Bluegate Fields go a bit deeper in the Victorian underworld than most of Charlotte and Pitt's stories. Unlike the previous story where Charlotte and her family took center stage, in this one it is Pitt, his boss and his young colleague who are the primary investigators. Charlotte is still a much needed figure though as she is the only one who can find the answers needed in society's salons.The story opens with a body being found in the sewers. Called to the occurrence Pitt eventually concludes that the naked body is of a young gentleman, a teenager really, and the police doctor tells him that there is evidence of homosexual activity. And so starts an investigation that first is about who is the dead boy, and secondly what happened to him and who killed him.There were several things that I really enjoyed about this book. There were the class distinctions that are present in every story, but here more so because we are dealing with those with the lowest status in Victorian society - the ones who sell their bodies for a few pennies. Who live in misery, either because they are born to it or because fate brought them there. After the first body is found with signs of what was then a hanging offence it was immediately obvious that almost everyone was happy to let the matter rest. How in society's eyes it was preferable to find an easy scapegoat that would allow closing the subject with relative discretion, instead of looking for the real culprit.Pitt refuses to stop investigating, despite his superior's orders, and with Charlotte's help he eventually finds the murderer. I was disappointed in that we never have a clear idea of the victim. If he had indeed been a victim of abuse or a willing participant. And in that we never have a final confrontation with the killer. As it had happened previously I ended up asking myself if that was another cover up or indeed the real thing.Grade: 4/5
Bluegate Fields by Anne Perry – Book 6 of the Thomas and Charlotte Pitt SeriesA sewerman in London finds the naked body of a young boy in his stretch of the sewer. Det. Thomas Pitt is assigned the case. The boy is clean and well nourished. Since there was no clothing on the boy or nearby Thomas begins his search by checking the missing persons register. He identifies Arthur Waybourne as the murder victim.Next is the notification of the family, a sad business at best. The family is well placed and does not want an inquiry into Arthur’s death. They wish to bury him and forget the whole mess. But Thomas is determined to find out who murdered such a young man.The coroner’s report reveals a shocking fact about Arthur, which makes Pitt more determined than ever to find the murderer. Superintendent Dudley Athelston, who likes to curry favor with those in society, orders Pitt to close the investigation. But Pitt continues his investigation.What he finds shocks him to the core. A story not easily forgotten.
I've never liked the Pitt novels as much as the Monk ones, but I thought this one was quite strong - perhaps because it's a bit more gritty in milieu, and because Perry's usual structural problem, finding independent investigational avenues for her male and her female, was less insisted upon and therefore less noticeable. Another one of her structural tics, having a trial that is going the wrong way, and then fixed by last-minute heroics, is also improved somewhat here, not by eliminating the trial but by actually bringing it to the wrong verdict, and then having an ethical problem for Pitt in his insistence on continuing to investigate.So, three stars for this one. I was briefly uncomfortable (given Perry's known past) at the possibility floated that a minor might be the murderer, but fortunately the real murderer (an adult) became evident fairly early on.
—Surreysmum
I can only hope this doesn't happen again. This was the most tedious story I have read in a long time. I think I skipped 75% of it. Most of the story seemed a tutorial about the abuse of children, namely boys that had been abused by men. Also, I have been expecting that Thomas and Charlotte would be a partnership by this time. It is the fifth book in a series of 25+ books. Instead, Thomas goes off on his own and Charlotte goes off on her own. At some point in the story they communicate and then go off on their own again. Trust me the mystery is secondary to the history lesson! I am going on to the next book with hopes Ms. Perry will get down to the task of writing a mystery not a history lesson!
—Lynne Tull
The setting and basic premise of this book is the same: Inspector Pitt investigates from the police side and his wife, Charlotte, "snoops" from the Society side. What I liked about this one is that it's more plausable than usual how Charlotte helps the case. Sometimes it seems like she just hangs around and blindly stumbles into the answer/resolution. Another thing I personally like about this book is that the majority of the characters were not Society characters. Perry's Society characters (with a few exceptions) all seem to run together to me. What I didn't like so much about this book is that it is mentioned early on that Charlotte has a fairly new baby who is only a few months old and after that he's never mentioned again. The maid is instructed to babysit the older child and Charlotte doesn't take the baby with her so I kept wondering what about the baby?? Another thing I am wondering about is that if Society is really as small as it is continually mentioned as being, could all these murders realistically happen in such a small space of time to such a small group of people? And if this is just the 6th book, what are the next 18 going to be like?
—Allison
