London, 1868. As the Christmas season begins, Claudine Burroughs feels little joy in its endless social calls and extravagant events. Working at a clinic for desperate women has opened her eyes to a different world.
Then her two worlds collide. A prostitute smuggled into a grandiose Christmas party is found brutally beaten. Poet Dai Tregarron stands accused. But Dai insists he was trying to protect her from the violence of three young men. Claudine believes him, but with society closing ranks against him, how can she prove his innocence without risking everything?
Then her two worlds collide. A prostitute smuggled into a grandiose Christmas party is found brutally beaten. Poet Dai Tregarron stands accused. But Dai insists he was trying to protect her from the violence of three young men. Claudine believes him, but with society closing ranks against him, how can she prove his innocence without risking everything?
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Reviews
'Delightful . . . The perfect gift for a whodunit addict who likes to curl up with a good book after Christmas lunch'
'A bite-sized mystery that could be fitted in after your Christmas lunch'
The tale is redolent with Victorian atmosphere, from the hypocritical snobbishness to the rigid social conventions of the time
Dickens would have approved of this short, but satisfying story that offers much more than turkey and tinsel
Christmas is traditionally a time of hope and heart and there is plenty of both on offer in Anne Perry's small but beautifully formed winter... Perry plumbs the dark underside of both the higher and lower echelons of Victorian society to bring us a Christmas cracker full of rich storytelling, classic conundrums, timeless life lessons and the gift of forgiveness
A gripping tale of good and evil that shines a light on the hypocrisy of society in Victorian London
