Junior barrister Daniel Pitt is quite annoyed that his colleague, Toby Kitteridge, is late for work. Shortly thereafter, a young police officer comes into the law offices of fford Croft and Gibson, asking for Daniel. He must come down to the morgue to identify a body that was found with one of his business cards in the victim’s pocket. Daniel’s annoyance with Kitteridge suddenly turns to fear as he believes he will be IDing his good friend.

Thus begins DEATH WITH A DOUBLE EDGE, the fourth installment in Anne Perry’s Daniel Pitt series. Longtime readers of Perry’s work will recognize her protagonist’s last name; Daniel is the son of Thomas Pitt, who has been featured in a long-running series with his wife, Charlotte. Upon entering the morgue, Daniel spots Kitteridge’s frumpy overcoat --- but when he approaches the body and the surgeon pulls back the sheet, he is shocked to see the face of another colleague of his, the much older Jonah Drake.

"No one who is wealthy or in a position of power seems to be trustworthy or above getting their hands dirty. It makes for another terrific mystery, and it’s wonderful to see Daniel Pitt grow into his own man."

Drake was found sliced up by what appears to be a sword in the Mile End area of London. Daniel understands that Mile End is a seedy and dangerous place at any time of day, but especially so at 2am, which is when the police claim Drake was found. He is asked by Marcus fford Croft to go through some of the recent and more controversial cases that Drake had worked on. To begin with, Daniel always found Drake to be a bit of a miserable loner, so he is surprised to learn from his assistant and others that he was a very nice, albeit private, man.

Daniel comes across a case involving a man accused of murder who Drake saved from hanging. Lionel Peterson was angry that his wife was never called to the stand to attest to his innocence, but he did not appear to have been put off enough to kill Drake. In another case, which his father urges him to stay far away from, Drake got an acquittal for Evan Faber, a wealthy young man who was accused of killing the popular Marie Wesley. It wasn’t so much about the murder victim as it was about Evan's father, a business owner and shipbuilder responsible for helping to build the UK’s fleet.

Daniel defies his father’s wishes and meets with Evan, who he ends up liking very much. They even go on a pub crawl one evening. The only difference is that Daniel ends up with a hangover, while Evan winds up dead in the morgue. His body was found in the same Mile End area as Drake’s, and he was killed in nearly the identical manner. It is apparent that Drake’s murder is tied to Evan's case. But what exactly is the connection? The story takes an ironic and unexpected twist, and soon Daniel’s entire family --- including his beloved mother, Charlotte --- is in all kinds of danger.

Anne Perry always includes a morality tale within her work that makes it so timely to the period and engaging. Here, it’s a depiction of the large difference in classes, much like a Dickens novel. No one who is wealthy or in a position of power seems to be trustworthy or above getting their hands dirty. It makes for another terrific mystery, and it’s wonderful to see Daniel Pitt grow into his own man.