My rating: 3 of 5 stars
The Search for Anne Perry by Joanne Drayton is a 2014 Arcade Publication. I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher and Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
I remember distinctly having a conversation with a friend on a popular book club site about how much we enjoyed the work of Anne Perry. Another member added that while her books were entertaining enough, Anne's personal history was what really peaked his interest. I had no idea what he referring to, so he began to elaborate. Like many people in this book, my initial reaction was that this man must have been confused. Of course I got onto the web and searched for "Anne Perry". I was shocked to learn that I was the once that was confused. I had never heard anything at all about this murder conviction. As I continued to research the story I finally put it together that Anne Perry was one of the girls that killed a woman in New Zealand. I had heard the story before, but I never put it together that one of my favorite historical mystery authors as in reality Juliett Hulme. The on line discussion about Anne's books had become heated by the time I checked back in to the book club. Some folks swore they would never read a book by Anne Perry, others felt she had paid her debt and was now leading a productive life. Still others waffled on whether or not she had really paid her debt because she only spent five years in prison. The debate may still be going on for all I know. I will confess to having some mixed feelings myself. By the time I discovered Anne's history I had developed a bond with Thomas and Charlotte Pitt and was also a fan of Anne's Christmas stories. So, since I had read so many of her books and really enjoyed them, I decided I was going to continue to read them.
When I saw this book listed on Edelweiss I couldn't pass it up. I wanted to know more about Anne as an adult and hopefully away from her crime. How did she manage to hide her true identity for long ? How did she get started writing novels? Why, with her history did she write murder mysteries? Had she ever married, did she date, have close friends? I couldn't wait to dive into this one. At this time I should tell anyone that is looking for a standard biography that this book isn't like that, really. Thankfully, the author didn't make the book about Anne's past by going over the crime itself. Instead, the author starts with the period in Anne's life when a film was being made about her crime and it sparked the interest of the media. For Anne this meant that she was finally "outed" as the infamous Juliett Hulme. What would her publisher think? What about her fans and readers?
It seems that while there were those that took the news hard, most people went right about their business and didn't really give it a great deal of thought. The books continued to sell and Anne continued to write and publishers continue to publish them. But what of those years after Anne was released from prison? Well, it seems Anne joined the Mormon church and lived by the strictures of the religion. She did have some relationships with men, but they usually ended after the truth came out and Anne always felt like she needed to be honest about that if the relationship began to grow serious. She did have close friends and later she became closer with her younger brother who even helped her with research for her books.
My impression of Anne is that she was a little eccentric at times, but she had learned to channel her imagination into a productive career and was basically a regular person constantly doing battle with her past. Most of those in Anne's inner circle were quite fond of her and always spoke highly of her. Yet, it is apparent that Anne still lived a very isolated life.
Did the author tone down the absolute horror of the crime Anne committed? Yes and no. Yes, she did because she failed to delve into it in detail and no, because it was at the heart of everything Anne did as an adult. Her life in prison was touched on and we do get the impression her time there was far more brutal than one might think.
The author also spent a lot of time giving the reader insight into Anne's books. From the Pitt series to the Monk series and various themes Anne touched on in these novels that could suggest a certain allegory between Anne's history and the characters in her books. This was interesting and could have been true to some extent. Some have been critical of the time spent talking about the books, but that is what Anne does for a living. It is huge part of her life I thought it should have been included.
Did I feel like I really learned anything about Anne personally? No, not really. I didn't really come away feeling I knew her any better than before. I learned some interesting facts about her, I learned a little about the publishing business and I gained some new insight into her books, but I don't feel like I got a real handle on who Anne Perry really is. By all accounts she is a very nice woman, still loyal to the Mormon church and still active in writing. She has lived a relatively normal and quiet life keeping a few people close to her and everyone else at arm's length.
I did get the feeling that there was a great deal of information left out of the book and yes, there was the impression that perhaps the author smoothed something over or gave into pressure and left out anything that could be construed as unflattering. This is an interesting read, but I wish it could have gone into some areas in more detail and I don't mean the murder. I'm not sure if anyone really gets too close to Anne or if anyone will ever get a handle on who she really is . We will probably never get a look at Anne in a deeply personal sense. So, it would seem that Anne will remain a mystery to most of us.
Overall I will give this one a C or 3 stars.