- Paperback: 416 pages
- Publisher: HarperCollins; New Ed edition (16 Nov 1998)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0006498183
- ISBN-13: 978-0006498186
- Product Dimensions: 17.6 x 10.4 x 2.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 164,833 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Review
‘PENTECOST ALLEY demonstrates Perry’s trademark skill for enhancing well-designed mystery plots with convincing historical settings and cleverly drawn relationships… As Perry edges towards her surprise ending, she crafts her tale with elegance, narrative depth and gratifying scope’
Publishers Weekly
‘The Pitt books are characterised by well-observed period detail, a fascination with miscarriages of justice and the high drama of the law, and intense scrutiny of family secrets.’
Robert McCrum
‘Excellent period thriller… admirably well-written’
Guardian
Product Description
In the sixteenth murder mystery featuring Thomas and Charlotte Pitt, their detective wits are stretched to the limit as a grotesque death sparks off an investigation into horrific hidden scandals.
It is barely two years since the prostitutes of London’s East End were terrorised by Jack the Ripper. Now, in dismal Pentecost Alley, a killer is at work in the backstreets of Whitechapel once more. Not that the grisly murder of a mere whore is enough to merit the expertise of Superintendent Pitt of Bow Street. Society regards such women as less than human, deserving all they get. But beneath the mutilated body of the young girl there is a strange badge. The insignia proclaims it to be an emblem of the Hellfire Club, and on the back is engraved the name of Finlay FitzJames.
So begins Pitt’s curious association with the wealthy and immensly influential FitzJames family: Augustus, the powerful bully of a father; bored, glamorous Tallulah; and foppish Finlay, born into privilege and happy to make use of it. Pitt cannot afford to make one false move. For what Victorian jury would take the word of a common prostitute against that of a FitzJames?
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
0 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
I received my book at the given time and I am thoroughly enjoying the reading!!! The book was in excellent condition, so I was very pleased.
Margie C
Margie C
0 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Another Thomas Pitt Story. Anne Perry is very good at writing a detective story and combining historical facts of the time with it. This makes interesting reading.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
18 reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
One Of The Best
15 July 2001
Format:Mass Market Paperback
"Pentecost Alley" is another entry in Anne Perry's Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series. It is the thirteenth of these stories that I've read, so it would be safe to assume that I like the series. Perry seems to have a good feel for the period and her characters are well-drawn. She makes late nineteenth century London seem an exceedingly grim place, and perhaps by our standards it was, but other major cities of the day were likely worse (some still are). She sometimes spends a bit too much space on her soapbox expounding on the social evils of the day, something that Doyle avoided (to his credit -- his stories were always concise). Still, the social ills focused on are invariably central to the plot, so this is only a minor complaint. Some of Perry's earlier stories also suffered from rather simplistic plots. There was often a single character with a clearly dysfunctional personality, leaving the reader with only the details to figure out. All that is not a problem here, though. Perry makes it clear in the course of "Pentecost Alley" that she is against capital punishment (an opinion that is not necessarily germaine to the story), but the plot is intricate and intriguing. As public pressure mounts on Pitt, especially when it appears that the wrong man has been hanged for the murder of Ada McKinley, I felt his anxiety. The tension builds very effectively. Although I was able to identify a couple of characters who ended up in a central role, I still couldn't see how it all fitted together until very near the end.
Fans will enjoy "Pentecost Alley" as another chance to spend time with all the regular characters: Thomas, Charlotte, Emily, Gracie, Caroline, Grandmama, the children, etc., but beyond that this is a first rate mystery that any mystery fan can sink his teeth into. I think this is one of Perry's best efforts, and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading a good mystery, whether familiar with the series or not.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Just as Good the Second Time Around
25 Mar 2001
Format:Mass Market Paperback
As far as I'm concerned, Anne Perry's books are keepers. I was buying her books in hardcover as soon as I spotted them before there was an Amazon.com. Now I routinely pre-order them. When I pulled PENTECOST ALLEY off the shelf yesterday, I realized I had forgotten who all but the regular characters were and who was the killer. Some things dimly came back to me while I read, but the story was just as compelling. Yes, there's the usual contrast between the lives of the filthy rich and those of the filthy poor, but I've never known Anne Perry to fail to bring them to life.
Is Finley Fitzjames guilty? The more I learned about his father, Augustus, the worse he seemed, but that didn't mean his son was a murderer. If someone was framing Finley, why? Did anyone hate Finley that much or did someone want to get revenge on the father through the son? The best member of the Fitzjames family is the daughter, Tallulah. Underneath that party-loving exterior is intelligence and fire. She's certain that her beloved brother is innocent, but how can she prove it? While she's at it, can she make up her mind between her life of luxury and a very worthy, but poor man whom she loves but who thinks she's only a social butterfly?
Emily Radley's life has been just as useless as Tallulah's lately. Her husband is fighting for the right in Parliament so they don't have much time together. Her servants are so competent that they could easily manage the household without her. Worse, she has Grandmama living with her. The other women of the family have grown and changed since book one, but Grandmama is a narrow-minded and nasty as ever. It's a good thing we have Lady Vespasia to show us that an elderly widow can still be vital and involved. What Emily needs is to be involved in another of her brother-in-law's cases. Will her new aquaintance with Tallulah give her the chance to be something other than decorative and charming? When things go horribly wrong, as they will, Charlotte will have to step in, too. More than just her husband's career is at stake. There's been an outbreak of violence. Will more follow? Full scale riots? Anarchy? It's a very tense situation. No one has forgotten that Jack the Ripper business only a couple of years ago, nor the fact that the killer was never caught. Don't miss the scene where Emily, Charlotte, and Tallulah forsake their good clothes to visit the brothels for clues. I loved the frank assessment of their chances for success as ladies of the evening. Pay attention to the names of even the most briefly-noted characters. One of them is the same as that of a character in a famous classic novel. I wish I knew if that were coincidence or deliberate.
As usual in one of Anne Perry's mysteries, morality, principles, and soul searching play a prominent role. One of the other reviewers mentioned the author's past, but failed to mention that she was only a schoolgirl at the time.
If you're looking for a book that's fast-paced and shallow, with characters of cardboard, PENTECOST ALLEY is not for you. If you demand more from your mysteries, I highly recommend this book and the whole series.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Pentecost Alley-Anne Perry
28 Sep 2008
Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
THE Victorian Era Author has once again done quite well.
This one I didn't like as much as the earlier ones, but that's probably just me. I'm getting near the end of the list and I'm getting worried about who I am going to read next. Thomas and Charlotte, who could ask for anything more? Except maybe somehow get Monk and Hester involved maybe in a flashback. After all the Victorian Era was a looooong stretch of time.
This one I didn't like as much as the earlier ones, but that's probably just me. I'm getting near the end of the list and I'm getting worried about who I am going to read next. Thomas and Charlotte, who could ask for anything more? Except maybe somehow get Monk and Hester involved maybe in a flashback. After all the Victorian Era was a looooong stretch of time.
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