Bethlehem Road

A Member of Parliament has been murdered and his body left hanging on a lamp post on Tower Bridge.  Inspector William Pitt has been tasked with investigating it.  Was it a targeted murder, a random act, or an act of anarchists?

Meantime, Pitt's wife Charlotte has been to a meeting of women suffragettes, who are demanding the right to vote.  Unfortunately an argument broke out amongst some of the women and a melee ensued.

When a second MP is killed in the same place in the same manner, Pitt is left wondering if it is the actions of a lunatic, a copycat murder or was the first victim a case of mistaken identity?  It is later during his investigation that fingers start to point to a possibility that a suffragette could be the culpable one. 

Pitt's investigation leads to a woman who had a conflict with one of the MPs.  This in turn brings his wife, Charlotte, into the case because the suspect is the niece of a friend of her great-aunt, Vespasia.  They set out to create their own investigation.

When a third MP is murdered in similar circumstances and location the police are left scratching their collective heads.  Pitt has his suspicions, but no evidence.  Charlotte and her fellow investigators are at a loss, too.

When one of the MPs offers to act as a decoy in a sting operation, the police take him up.  Unfortunately the MP shoots the assassin moments after the attempt is made on his life.  Pitt is left with niggling questions.  Will his visit to Bedlam help him find the answers?

Author Anne Perry once again presents a well written Victorian murder mystery.