A Christmas Revelation

September 17, 2018
Bestseller Perry’s 16th Christmas-themed mystery (after 2017’s A Christmas Return) is disappointingly unsophisticated. Worm, a nine-year-old orphan in 1860s London, is thunderstruck by a woman he spots on the street, who was “like sudden sunshine on a dark day—the place you looked without even thinking about it, all light and warmth and softness.” Worm follows her only to see her accosted by two men, who lead her into an unfamiliar part of the city. Desperate to come to her rescue, he seeks help from Squeaky Robinson, a reformed brothel owner, who now serves as the bookkeeper for the clinic on the property formerly occupied by the brothel. Suspecting that Worm witnessed a domestic dispute, Squeaky is reluctant to get involved, but of course he ends up joining Worm in pounding the pavements in search of the woman. The mystery of her situation is quickly revealed, and the drama of resolving it plays out in purely predictable ways. Hopefully, Perry will exhibit her usual depth of character and intricacy of plotting next time. Agent: Donald Maass, Donald Maass Literary.

June 15, 2018

In this mystery with a twist, the orphaned Worm witnesses the kidnapping of a woman named Eloise days before Christmas and determines to save her. But Eloise doesn't want to be rescued; the kidnappers entrapped and murdered her father, and she plans to bring them to justice. Victorian London during the holidays.

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