#Crime Fiction Book Review #One Fatal Flaw by #Anne Perry

Summary: One Fatal Flaw (Daniel Pitt Mystery #3) by Anne Perry

It is 1910 and a warehouse fire on the banks of the Thames has left one criminal dead and another charged with his murder. Convinced of his innocence, Jessie Beale begs barrister Daniel Pitt to defend the accused. It's a hopeless case - unless Daniel can find an expert witness, whose testimony on fire damage is so utterly convincing that any jury would believe him.

Daniel's friend Miriam fford Croft was taught by formidable forensic scientist Sir Barnabas Saltram, who has built his reputation on giving evidence of this kind. But when Saltram agrees to testify, thus saving an innocent man from the gallows, Daniel unwittingly starts a chain of events that has devastating consequences for all of them...(copied from Goodreads).

Book Review: One Fatal Flaw 

Lawyer Daniel Pitt is asked to defend a criminal in a case of arson and murder which seems cut-and-dried, only it escalates into another case. Two warehouses have burnt down and two murders have been committed exactly the same way. He calls upon experts on forensic science to present evidence of what really happened in these fascinatingly complex cases.

One Fatal Flaw by Anne Perry is number 3 and the last in Daniel Pitt Mysteries Series published by Ballantine Books. We follow new lawyer Daniel Pitt as he is asked to defend a known criminal in an arson-murder case. Soon there is an identical case, and they both seem disturbingly similar to a case 20 years ago. Daniel gets help from forensic scientist Miriam fford Croft as well as his powerful father, Thomas Pitt of Special Branch, to prove what really happened.

Secondary character Miriam fford Croft is an interesting female character with views that would fit right into the 2000s. She is well educated and is frustrated that women are not allowed to earn degrees in England 1910. I think she is hard working and an impressive character despite having had serious setbacks in her personal life. I was pleased to see she found a way to deal with her professional problems and I she is my favorite in this story.

The historical setting of this plot is London 1910 when English women were expected to marry. Education was considered a waste of time. Miriam fford Croft managed to complete her studies, but didn’t earn a degree because she was a woman. As Anne Perry’s books are set mainly in 1800s, there are elements of male prejudice against women in most of them. In One Fatal Flaw it is a prominent part of the plot, which I enjoyed a lot in the way I would a horror movie.

One Fatal Flaw (Daniel Pitt Mystery #3) by Anne Perry is a quick and easy read with an exciting plot set in a new century. The writing is vivid and the character building excellent. I enjoyed reading Triple Jeopardy #2 in Daniel Pitt Mysteries Series, just as it was released. One Fatal Flaw includes hints to previous stories, giving just enough info about characters for it to work excellently as a standalone as all other works of Anne Perry. I love Anne Perry’s unique cockney dialect writing, and the mystery element of Miriam’s personal life, which was revealed as a little gem right at the end. I am excited to read anything else she releases in future.

Fans of Anne Perry will love One Fatal Flaw. As will readers of historical crime fiction. Similar authors to explore might be C.S. Harris or Charles Finch.

Thank you to the local Public Library of Kristiansand for providing One Fatal Flaw which gave me the opportunity to share my honest review. All opinions are completely my own.

 

My rating: 5 stars / 5

Main reasons: Excellent plot, superb writing, great characters

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Book Details: (from Amazon)

Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Headline (April 16, 2020)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1472257316
ISBN-13: 978-1472257314

About The Author (from Amazon)

Anne Perry is the bestselling author of two acclaimed series set in Victorian England: the William Monk novels, including Dark Assassin and The Shifting Tide, and the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt novels, including The Cater Street Hangman, Calandar Square, Buckingham Palace Gardens and Long Spoon Lane. She is also the author of the World War I novels No Graves As Yet, Shoulder the Sky, Angels in the Gloom, At Some Disputed Barricade, and We Shall Not Sleep, as well as six holiday novels, most recently A Christmas Grace. Anne Perry lives in Scotland.

Author's website: http://www.anneperry.co.uk/