Anne Perry's latest Christmas novella follows Charlotte Pitt's mother, Caroline, as she travels up the Yorkshire coast with her husband, Joshua Fielding, and his troupe of actors. Their destination is Whitby, the famed landing site of Count Dracula in Bram Stoker's tale; the brooding, windswept fishing village is home to theatrical "Angel" Charles Netheridge.
Cleverly playing upon the idea of evil as something one has to invite in, Anne Perry delivers another thrilling, ultimately heart-warming tale just in time for Christmas.
"There's loads of atmosphere, plenty of Gothic steam, and a clever trick ending."
"Perry's fine ninth Victorian Christmas mystery takes Caroline Fielding, the mother-in-law of Inspector Thomas
Pitt of Scotland Yard (the lead of Perry's main series), to the town of
Whitby, in York, where Dracula came ashore in Stoker's recently
published horror novel…Caroline proves herself an astute sleuth in this challenging whodunit."
"Background on staging a play, plenty of vampire
lore, and the personal story of Caroline's attempt to fit in with her
much-younger husband's colleagues add to the appeal of this engaging
locked-room mystery."
"With careful attention to the nuances of character, Perry offers a tale worthy of mulling over by the fireplace."
