Staying on top of the listing for almost 24 hours. It's time to move on down.
Have a great week-end!!!
Agnes P.

do you think it's a case of series-exhaustion?

Don't know. I can't imagine how good mystery writers manage to devise new plots. My imagination is so limited that regularly coming up with new twists would be utterly beyond me.

I would think that Perry or any other Victorian author is limited by the fact that so many things that we take for granted like computers, airplanes, car chases and cameras didn't exist. Peel away modern inventions from today's murder mysteries, and you wouldn't have nearly enough story.

I am sure that she still has a few good things in store for Thomas Pitt.

I wondered if it is that in having to move along in time, she has had to come too far away from the Victorian era. Several years have passed since Charlotte and William met and married.

I am enjoying her WWI series; but those books are moving quite slowly in time considering that there are now three of them.

I hadn't thought about the problem with the time frame, but Carolyn is right. Pitt has met, courted and wed Charlotte, had children, who are getting older. Aunt Vespasia should be getting older and frailer too. I think Gracie was 12 or 13 when she first entered the stories. She's old enough now to date and think about marriage.

If each book is taken separately it won't matter, but looking at the series as a continuing whole, it's not going to continue to work well unless she changes the background to reflect the times.

Do we know what years the series is suppose to portray? The William Monk series takes place after the Crimean War which started in 1854. Is Thomas Pitt earlier?

I think it's time she wrote about her own true crime; I always think William Monk is sort of her mouthpiece for that (the amnesia), but she has very dark material to draw from, I should think.

I read that one awhile back and can't remember it at all so maybe you're right! (After looking up a synopsis it's coming back to me somewhat.)

"Dark Assassin" (the latest in the Monk series) is sitting on top of my TBR stack. I hope it's good. Come to think of it, it's due back at the library in three days. I guess I better get cracking.

You have tickled my curiosity. What happened in her past? I looked up her bio and she referred to a bad time at some time in the distant past, and then said that she didn't want to talk about it.

This is an interesting thread.

I gave up on the Monk series long ago because they seemed so formulatic. Hester goes on and on about her role in the Crimea, Monk and the amnesia and so forth. I got bored with the repitition and the mystery part of the book wasn't strong enough to hold my interest.

The Pitt series was always enjoyable to me but now I am starting to wonder if this one too is hitting a corner. This series too, is predictable. Pitt hits a societal roadblock and Charlotte steps in, behind the scenes, with Aunt Vespasia's help (For indeed, she DOES know everyone.) and comes up with vital clues. Such a shame to see the books decline.

PAM

She was accused and tried for murder, wasn't she? Family or friend-my memory is niggling at childhood friend but I'm not sure.

here's a link with one story

Here is a link that might be useful: Anne Perry-past

Thanks for the link. That's a terrible thing to have in one's past. I can certainly understand her reluctance to talk about it.
A.

I was glad to see that the link mentioned Tathea. She also wrote a follow up to that called Come, Armageddon. I liked both of them a lot but had about come to the conclusion that it was a different Anne Perry because they are never included on the front pages of her mysteries that list her books. They are a sort of historical sci fi.

Just found this link. Peter Jackson's movie Heavenly Creatures was about the two girls and the murder.

http://library.christchurch.org.nz/Heritage/Digitised/ParkerHulme/

Here is a link that might be useful: Anne Perry Past