I love Anne Perry books, but this one felt disjointed. It's the second holiday book I've read with Rathbone as the lead character.It's a short book and I don't know if that's why it didn't feel developed? I couldn't get a fully developed mental picture while reading it, which I usually can.Most of the time is spent in the bowels of the slums of London...I just couldn't picture it. The story was kinda predictable...I don't know, I love Anne Perry's Monk series, maybe this is a blip? This is a Victorian morality play, complete with the prodigal son and the devil. This was my first Anne Perry novel. It was an easy read, one afternoon. I did not find it particularly suspenseful. Once you recognized it as a morality play, you knew that the son would be restored to his father. Her characters were interesting; Henry Rathbone, the old friend who volunteers to search for the prodigal son, Squeaky Robinson, a reformed brothel-keeper who now works in Hester Monk’s medical clinic, and Crow, a mysterious slum doctor who turns no one away, however undeserving. Her description of the underlife of London was shallow. I did not really care about the details. They were more like obstacles to get through rather than enhancements to the story. I doubt if I will read any more of her novels.
What do You think about L'odyssée De Noël (2010)?
Not as well written as most Anne Perry books. Where was her editor?
—wolfbrooke
A search for the prodigal son in Victorian London at Christmas time.
—Cole
