• Midnight at Marble Arch

  • Charlotte and Thomas Pitt, Book 28
  • By: Anne Perry
  • Narrated by: Davina Porter
  • Length: 12 hrs and 41 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (409 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Midnight at Marble Arch  By  cover art

Midnight at Marble Arch

By: Anne Perry
Narrated by: Davina Porter
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $21.49

Buy for $21.49

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

In this superbly accomplished new Charlotte and Thomas Pitt adventure, Anne Perry takes us beneath the glittering surface of wealthy Victorian society into a nightmare world of fear and intimidation, where women are too often blamed for the violent attacks against them, and powerful men take what they want, leaving others to pay the price.

The horrifying rape and apparent suicide of Catherine Quixwood, wife of a wealthy merchant banker, falls outside the new jurisdiction of Special Branch head Thomas Pitt, but so pervasively offensive are the rumors about the victim that Pitt quietly takes a hand in the investigation.

Yet even with the help of his ingenious wife, Charlotte, and his former superior, Victor Narraway, Pitt is stumped. Why did high-minded, cultured Catherine choose not to accompany her husband to a grand party on the night of her demise? Why did she dismiss all her servants for the evening and leave the front door unlocked? What had been her relationship with the young man seen frequently by her side at concerts and art exhibits? And what can be done to avenge another terrible crime: the assault on Angeles Castelbranco, beloved teenage daughter of the Portuguese ambassador?

©2013 Anne Perry (P)2013 Recorded Books

What listeners say about Midnight at Marble Arch

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    242
  • 4 Stars
    109
  • 3 Stars
    43
  • 2 Stars
    12
  • 1 Stars
    3
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    269
  • 4 Stars
    62
  • 3 Stars
    24
  • 2 Stars
    6
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    206
  • 4 Stars
    87
  • 3 Stars
    49
  • 2 Stars
    11
  • 1 Stars
    5

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Anne Perry at the Top of her Game

This is one of Anne Perry's best Pitt novels although the real start is Inspector Narroway. I have always like him and was sorry he was removed from Special Branch.

The story is about solving the slaying and rapes of prominent and not-so proiminent women in London. Special Branch gets involved as one of the women is the daughter of the Portunguese Ambassador. But it is Narraway with the aid of Lady Vespasia Cumming-Gould who do a lot of the dectective work All in all this is a great book in the series.

It is one of the best she has written in the Pitt series in quite awhile and I hope we see more of Narraway and Lady Vespasia in coming books.

Davina Porter is certainly one of the best narrators there and she is superb in her reading of this book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

A Detective Story Lacking the Detection

What would have made Midnight at Marble Arch better?

The book could have been better if there was less narrative about the consequences of rape (how would I feel if my wife, my daughter, my sister-in-law, my elderly friend was raped?... how would the violated woman feel?... how can I ensure my son won't become a rapist?... how would society treat the raped woman and her husband?... and on, and on, and on). The book is 6.5 hours long, and most of it was devoted to a discussion of the above. There was almost no detection happening and certainly no action (until the very last scene).

Has Midnight at Marble Arch turned you off from other books in this genre?

No. I will continue to read books by this author. Several of Ms. Perry's recent books have been filled with suspense, detection, and action, so I'm not giving up on her.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

The pace was fine. Ms. Porter's narration has been better, though. I felt that the character voices tended to merge a bit. In previous books, she did a better job of keeping the characters distinct.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Midnight at Marble Arch?

Too many to mention.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Another Excellent Pitt/Charlotte Story

"Midnight at Marble Arch" continues the improvement to the Pitt/Charlotte series which began in "Dorchester Terrace," in which the stories involving Pitt's career with Special Branch finally matched the quality of the novels concerning Pitt as a policeman. I think what made this book so enjoyable for me was the fact that Pitt's involvement in a series of crimes was not primarily in his role as Commander of Special Branch. Instead, he participated in the investigation clandestinely, outside of Special Branch. And the best thing about this book, for me, was that the crime was solved by the team of Pitt, Charlotte, Pitt's former boss Narraway (now Lord Narraway), and my favorite Perry character, Lady Vespasia Cumming-Gould.

Perry once again offers an intricate plot, involving several quite vicious rapes which may or may not be connected. The investigating characters spend a great deal of time and effort trying to figure out who, how, when and why, with the answers coming at the eleventh hour. But, as with most Perry novels, the ending is a just one even if not the happiest one. And I must say that the ending of the crime story involves one of Perry's best scenes of violent suspense.

My favorite characteristic of the Pitt/Charlotte books is the very well-researched and presented depiction of the place of upper-class women in the Victorian culture of England, and the restrictions and responsibilities placed upon them. In Midnight at Marble Arch, it is made quite clear that being raped may be the end of a Victorian woman's reputation and marriage prospects in life, so that even more than today women (or their fathers or husbands, who had all the power) refused to report such crimes and those women then had to try to live a normal life while hiding the terrific trauma of rape. They often could not live with it and committed suicide.

