false 72743 12 Secrets and lies, calumnies and evasions: in Anne Perry's Victorian mysteries, these elements, rather than a hat or gloves, a bustle or a watch fob, are the usual accoutrements of refined ladies and gentlemen. <I>Half Moon Street</I> marks the return of Inspector Thomas Pitt (20 novels now, beginning with <I>The Cater Street Hangman</I> and still going strong) to the cobblestoned streets and elegant drawing rooms of 19th-century London.<p> The inhabitants of those drawing rooms aren't usually thrilled to see him, because he always comes bearing bad news. This time, a body has turned up in a boat on the Thames: Delbert Cathcart, a talented portrait photographer with a taste for blackmail. Clad in a velvet dress, wrists manacled, legs spread grotesquely, skull crushed, Cathcart reminds Pitt of a perverse echo of the Lady of Shalott, or perhaps a debased Ophelia. Which of Cathcart's clients could have been pushed so far as to retaliate in such hideous fashion? <p> Pitt's official investigation is usually combined with another more idiosyncratic approach to the crime; this secondary analysis gives Perry free rein to dissect the manners and morals of Victorian society. In <I>Half Moon Street</I>, the genteel inquisition falls to Caroline Fielding, Charlotte's mother (Charlotte, who must need a bit of rest after so many outings, has been packed off to Paris for a vacation; her presence in the book is restricted to letters marveling, rather tediously, at the scandalous iniquities of the Moulin Rouge dance hall). Perry's readers will no doubt remember that Caroline scandalized society by marrying a much younger actor, Joshua. <I>Half Moon Street</I> introduces Caroline to his theatrical world, and to Cecily Antrim, a beautiful actress with liberal politics. Cecily poses both a personal and philosophical threat to Caroline, who is disturbed by her willingness to expose the realities of female sexuality on stage: "Should such things be said? Was there something indecent in the exposure of feelings so intimate? To know it herself was one thing, to realize that others also knew was quite different. It was being publicly naked rather than privately." This fear of exposure resonates through the worlds of theatrical and photographic art, as actors, diplomats, and genteel citizens race to hide their secrets from Pitt and Caroline.<p> While Perry evokes the London atmosphere with her usual skill, her narrative lacks its usual finesse. Rather than balancing Pitt's and Caroline's investigation, the novel lurches between them so that it seems all too often that Perry, in pursuit of one story, has forgotten the other. Additionally, Caroline's reaction to feminist politics and sexuality is inexplicably repetitive; her turgid expressions of horror seem the result of an overly eager copy-and-paste procedure. One hopes that this is a momentary lapse in an otherwise solid series. <I>--Kelly Flynn</I> 70415 book 1998 Half Moon Street: A Charlotte and Thomas Pitt Novel total:482|5:90|4:217|3:159|2:16|1:0| 482 1827 613 15 3 0 false false Tue Aug 25 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 25 20:20:30 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 25 20:26:50 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Sun Jul 19 22:39:30 -0700 2009 Sun Jul 19 22:40:28 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Wed Jun 24 16:31:01 -0700 2009 Wed Jun 24 16:32:14 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Mon Jan 19 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 23 16:27:58 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 23 16:31:03 -0800 2009 5 0 false false Sun Aug 26 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Wed Dec 31 16:47:39 -0800 2008 Wed Dec 31 16:48:44 -0800 2008 5 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Jul 21 14:48:02 -0700 2008 Mon Jul 21 15:01:55 -0700 2008 One of the reasons I like Anne Perry's novels is because they qualify as "safe" reading for me. There is little, if any rough language or graphic anything in them. Don't take that to mean they're boring or uneventful. Anne...more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Sun May 31 05:43:55 -0700 2009 Sun May 31 05:44:41 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Fri Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Feb 10 21:34:10 -0800 2008 Sun Feb 10 21:45:11 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Jul 24 11:07:21 -0700 2008 Thu Jul 24 11:10:44 -0700 2008 There many books on the series and I have enjoyed every one I read so far. I have to warn...more...]]> 3 0 false true Sat Mar 15 13:49:52 -0700 2008 Sat Mar 15 13:51:39 -0700 2008 3 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Fri Jan 18 07:03:19 -0800 2008 Fri Jan 18 07:42:38 -0800 2008 3 0 false false Sun Jul 20 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Jul 23 10:08:39 -0700 2008 Wed Jul 23 10:10:49 -0700 2008 5 0 false false Wed Mar 12 23:01:41 -0700 2008 Wed Mar 12 23:02:43 -0700 2008 4 0 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Thu Nov 22 12:42:32 -0800 2007 Thu Nov 22 12:44:07 -0800 2007 English historical/mystery novel. I enjoy the way she writes.]]> 3 0 false false Fri Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Thu Sep 06 12:45:41 -0700 2007 Thu Sep 06 12:46:18 -0700 2007 0 0 false false Wed Dec 02 07:56:18 -0800 2009 Wed Dec 02 07:56:18 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Sat Nov 28 16:25:29 -0800 2009 Sat Nov 28 16:25:29 -0800 2009 3 0 false false Wed Nov 25 13:14:17 -0800 2009 Wed Nov 25 13:14:17 -0800 2009 3 0 false false Tue Nov 24 20:06:36 -0800 2009 Tue Nov 24 20:06:36 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Mon Nov 23 12:29:46 -0800 2009 Mon Nov 23 12:29:46 -0800 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=72743