Scan barcode
A review by we_are_all_mad_here26
Bluegate Fields by Anne Perry
3.0
Something about Anne Perry's writing - or at least, the writing that I've read, which includes book 1-6 of this series plus about a billion of the William Monk series - appeals to me very much. I complain about it a lot in my head, mostly due to certain details or situations or descriptions that get repetitive (and somewhat annoying) when you're reading the entirety of a series, back to back to back. But she sets a scene so well that I would feel perfectly at home in any Victorian drawing room, should I stumble across one somewhere in the metaverse. When Charlotte Pitt is freezing after a long hansom ride and asks Gracie to build up the fire and bring some tea, I feel vicariously cozy. All this to say, I am still enjoying this series.
Of course there is a but. I find there generally is. In this case, the but is - Thomas Pitt is a terrible, horrible, very, very bad detective. Take this example. He has just interviewed the murdered boy's tutor, trying to gather as much information about the victim as he can. Immediately after, the boy's bereaved father asks him (regarding the tutor), "Good God! You don't really suspect him of--of--"
Spoiler alert: Pitt did not suspect the tutor of anything at all, at least, not at that time. And he says so. "Is there any reason why I should?" he asks.
"Of course not!" says the father, and now I am really paraphrasing. "Of course he had but the greatest references and etc etc but hmmm, I guess maybe I should give it some thought."
Minutes, literally minutes later, Pitt gets home and tells Charlotte, "It appears as if it was the tutor. It's all very sad and grubby..."
It is maddening. The man could wear a suit made of clues and still not find the guilty party. I hate him. I will continue reading about him with pleasure.
Of course there is a but. I find there generally is. In this case, the but is - Thomas Pitt is a terrible, horrible, very, very bad detective. Take this example. He has just interviewed the murdered boy's tutor, trying to gather as much information about the victim as he can. Immediately after, the boy's bereaved father asks him (regarding the tutor), "Good God! You don't really suspect him of--of--"
Spoiler alert: Pitt did not suspect the tutor of anything at all, at least, not at that time. And he says so. "Is there any reason why I should?" he asks.
"Of course not!" says the father, and now I am really paraphrasing. "Of course he had but the greatest references and etc etc but hmmm, I guess maybe I should give it some thought."
Minutes, literally minutes later, Pitt gets home and tells Charlotte, "It appears as if it was the tutor. It's all very sad and grubby..."
It is maddening. The man could wear a suit made of clues and still not find the guilty party. I hate him. I will continue reading about him with pleasure.