The final lovely development in the book is that Lady Vespasia and Lord Narraway are beginning to be quite fond of each other, and a loving relationship seems to be in offing.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Different Pitt mystery

I almost always enjoy Anne Perry's writing. I must say that Davina Porter's narration detracted for me from the story largely because I could rarely tell who was speaking. I have listened to a number of books narrated by Davina Porter and do not ever recall having this problem.

I found that I was constantly having to rewind a minute or two and listen again so that I could establish who was speaking. With Michael Page's narration, you always knew Victor Narraway's voice from Pitt's, and Aunt Vespasia's from Charlotte's. Since all four of these people figure prominently in this book, it was imperative to establish different character voices, and I don't think Porter succeeded.

From the way that the storyline proceeded, I understand that the sort of "cariacature" voice that Page established for Aunt Vespasia would not work when she became a major character (and a romantic interest!), but SOME major differentiation needed to be made.

This might be a book that you want to read in print.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

not enough Pitt and charlotte

I love this series read by Davina. sorta bummed that the story didn't have a lot of Pitt Charlotte and Emily like the first books. the story line was a little slow for me.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Preaching to the choir about rape

What would have made Midnight at Marble Arch better?

A single exposition on Victorian attitudes and practices regarding rape would have been sufficient. But it seemed that every character had to have a long explanation of how rape is handled, who it affects, the consequences, etc. And virtually no detecting

Has Midnight at Marble Arch turned you off from other books in this genre?

No, but I will be careful with this author if there are other social issues mentioned as being part of the plot. Perhaps violence towards women is a particular hot button issue for her.

What does Davina Porter bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

She has a lovely way of capturing the social graces with her phrasing and tone of voice.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Annoyance. Really. I started with the expected anger at the treatment of women but the repetitive drumming on this theme just distracted from any plot advancement. The whole mystery solving part of the book happened almost as an afterthought in the last couple chapters.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Good book in wonderful series!

Where does Midnight at Marble Arch rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Lower middle. This wasn't the best Pitt story but it was still well done.

What did you like best about this story?

Lady Vespasia Cumming-Gould and Victor Narraway's budding romance. We shall see what happens with them in the future.

What about Davina Porter’s performance did you like?

She did a wonderful job on both male and female voices. I thought she was very good.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Rape is rape.

Any additional comments?

This was not the best in the series and I think perhaps the author might think about retiring this one. When the children are becoming teenagers, it's time to go. I missed some of my favorite characters from this one. Sister Emily was barely in it, and no Gracie at all. The new girl is not so much fun.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

One of her best ever

I've listened to all of the Anne Perry books: Pitt and Monk. This is one of her best.

The tale is gripping. I couldn't stop listening. I did suspect some sort of the end, but kept changing as the facts presented themselves. In the end, I knew who, but not how or why, or even all the culprits! Marvelous twists that blew me away. I don't know how Ms Perry keeps coming up with such interesting and diabolical plots.. but I sure hope she doesn't stop!
Caution: This book deals with rape, as well as murder.. it isn't overly graphic though and treats the subject matter tactfully and carefully.

As always, Ms Porter is the best narrator for these books. She is so easy to follow and keeps the characters straight. I never have to guess who is speaking.

I would HIGHLY recommend this book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Interesting Mystery

Would you consider the audio edition of Midnight at Marble Arch to be better than the print version?

I don't know. I think I would have enjoyed the print version but I have no regrets at choosing the audiobook.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Midnight at Marble Arch?

I liked the interactions of the Pitt family--Thomas, Charlotte, Jemima and Daniel.

Which scene was your favorite?

I liked many scenes. I enjoyed Pitt's and Narroway's separate investigations, getting to see the inner workings of Victorian households. I also enjoyed the courtroom scenes.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I listened to it in two days. I was intrigued and wanted to know how it would end.

Any additional comments?

Davina Porter was a good narrator for this material. I have one fault to find with Anne Perry's style. The inner monologues of the characters go on for way too long. It was also a bit difficult listening to a book about rape. However, I enjoy the series and read all the books.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Starting out badly.....

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Sure I like Anne Perry's books.

Would you ever listen to anything by Anne Perry again?

Yes.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Davina Porter?

Probably.

Could you see Midnight at Marble Arch being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Would love to see Anne Perry's books made into TV series.

Any additional comments?

I find the first victim, the Portuguese diplomat's daughter, an unlikely one. There were 2-3 instances of this victim showing up at society parties where she runs into her tormentor and flips out. Considering people from this social strata attend the same parties, if the victim was raped and traumatized, is it reasonable for her to socialize at all afterwards? Not justifying the crime, but rather how likely is it that a traumatized victim would show up at a party after being attacked. At the least a concerned mother would have sent her back to Portugal or some place to protect her. The context of the first victim seems unreal and detracts from the story,

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful