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Editorial Content for Three Debts Paid: A Daniel Pitt Novel

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Ray Palen

The legendary Anne Perry is a stalwart of the British historical mystery. Readers of her fine work can be guaranteed of the following each and every time: a perfectly plotted story, believable three-dimensional characters, and a novel with heart and a morally driven theme at its center. But don’t be fooled. In no way are these cozy tales, and Perry is not afraid to take dark turns when necessary.

THREE DEBTS PAID is the fifth novel starring Daniel Pitt, whose parents are Thomas and Charlotte Pitt. When the book opens, Daniel’s assistant, Impney, tells him that his old professor, Nicholas Wolford, was at their office wanting to meet with him. Wolford had written a book about the French Revolution and was accused by another writer of plagiarism. He ended up striking this other man violently in the face at a public setting. Daniel asks if Wolford would apologize; he would, but only for hitting him, not for refuting the accusation.

"Perry has another winner on her hands. Once again she is not afraid to show the dark side of the human condition, and she does so with such impeccable style."

Meanwhile, Daniel is working closely with friends Miriam fford Croft, one of the first female pathologists in London, and Eve Hall, who is assisting her. They are busy with the first of what will be three corpses, all victims of the “Rainy-day Slasher.” Each of their index fingers has been torn off of the dominant hand. This is being kept a secret so that the newspapers don’t find out and indirectly let the killer know that the investigation team is on to his or her methods.

What sets Anne Perry apart from other writers is her way with words. Here is a passage describing Miriam and Eve as they work on this complex case: “The younger woman with the bright hair had opened a door in his mind and showed him a small, lonely world where perspectives shifted, and things assumed utterly different shapes. Reasons formed where there had previously been none. And then they dissolved into smoke, obscuring the sense of other things, leaving a dark confusion so that nothing was recognizable anymore. Was that what madness was like?”

While Daniel is preparing for Woolford’s trial, his client states that the murder victims were most likely killed for something external, a common circumstance each of them shared. This gives Daniel reason to pause --- not so much for what Woolford said, but why he said it. The Slasher case itself takes an unexpected turn, and suddenly the work that the pathologists have been doing is getting hushed up.

Perry has another winner on her hands. Once again she is not afraid to show the dark side of the human condition, and she does so with such impeccable style.

Teaser

A serial killer is roaming the streets of London, and Daniel Pitt’s university chum Ian, now a member of the police, is leading the search. The murders happen on rainy nights, but Ian knows the victims must have something in common beyond the weather. He turns to Miriam fford Croft, Daniel’s good friend and now officially one of the first female pathologists in London, to tap her scientific know-how to find details he and Daniel have missed. With Miriam involved in the murder investigation, Ian passes Daniel the case of Nicholas Wolford, their former university professor. Charged with assault after reacting violently to an accusation of plagiarism, Wolford is loath to admit he was in the wrong. But Daniel must defend him --- whether he likes him or not.

Promo

A serial killer is roaming the streets of London, and Daniel Pitt’s university chum Ian, now a member of the police, is leading the search. The murders happen on rainy nights, but Ian knows the victims must have something in common beyond the weather. He turns to Miriam fford Croft, Daniel’s good friend and now officially one of the first female pathologists in London, to tap her scientific know-how to find details he and Daniel have missed. With Miriam involved in the murder investigation, Ian passes Daniel the case of Nicholas Wolford, their former university professor. Charged with assault after reacting violently to an accusation of plagiarism, Wolford is loath to admit he was in the wrong. But Daniel must defend him --- whether he likes him or not.

About the Book

A killer is on the loose, targeting victims with a mysterious connection that young barrister Daniel Pitt must deduce before more bodies pile up, in this intricately woven mystery from New York Times bestselling author Anne Perry.

A serial killer is roaming the streets of London, and Daniel Pitt’s university chum Ian, now a member of the police, is leading the search. The murders happen on rainy nights, but Ian knows the victims must have something in common beyond the weather. He turns to Miriam fford Croft, Daniel’s good friend and now officially one of the first female pathologists in London, to tap her scientific know-how to find details he and Daniel have missed.

With Miriam involved in the murder investigation, Ian passes Daniel the case of Nicholas Wolford, their former university professor. Charged with assault after reacting violently to an accusation of plagiarism, Wolford, a proud, boastful man, is loath to admit he was in the wrong. But Daniel must defend him --- whether he likes him or not.

As the murders continue with no clue as to who is committing them, Miriam, Daniel and Ian find themselves questioning everything. Is the “Rainy-day Slasher,” as the newspapers have dubbed the killer, really just one person? Or have the investigators stumbled into a more complicated web of deceit? The answer may lie closer than anyone could have expected.

Audiobook available, read by Samuel Roukin