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A review by git_r_read
A Christmas Odyssey by Anne Perry
5.0
My holiday tradition for book reading is to choose mysteries that take place during that holiday, especially Christmas. It makes for an edgy holiday treat for me.
Anne Perry does the same, except she writes the Christmas mystery. Set usually in the same timeframe as her Thomas Pitt and William Monk series. Each of this particular series takes place during the Christmas holiday.
Victorian England had a dark underbelly. Here it's the disappearance of the son of a wealthy man, James Wentworth. He asks his friend Henry Rathbone, a mathematics professor, to find his wayward son, Lucien. Lucien does not want to be found and has successfully evaded all efforts thus far.
Henry reluctantly agrees and finds help along the way from a man named Squeaky, a 'doctor' Crow who works in the slums of London. They are his guides through the vast scummy backstreets and bars where Lucien was last seen.
The reason I enjoy Anne Perry's writing, besides the outstanding mystery and suspense, is how she draws me into this era. It's like she had a past life there and she's channeling it, she writes it so vividly.
I know I would have a difficult time of it if someone asked me to go looking in the opium dens for the son of a wealthy man who doesn't want the police involved because of the societal scandal.
This is what makes the book so enjoyable, the era's mores, the characters' interactions, and the mystery.
Definite recommend.
Anne Perry does the same, except she writes the Christmas mystery. Set usually in the same timeframe as her Thomas Pitt and William Monk series. Each of this particular series takes place during the Christmas holiday.
Victorian England had a dark underbelly. Here it's the disappearance of the son of a wealthy man, James Wentworth. He asks his friend Henry Rathbone, a mathematics professor, to find his wayward son, Lucien. Lucien does not want to be found and has successfully evaded all efforts thus far.
Henry reluctantly agrees and finds help along the way from a man named Squeaky, a 'doctor' Crow who works in the slums of London. They are his guides through the vast scummy backstreets and bars where Lucien was last seen.
The reason I enjoy Anne Perry's writing, besides the outstanding mystery and suspense, is how she draws me into this era. It's like she had a past life there and she's channeling it, she writes it so vividly.
I know I would have a difficult time of it if someone asked me to go looking in the opium dens for the son of a wealthy man who doesn't want the police involved because of the societal scandal.
This is what makes the book so enjoyable, the era's mores, the characters' interactions, and the mystery.
Definite recommend.