Bethlehem Road [Hardcover]

Anne Perry (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1990

The gentleman tied to the lamppost on Westminster Bridge is most elegantly attired—fresh boutonniere, silk hat, white evening scarf—and he is quite, quite dead, as a result of his thoroughly cut throat. Why should anyone kill Sir Lockwood Hamilton, the kindest of family men and most conscientious member of Parliament? Before Inspector Thomas Pitt can even speculate on the reasons, a colleague of Sir Lockwood’s meets the same fate in the same spot. Public indignation is boundless, and clever Charlotte Pitt, Thomas’s wellborn wife, can’t resist helping her hard-pressed husband, scouting society’s drawing rooms for clues to these appalling crimes. Meanwhile, the Westminster Bridge Cutthroat stalks another victim.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

With a steady hand at dissecting character and motivation, a keen grasp of social history and a flair for description of Victorian London, Perry guarantees a good read to those who like their murder in a believable historical and psychological context. Last seen in Silence in Hanover Close , London policeman Thomas Pitt and his well-born, well-educated wife, Charlotte, here investigate the gruesome murders of members of Parliament on night-shrouded Westminster Bridge. Because the murdered MPs held differing political views and had separate personal connections that might have each motivated a murderer or murderers, the case is as impenetrable as a pea-souper until the Pitts get to work. A real treat is the beautifully drawn character of a suffragette who has lost her daughter. Etched with pain and compassion unusual in a detective novel, this characterization makes up for a mildly disappointing turn of plot at the novel's conclusion.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

The issue of women's rights pervades Inspector Thomas Pitt's tenth adventure in late 19th-century London. Three Members of Parliament have had their throats slit while crossing the Westminster Bridge. All three voted against female suffrage. As Pitt investigates, his suspicions fall on a vocal and much-wronged suffragette; other unlikely candidates include anarchists and madmen. As usual, Pitt's wife, Charlotte, and her delightful Great Aunt Vespasia play sleuths as well. Perry uses well-mannered prose, satiric wit, and fine sense of place and time to construct a completely believable and human world. A sterling performance and a collection must.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 309 pages
• Publisher: St Martins Pr; 1 edition (June 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312042663
• ISBN-13: 978-0312042660
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,010,738 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Anne Perry is the bestselling author of two acclaimed series set in Victorian England: the William Monk novels, including Dark Assassin and The Shifting Tide, and the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt novels, including The Cater Street Hangman, Calandar Square, Buckingham Palace Gardens and Long Spoon Lane. She is also the author of the World War I novels No Graves As Yet, Shoulder the Sky, Angels in the Gloom, At Some Disputed Barricade, and We Shall Not Sleep, as well as six holiday novels, most recently A Christmas Grace. Anne Perry lives in Scotland.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Murder, MPs, and the Suffrage in a baffling mystery, June 8, 2000

By 

drdebs (CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bethlehem Road (Mass Market Paperback)

Bethlehem Road is the tenth novel in the Pitt series of mysteries by Anne Perry. While I would recommend reading the series in order for maximum enjoyment, the characters are at a turning point in this book and so you could just jump in here if you wish. Charlotte Ellison Pitt is really getting comfortable in her role as a police Inspector's wife; Thomas Pitt, her husband, has a more sympathetic and appreciative new boss; Emily Ellison March (Charlotte's sister) just married for a second time; and Aunt Vespasia is starting to show alarming new signs of frailty and age. Together, Thomas, Charlotte and Vespasia work together to solve the mystery of the "Westminster Cutthroat" who is murdering MPs on Westminster Bridge.

What I most liked about this mystery was the number of red herrings that were thrown in the way of the conclusion. I found myself unable to figure out who had perpetrated the crimes and went down lots of blind alleys as a result. This added to my enjoyment of the book, although the ending was a bit Christie-like in all honesty. I'm really looking forward to Highgate Rise, the next book in the series, since Bethlehem Road sets up so many interesting new possibilities.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Road With A Pitt-Fall, August 30, 2002

By 

AntiochAndy "antiochandy" (Antioch, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bethlehem Road (Mass Market Paperback)

BETHLEHEM ROAD is another installment in the Thomas and Charlotte Pitt series. As such, it has all of the usual features: interesting and, in many cases, familiar characters, an intriguing plot, Victorian London as the backdrop, and a burning social issue of the day that plays a significant role in the story. As occaisionally happens, Ms. Perry lets her soapbox get in the way of her mystery once or twice in this one, but that's only a minor problem.

For most of the story, the plot revolves around a series of murders involving MPs. Each is found tied to the same lamppost with his throat cut. Each was returning home alone and on foot from an evening session of Parliament. This is pretty riveting stuff, and for most of the book there is no obvious suspect. The only suspect on the horizon seems unlikely to be the perpetrator. Both Thomas and Charlotte are baffled. Ultimately, however, the solution to this mystery is only the prelude to the real climax of the story, which is abrupt in true Anne Perry style. For me, the solution to (or, really, the rationale for) the lamppost murders is this book's weakness and it's what keeps this from being a five-star book. The lamppost murders need more of a tie-in. At the risk of giving away too much, it just seemed to me that the lack of intent and motive for these murders left a little to be desired when all was said and done.

BETHLEHEM ROAD is a pretty good mystery with most of the strengths usually found in the Pitt series. While Perry perhaps over-reaches herself a bit here in trying to pull off a plot within a plot, it will keep readers turning the pages from beginning to end. I found it entertaining and recommend it to other mystery readers, particularly fans of the Pitt series.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A case for suffragettes, June 10, 2002

By 

Fred Camfield (Vicksburg, MS USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Bethlehem Road (Mass Market Paperback)

The statue of Boadicea driving her war chariot stands in front of the British Parliament building. Members of Parliament (MPs), walking past the statue every day, contended that women did not have the ability to understand issues and vote intelligently. The year is 1888 and women's rights are a contentious issue. When MPs have their throats cut on the way home from evening sessions, suspicion points in many directions. Was it a radical women's rights advocate, a demented anarchist, or perhaps someone benefiting financially?

Thomas Pitt and his wife, Charlotte, become involved in the investigation. The entire issue of women's rights unfolds including various repressive laws. There are issues of inheritance, child custody, and a wife's obligations to her husband (religious fundamentalists in the U.S. have been revisiting this issue). This is a real whodunit with a surprising conclusion. The novel provides a good picture of the English social structure of that time period.