Pentecost Alley - Hardcover

Perry, Anne

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0449906353 ISBN 13: 9780449906354

Publisher: Ballantine Books Inc., 1996

Synopsis

After sending a man to the gallows for the murder of a Whitechapel prostitute two years after the ghastly crimes of Jack the Ripper, Superintendent Thomas Pitt is suddenly confronted with another chillingly similar killing that raises speculation that the wrong man had been convicted--or that the Ripper has returned. 75,000 first printing.

About this title

Review:

‘PENTECOST ALLEY demonstrates Perry’s trademark skill for enhancing well-designed mystery plots with convincing historical settings and cleverly drawn relationships... As Perry edges towards her surprise ending, she crafts her tale with elegance, narrative depth and gratifying scope’
Publishers Weekly

‘The Pitt books are characterised by well-observed period detail, a fascination with miscarriages of justice and the high drama of the law, and intense scrutiny of family secrets.’
Robert McCrum

‘Excellent period thriller... admirably well-written’
Guardian

From the Back Cover:

BUTCHERY IN THE BACKSTREETS

It is barely two years since the prostitutes of London's East End were terrorised by Jack the Ripper. Now in dismal 'Pentecost Alley' a killer is at work in Whitechapel once more. Not that the grisly murder of a mere whore is enough to merit the expertise of Superintendent Pitt of Bow Street. Society regards such women as less than human, deserving all they get. But beneath the mutilated body of the young girl there is a strange badge. The insignia proclaims it to be the emblem of the Hellfire Club, and on the back is engraved the name of Finlay FitzJames.

So begins Pitt's curious association with the wealthy and immensely influential FitzJames family: Augustus, the powerful bully of a father; bored, glamorous Tallulah, who swiftly befriends Pitt's energetic sister-in-law; and foppish Finlay, born into privilege and happy to make use of it. Pitt cannot afford to make one false move, for what Victorian jury would take the word of a common prostitute against that of a FitzJames?

"Excellent period thriller...admirably well written."
GUARDIAN.

"'Pentecost Alley' demonstrates Perry's trademark skill for enhancing well-designed mystery plots with convincing historical settings and cleverly drawn relationships."
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY.

"The 'Pitt Books' are characterised by well-observed period detail, a fascination with miscarriages of justice and the high drama of the law, and intense scrutiny of family secrets."
ROBERT MCCRUM.

About this edition

• Publisher: Ballantine Books Inc.
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0449906353
• ISBN 13: 9780449906354
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 405