Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
The Hyde Park Headsman (Charlotte & Thomas Pitt #14)
by
Anne Perry
Not since the bloody deeds of Jack the Ripper have Londoners felt such terror as that aroused by the gruesome beheadings in Hyde Park. And if newly promoted Police Superintendent Thomas Pitt does not quickly apprehend the perpetrator, he is likely to lose his own head, professionally speaking. Yet even with the help of Charlotte Pitt’s subtle investigation, the sinister vi...more
ebook, 352 pages
Published
September 22nd 2010
by Ballantine Books
(first published January 1st 1994)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
This book is not yet featured on Listopia.
Add this book to your favorite list »
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
1,844)
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Years ago I read every Thomas and Charlotte Pitt book when it came out. Having just read the Sebastian St. Cyr Regency mysteries, I decided to revisit the Pitts in the later Victorian period. They are as charming as ever although Thomas has now become the Superintendent of the police department. He worries that he isn't ready for such a massive responsibility and the men under him worry if he's ready for the job. Charlotte is renovating a new house while her sister Emily helps her husband run fo...more
In this 14th installment in the series, recently promoted Thomas and loving wife Charlotte move into a larger home in need of Charlotte's redecorating and restoration skills. Meanwhile, a series of serial murders are occuring in or around Hyde Park, with decapitation being a tell tale sign of the madman at work. I particularly enjoyed the cameo appearance of Gilbert and Sullivan at one of the funerals our Victorian sleuths regularly turn up at to better evaluate possible suspects as they interac...more
This is another in the series about Charlotte Pitt and her inspector husband, who has been promoted to take the place of Micah Drummond, his old superior. Resented by the other men on the force who aren’t of the upper classes, and stymied by a case involving beheadings in Hyde Park, many are calling for Pitt to step down. Charlotte and her sister Emily don’t have as much place in the plot as usual until the last few chapters, when they break into a suspect’s garden to find the final clue to the...more
Great Victorian London setting for a gruesome murder case for Police Superintendent William Pitt.
A number of headless corpses are found in Hyde Park and Pitt, along with a little help from his wife, who stays mainly in the background until near the end, eventually uncovers the whole murderous plot.
I must confess to being slightly disappointed at the somewhat slow moving storyline but the London ambience manages to keep the attention until the end. I look forward to trying other books by Anne Per...more
A number of headless corpses are found in Hyde Park and Pitt, along with a little help from his wife, who stays mainly in the background until near the end, eventually uncovers the whole murderous plot.
I must confess to being slightly disappointed at the somewhat slow moving storyline but the London ambience manages to keep the attention until the end. I look forward to trying other books by Anne Per...more
While the killer is easily figured out the main thrust of this book is the continuing story of Pitt and his work. The benefit of reading a long series is those readers can follow a family through good years and bad, anticipating the continuation of a story line. Some of the sub-plots in this book will be continued in future volumes. I felt Charlotte and Emily were underused in this story although Perry explained that away.
In this installment of the Thomas and Charlotte Pitt series, Thomas has been promoted to Superintendent of the Bow Street Station. Two years after the Jack the Ripper murders, London is again terrorized by gruesome murders. Decapitated male bodies start appearing with some regularity in Hyde Park. The panic and terror along with the pressure on Pitt and his fellow officers to solve these murders ratchets progressively upwards as each new grisly discovery is made. Thomas' recent promotion as well...more
It had been a while since I read Anne Perry. Chose this one because it fit a couple of my challenges. Enjoyed the book but actually figured out who did it. That doesn't typically happen to me when reading this author. Would read her again. Love the fact that it is set in Victorian England, but wish the women had been a bit more involved in this one.
Inspector Thomas Pitt's promotion to Superintendent and the resultant pressures and predicaments differentiate this from the average Charlotte & Thomas Pitt mystery. The gruesome, high-publicity murder case was interesting, and I found the domestic and political elements added, rather than detracted, from the story. Well-paced and plotted.
Again this is a Victorian mystery dealing with someone cutting the heads off men and leaving the bodies in Hyde Park. I figured out who the headsman was as soon as the person was introduced, and the twist at the end was not all that surprising either. Still find it very distastful how women were treated then.
The headless corpses just keep croping up and the last few pages were a the real heat as Thomas finds the Headsman and Charlotte finds the murderer. I loved the fast diaglogue between Emily and Charlotte as they made their way to the greenhouse.
Disappointed. It might be a good read for someone interested in 19th century British life, but not for those wanting a good mystery. About two thirds of the book is spent describing daily life a hundred years ago.
Anne Perry is really good at bringing Victorian mores to life.
(minor spoiler)
I am amused that Pitt, who I usually think of as a goody-two-shoes, actually is attracted to another women here.
(minor spoiler)
I am amused that Pitt, who I usually think of as a goody-two-shoes, actually is attracted to another women here.
Boring. The plot wasn't ever really exciting enough to grab me. When the murders would happen it was exciting for about half of a page. Then back to the same, old conversation-driven text.
I always love her books but sometimes they have no clue about the outcome until the very last page. It seemed like they weren't getting anyplace in this one but finally solved it.
I don't think I've ever felt quite so like a case was hopeless most of the book, although of course it is solved in the end. I am hating Pitt's new boss and loving the evil secret society stuff.
Another good one from Anne Perry. I liked this one especially because it centered more on thomas and his job and frustrations and less on Charlotte and Emily.
I remembered the who, but not the why. The whole Parliament/Inner Circle thing ends up taking over rin later books. 8-(
Another enjoyable Charlotte and Thomas Pitt Mystery.
Good - love this series.
I really like her books.
14th installment.
read in April 1994
Entertaining like all the others in this series, but like Farrier's Lane, I found that the culprit was easily identifiable early on.
Book #14 in the series: I figured out who the killer was long before the police did.
I like this series and even though I didn't think this was as strong as some of them I still liked being reintroduced to the characters. I had the murder figured out way before Thomas and he seemed to just stumble into the conclusion but....still enjoyable. I think I would like to read this series more often so I do not forget so much in between.
I really liked this one...there were lots of details as Charlotte decorated their new house...could almost see the light in the rooms! Pitt's promotion was well deserved and the realities of being promoted from your peers and then having to manage them were similar to my own experiences many years ago. And of course the mystery was gruesome and well done!
Overall I thought this was a good book. Ms. Perry again does an excellent job of describing life in the Victorian era and makes it vivid and real to the reader. The murderer was a little obvious to me but the story was good and fast pased. Another excellent Victorian mystery.
I've read all of Perry's Monk series, but this is the first of the Pitt series that I've read. I'll stick with monk-- it's a little darker and seems more interested in historical detail. Perry is still one of my top mystery writers, though.
I am a big fan of this series, but this one didn't grab me as much. I did figure out who did it close to the beginning of the book, although I hadn't worked out the details entirely. I had to keep reading to make sure I was right.
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Anne Perry (born Juliet Hulme) is a British historical novelist.
Juliet took the name "Anne Perry", the latter being her stepfather's surname. Her first novel, The Cater Street Hangman, was published under this name in 1979. Her works generally fall into one of several cate...more
More about Anne Perry...
Anne Perry (born Juliet Hulme) is a British historical novelist.
Juliet took the name "Anne Perry", the latter being her stepfather's surname. Her first novel, The Cater Street Hangman, was published under this name in 1979. Her works generally fall into one of several cate...more
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
