Mystery

Cheryl Morgenstern
ILS 593
Genre Assignment 3

BOOK 1

GENRE: Mystery

TITLE: Seven Dials

AUTHOR: Anne Perry

PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 2003, Ballantine, 345 pages

SETTING: Action switches from London to Egypt during the Victorian era.

MAIN CHARACTERS: Thomas Pitt, police detective, recently transferred to the Special Branch. Charlotte Pitt, his wife.

OTHER CHARACTERS: Gracie, the Pitt’s servant, Narraway, Pitt’s boss, head of Special Branch, Ayesha Zakhari and Saville Ryerson, murder suspects. Edwin Lovat, the murder victim.

PLOT SUMMARY: Pitt must investigate the murder of minor diplomat. Normally Special Branch would not be involved. But Ryerson, an important British cabinet minister, was present and caught helping to remove the body. Ayesha, his mistress, confessed that the gun used belonged to her. No one wants Ryerson to be guilty. The political implications would be enormous. Pitt must travel to Alexandria, Egypt to unravel the lives of the mysterious Egyptian Ayesha, Lovat, who was stationed in Egypt during his military career, and how the two were connected. The story is full of twists and turns. Two distinct cases are tied together.

APPEAL: Seven Dials will appeal to lovers of Victorian-era British society mysteries. Also, Pitt and his wife end up working together as a team. So it may appeal to people who like husband/wife partnerships and strong women characters in a society where women were expected to be demure and remain at home. There are some graphic descriptions of the murder and other violent situations. No explicit sex.

SIMILAR AUTHORS: Sharon Newman, Laura Jo Rowland, Caleb Carr, Val McDermid (present day setting), Anthony Trollope




REFERENCES:

Moyer, J.A., & Stover, K.M. (2010). The Readers' advisory handbook. Chicago : American Library Association.

Novelist- http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=noh&tg=UI&an=502012&site=novelist-live

Saricks, J.G. (2009). The Readers' advisory guide to genre fiction: 2nd ed. Chicago: American Library Association.