Charlotte and Thomas Pitt (3) - Paragon Walk by Anne Perry
And part three of the series... oh, and in case you just bought this book and found out it is not the first novel of the series, never mind, they are sort of independent to each other. However, here is Paragon Walk! (In German Nachts am Paragon Walk). I read it in German where it contained 247 pages. Originally published in 1981.
Murder is not a game for High Society, and therefore, in High Society, no such things happen! Well, tell this little Fanny, who was raped and murdered for no obvious reason. And this in a street where Lords and Ladies like the Ashworth's live! Thomas Pitt is supposed to find out what happened, and, with help of his wife, Charlotte, he finds one dead body after another. What happened here, and, more important, how can Charlotte protect her little sister and Emily's unborn baby?
I like this part, it is nice. I had no idea who the murderer was, not to the very end. In the prequels I found out, but here? Not a chance! Even though it makes sense! I like Charles, even though I could have hit him on the head when he didn't take his wife's fears serious, when he had a problem with her being emotional. Man, you suck. But it's nice he cared for her nontheless. That's not be said about many other husbands in that particular time. I don't mean every man was a jerk. But, seriously, with arranged marriages with couples who didn't even know each other, who were forced into each other on the most intimate level... there are bound to be difficulties with love and trust. Sometimes it would work, but most of the times it wouldn't. And men weren't raised to take care of woman, not in the sense of taking them seriously. That's better today – even though I don't like the pressure on woman to give their children away to go to work. That sucks.
But that's not the theme of this review. I'm sorry for Fanny. First of all, that woman she has to live with! Second, I doubt she joint this entirely willing. Third, her end was... well, really not nice.
Whom I like, that's Paul Alaric. He's really charismatic. I hope he'll find someone. And, I must confess, I wish I knew someone like him. He's a really good person. And he'll certainly make life interesting: You can watch how girls make fools of themselves in order to get his attention. Well, and you can make a fool of yourself, too.
The best character EVER is of course Aunt Vespasia. She's just amazing! Totally honest, in a funny way, but still with a good core. My, she's so much better than her family!
I give this book stars for characters (aunt Vespasia forever!), style, the content and the ideas.