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Nov 27, 2016maipenrai rated this title 1 out of 5 stars
I have never disliked an Anne Perry book as much as I did this one. I felt like I was reading a sermon or a Biblical parable. I have read over 70 of her mysteries and have enjoyed virtually every one. This was a story of good versus evil and choices of belief, not a mystery. Ms. Perry's history made me wonder about the theme based upon Ms. Perry's early history. "Born Juliet Marion Hulme; 28 October 1938 in Blackheath, London, the daughter of physicist Dr. Henry Rainsford Hulme, Perry was diagnosed with tuberculosis as a child and sent to the Caribbean and South Africa in hopes that a warmer climate would improve her health. She rejoined her family when she was 13 after her father took a position as Rector of Canterbury University College in New Zealand. In June 1954, at the age of 15, Hulme and her best friend Pauline Parker murdered Parker's mother, Honorah Rieper. Hulme's parents were in the process of separating and she was supposed to go to South Africa to stay with a relative. The two teenage friends, who had created a rich fantasy life together populated with famous actors such as James Mason and Orson Welles, did not want to be separated. On 22 June 1954, the girls and Honorah Rieper went for a walk in Victoria Park in their hometown of Christchurch. On an isolated path Hulme dropped an ornamental stone so that Rieper would lean over to retrieve it. Parker had planned to hit her mother with half a brick wrapped in a stocking. The girls presumed that one blow would kill her but it took more than 20. Parker and Hulme stood trial in Christchurch in 1954 and were found guilty on 29 August that year. As they were too young to be considered for the death penalty under New Zealand law at the time, they were convicted and sentenced to be detained at the discretion of the Minister of Justice. They were released separately five years later. Parker and Hulme are not believed to have had any contact since the trial. The events formed the basis for the 1994 film "Heavenly Creatures", in which Melanie Lynskey portrayed a teenage Pauline Parker and Kate Winslet the teenaged Juliet Hulme. At the time of the film's release, it was not generally known that mystery author "Anne Perry" was Juliet Hulme, whose identity was made public some months after the film's release. WIKI .... So, one of the queens of murder mysteries was a murderess. I have often wondered how Ms. Perry recovered and even thrived from the commission of such a brutal crime. Perhaps "A Christmas Message" gives some clues. Kristi & Abby Tabby