Midnight at Marble Arch (Thomas Pitt, Book 28)
*Starred Review* Perry has two hit Victorian mystery series going, one starring William Monk and the other featuring Charlotte and Thomas Pitt. This twenty-sixth entry in the Pitt series shows once again the Victorian era’s abundance of social abuses, which often led to crime. The Pitts have moved up the social ladder, not that they’ve sought it, but with each of Thomas’ promotions in the police (he is now head of Special Branch), their world has included more of the wealthy and the aristocratic—but also more of the depraved, who can cover crimes more easily than the poor. This mystery, involving, as always, the investigative talents of both Charlotte and Thomas, centers on sexual assault. Two gatherings, a formal ball and a reception, showcase two women caught up in Victorian male hypocrisy. One of the Pitts’ friends, a high-up London financier, attends the ball alone. He’s summoned away, however, when his wife, who begged off attending, is found raped and murdered in their front hall. At the same ball, the daughter of the Portuguese ambassador shows every evidence of terror as a young noble pursues her. Perry expertly shows how a society in which women have no recourse against sexual assault, except for covering it up themselves, opens itself to a variety of desperate acts highlighting women’s vulnerabilities. Perry is a master at illuminating the wrongs of the Victorian age. --Connie Fletcher