Clemency Shaw, la esposa de un prominente doctor, ha muerto en un incendio. Pero el inspector Pitt tiene dudas sobre el origen del mismo, y, junto a su astuta esposa Charlotte, deberá recorrer una intrincada y siniestra red de pistas y personajes que van desde los más bajos fondos hasta los más selectos centros de poder...

This was a good story but not Perry's best. I enjoy Charlotte and Thomas Pitt and the way they work together on cases. Some of the characters in this one went into too long discourses over liberty, free speech and other things that just went on too long. I really liked that the first victim, Clemency, had found out about the type of people that were getting rich from getting rent from their slums. These were some of her very pious relatives. Could they be the murderers? ( )

arson murder traced to shame over slum ownership

This Charlotte & Thomas Pitt mystery involved Charlotte more than Inspector Pitt. Even Gracie, the maid, got into the sleuthing act--and was realistically helpful. Emily made her appearance, along with her new husband. He is growing into an added plus. The actual guilty party was indicted on a purely emotional basis. That didn't seem quite right, but I suppose that was the most one could expect in Victorian times. The local police complained throughout that Bow Street didn't need to be brought in to solve this case, but were never allowed to accept the necessity in the end.

I was surprised that in two or three instances Dr. Shaw's landlady was misnamed. I expect better of Perry's editing staff. All in all, I thought Perry should have taken the time to strengthen her plot and fix these errors. I expect too much, it seems. ( )

C'est toujours avec plaisir que l'on retrouve les enquêtes de Charlotte et Thomas Pitt. Celle-ci nous décrit les quartiers les plus pauvres de Londres, les propriétaires cupides et cyniques, ainsi que l'hypocrisie religieuse de certains grands bourgeois victoriens qui n'hésitent pas à tuer pour conserver leurs privilèges. On regrette cependant de longues conversations qui ralentissent le cours de l'intrigue, et une fin au contraire un peu trop rapidement expédiée. ( )