Review: Anne Perry

Ever since 1979 when best-selling author Anne Perry introduced her characters Inspector Thomas Pitt and Charlotte Ellison Pitt in 'The Cater Street Hangman” she has enthralled readers with mystery and mayhem in evocative historical settings. And she has many intriguing methods that have led to her writing success for nearly 40 years.

One fascinating literary approach the British author uses is to 'work backwards.” She finds a subject she is passionate about, chooses a crime on which to base the story, and builds the narrative from end to beginning. Although many of her tales have historical settings, she addresses contemporary concerns in them. This is especially evident in the recent Pitt novel 'Murder on the Serpentine” where the good inspector, at the behest of Queen Victoria, takes on treason, extortion, homicide.

Over the years the award-winning writer has developed another famous series featuring British policeman-turned-private investigator William Monk. Witty, impertinent, and possessing an unwavering sense of justice, he is a prime example of a Perry character who reflects the Victorian era, and yet transcends it with his rule-breaking tendencies. Monk exemplifies what's best in the Victorian conscience. His dedication to justice and compassion for the deserving are hallmarks of Perry's main characters, and are pivotal in the recent 'Revenge in a Cold River.”

Perry has noted a vital element in her work is that characters are real to readers. Surprises in stories are good, she says, but the ability to identify with those in her novels is crucial. She succeeds in creating compelling characters caught up within unpredictable plots in authentic historical settings, accentuating her stories' messages.

She also has penned five World War I novels and a New York Times best-selling stand-alone, 'The Sheen on the Silk,” set in the Byzantine Empire. This September, Book 23 of the William Monk series, 'An Echo of Murder,” is set for release. Book 15 of her popular Christmas novellas, 'A Christmas Return,” will be released in November.