Bethlehem Road (Charlotte & Thomas Pitt Novels) [Audio Cassette]

Book Description

When Members of Parliament are murdered crossing Westminster Bridge, Thomas and Charlotte Pit must sift through the many suspects to find the killer—before he strikes again

 

In the few minutes it takes to cross Westminster Bridge, Sir Lockwood Hamilton has his throat slit and is tied securely to the lamppost with his evening scarf. The killer then vanishes without being seen. Inspector Thomas Pitt thinks the motive might have been personal . . . or political. When a second Member of Parliament is murdered in the same way, politics appear to be the reason. Soon the suspect list includes anarchists and suffragettes. Public outrage mounts and fear grips London and Parliament after a third lamppost murder.

 

Deep in his end of the investigation, Pitt must rely on his wife, Charlotte, and Great-aunt Vespasia to explore the drawing rooms of the upper class for clues to the mystery. With burning social issues swirling around them, the three of them must solve the case before another MP falls victim to the Westminster cutthroat.

When Members of Parliament are murdered crossing Westminster Bridge, Thomas and Charlotte Pit must sift through the many suspects to find the killer—before he strikes again

 

In the few minutes it takes to cross Westminster Bridge, Sir Lockwood Hamilton has his throat slit and is tied securely to the lamppost with his evening scarf. The killer then vanishes without being seen. Inspector Thomas Pitt thinks the motive might have been personal . . . or political. When a second Member of Parliament is murdered in the same way, politics appear to be the reason. Soon the suspect list includes anarchists and suffragettes. Public outrage mounts and fear grips London and Parliament after a third lamppost murder.

 

Deep in his end of the investigation, Pitt must rely on his wife, Charlotte, and Great-aunt Vespasia to explore the drawing rooms of the upper class for clues to the mystery. With burning social issues swirling around them, the three of them must solve the case before another MP falls victim to the Westminster cutthroat.

 

“[In Bethlehem Road] Perry uses well-mannered prose, satiric wit, and a fine sense of place and time to construct a completely believable and human world. A sterling performance and a collection must.” —Library Journal

 

“When Anne Perry puts Thomas and Charlotte Pitt on the case, we are in exemplary Victorian company.” —The New York Times

 

“When it comes to the Victorian mystery, Anne Perry has proved that nobody does it better.” —The San Diego Union-Tribune

 

“The period detail remains fascinating, and [Anne Perry’s] grasp of Victorian character and conscience still astonishes.” —The Plain Dealer

 

“Pitt’s compassion and Charlotte’s cleverness make them compatible sleuths, as well as extremely congenial characters . . . Perry has the gift of making [the Victorian era] all seem immediate and very much alive.” —The Philadelphia Inquirer

 

Anne Perry (b. 1938) is a bestselling author of historical detective fiction, most notably the Thomas and Charlotte Pitt series and the William Monk series, both set in Victorian England. Her first book, The Cater Street Hangman (1979), launched both the Pitt series and her career as a premier writer of Victorian mysteries. Other novels in the series include Resurrection Row, Death in the Devil’s Acre, and Silence in Hanover Close, as well as more than twenty others. The William Monk series of novel...

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

London policeman Thomas Pitt and his well-born, well-educated wife, Charlotte, investigate the Westminster Bridge murders of politically dissimilar, personally unrelated members of Parliament. According to PW , "Perry guarantees a good read to those who like their murder in a believable historical and psychological context."
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

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. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Recorded Books
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1419343726
• ISBN-13: 978-1419343728
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,174,347 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

11 of 11 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
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

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.