Born in London in 1938, Anne Perry has had fantastic success as a writer, mostly of mysteries. At 15 she was convicted of participating in the murder of her best friend's mom. She was jailed for five years and changed her name. That crime was the basis for the critically acclaimed New Zealand film
Heavenly Creatures (1994), which brought the talents of Kate Winslet and director Peter Jackson to international attention. The names of the girls were fictionalized. Perry had nothing to do with the production. I just finished
Seven Dials, the 23rd of her 35 novels that feature Thomas and Charlotte Pitt as sleuths. While it does not transcend the genre as do Nelson DeMille's
The Gold Coast, Tami Hoag's
A Thin Dark Line and Louise Penny's
A Fatal Grace, it is fine work, a tale well told. Set in London circa 1892, the plot involves a standard staple - is a murder as obvious as it seems? What differentiates the story from most of the genre is the possible dire political implications. Pitt is sent to Egypt for a while to learn about the alleged murderess and her victim, which leads to a revelation which might incite war if not kept secret. Naturally, many natives are hostile to the invaders. There is a subplot that will have the reader wondering if the two will merge. The characters are astutely drawn. Gracie, the Pitt's plucky young housekeeper, is particularly endearing. Perry managed to make her accent, which I'm not sure is cockney, eminently readable. That is not easy. Recall Jim's slave dialect in Mark Twain's
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which is an extremely difficult read. In the first incarnation of my third book,
Killing, I employed almost strict Brooklynese for a few of the characters, wanting to writer the truest novel possible. Well, I caved when several friends said it was too hard to read. Anyway, back to Perry, who has won three major awards in the genre and received many other nominations. I now see why. 120 users at Amazon have rated
Seven Dials, forging to a consensus of 4.6 on a scale of five. I wouldn't go that high, as it conforms strictly to the genre, is a tad over-written and repetitive, and needs a bit more polish in spots. Still, the 330 pages of the paperback edition are a smooth read for the most part. The title refers to a poor, dangerous section of London that is now safe and modernized. I don't know if the incident at the heart of the matter actually occurred, but Perry infuses a surprising one that did happen ten years before the story begins. In 1882 Prime Minister William Gladstone ordered the bombing of Alexandria, which further stoked the hostility of the natives toward the Brits.
Although I don't like President Trump's tweeting, it has me wondering if its cessation would be a sign that he has become a politician. The last thing this country needs is another politician.
I guess the Giants are as bad as their record.
It was a second consecutive one-sale session for the floating book shop. My thanks to the elderly woman who purchased a collection of the early works of Isaac Asimov. Thanks also to Nell, who gave me a container of Parmesan cheese she bought for $1.49 at the dollar store. I declined, but she insisted.
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