Death with a Double Edge by Anne Perry

Death with a Double Edge 
By Anne Perry
Ballantine Books, 2021

Anne Perry wrote thirty-two Victorian-era murder mystery adventure novels starring policeman Thomas Pitt and his wife Charlotte before she started writing murder mysteries starring Daniel Pitt, the son of Thomas and Charlotte. In these novels, George V is now king, and sleek black automobiles are starting to replace horse-drawn vehicles in London’s traffic. In one sense, young Daniel did not follow in his father’s footsteps: he’s become a lawyer rather than a cop. But in another sense, the family business continues: murder unerringly finds its way to Daniel’s doorstep. 

In his latest adventure, Death with a Double Edge, death finds Daniel because he left his calling card. A law firm colleague of his has been found in a Whitechapel alley, brutally stabbed to death, with one of Daniel’s business cards being the only identifying thing still left on the body. The police naturally inquire, but not only does Daniel have no idea why a colleague he barely knew would be carrying one of his cards but he also has no idea what a respectable senior partner engaged in hum-drum legal work would be doing in such a seedy part of town late at night. 

What unfolds from that intriguing-enough opening is a steadily-complicating and smoothly-told story, as any reader at this point should bloody well expect of an author who’s written 61 plot-driven novels. And given Daniel’s youth and inexperience, readers can also expect that some of his adventures will have their roots in the long career of his parents in saving the innocent and making powerful enemies. Such an extensive narrative backlog can be daunting, and readers will be grateful for the fact that Perry has compressing Pitt the Elder’s career down to a science:

He had begun his career as a constable on the beat and progressed upward through the ranks, solving many murders, the majority of them in high society. Even, at times, the aristocracy. A professional enemy had driven him out of the police, and he had been immediately taken up by Special Branch. Now most of his work he could not discuss with anyone, not even his own family.

If a brief description like this tempts you to wonder if Pitt the Younger can possibly be as interesting as his storied father, there’s a simple answer: no, he can’t. He’s still a callow law firm flunky, with barely a fraction of the grit, wit, or spirit of his parents. An adventure that concentrated entirely on Daniel would consist mostly of befuddlement and period details. 

So Perry makes the wise decision to involve his parents extensively in Death with a Double Edge. By the raw but curiously subdued conclusion, fans of the series will feel like they’re reading an adventure of the Pitt family (plus an unexpected canine addition) rather than one singular Pitt - hardly a bad thing.

Steve Donoghue is a founding editor of Open Letters Monthly. His book criticism has appeared in The Boston Globe, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and The American Conservative. He writes regularly for The National, The Vineyard Gazette, and The Christian Science Monitor. His website is http://www.stevedonoghue.com.