book is in great condition, with no markings, dog ears, or tears, the spine is beginning to get old spine slant. Apparently, the glue used to bind the spine together degrades over time. As a result books tend to start sliding. There's nothing that can be done to prevent it. However, some people like to take a book apart, re-bind the spine, and put it all back together again. Most libraries don't do that, but I would like to try. I'll keep you updated if I do. 

The cover of the book says it originally retailed for and even $27.00 that is the number we will use. 

Not long ago, my buddy Travis updated me as to how much the Out of District Fee would be for the year at my library. This year it came to $256.40 Looks like we're over it! YAY!

This Book                                                         $27.00

Library Items Reviewed This Year                 $367.83

Private Books

This Book                                                          $0.00

Total of Private Books                                     $55.75

Total of All Items Reviewed This Year          $447.58

Still Here? 

 I am now a published author. You can pick up a *FREE COPY* of my novella The Big Intersection here.