Charlotte & Thomas Pitt Books
"An ingenious mystery and an excellent example of manners and caste systems of the Victorian era." THE CHATTANOOGA TIMES While the Ellison girls were out paying calls and drinking tea like proper Victorian ladies, a maid in their household was strangled to death. The quiet and young Inspector Pitt investigates the scene and finds no one above suspicion. As his intense questioning causes many a composed facade to crumble, Pitt finds himself couriously drawn to pretty Charlotte Ellison. Yet, a romance between a society girl and so unsuitable a suitor was impossible in the midst of a murder....
"Murder fans who prefer their crimes with a touch of class should heat some scones and nestle back for the afternoon." ATLANTA JOURNAL & CONSTITUTION Murders just didn't take place in fashionable Callander Square, so Inspector Pitt's well-bred wife Charlotte couldn't resist finding out why one had. Suddenly there she was, rattling the closets of the very rich, listening to backstair gossip, and unearthing truths that could push even the most proper aristocrat to murder....
"Perry has the great gift of making it all seem immediate and very much alive." THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER In the posh London street of Paragon Walk, a young woman is brutally raped and murdered. Once again the incomparable team of sleuths, Inspector Thomas Pitt and his young wife, Charlotte, peer beneath the elegant masks of the well-born suspects and reveal that something ugly lurks behind the handsome facades of Paragon Walk--something that could lead to more scandal, and more murder....
What an odd sight! The dead body of a peer of the realm sitting upright in an empty hansom cab. He had been decently buried once before, Inspector Pitt knew. There was something terrible amiss. Despite doctor's claims of death by natural causes, Pitt insisted on serious digging to unearth the truth--even if it killed him.
"When Anne Perry puts Thomas and Charlotte Pitt on the case, we are in exemplary Victorian company." THE NEW YORK TIMES When Charlotte Pitt, well-born wife of Thomas Pitt, the police investigator, learned of her mother's distress in losing a locket with a compromising picture, she did not know it was the beginning of several bizarre events that would end in sudden death. For hidden behind the sumptuous elegance of Ruthland Place were terrible secrets. Secrets so horrifying that only murder could conceal them. And only the dogged persistence of Charlotte and Thomas could reveal them....
When an upper-class boy is found violated and dead in London's most dangerous slums, Inspector Pitt is shocked. But when the Waybournes, the boy's family, refuse to answer the police's questions, Inspector Pitt begins to wonder what secrets they were trying to hide. His wife and helpmeet, Charlotte, is determined to find out--even it if means tearing down the facades of an oh-so-proper family.... "The period detail remains fascinating, and [Perry's] grasp of Victorian character and conscience still astonishes." THE CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER
"Give her a good murder and a shameful social evil, and Anne Perry can write a Victorian mystery that would make Dickens's eyes pop." NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW When a doctor is found brutally murdered, even the neighborhood's most hardened residents are stunned. But three more bodies are found, killed the same inexpert way, and Inspector Thomas Pitt and his wife Charlotte race against time to find the killer, as a treacherous mystery unfolds. No one, not the lowest brand of ruffian or the most established aristocrat, will come out unscathed....
"A detailed period puzzler suffused with atmosphere, emotion, and suspense!" BOOKLIST When George March, a womanizing aristocrat, is found dead over his morning coffee, his wife Emily is accused of murder. But Emily's sister is none other than the indomitable Charlotte Pitt. Together, she and her husband, Inspector Thomas Pitt, take on the seemingly irreproachable March clan--and uncover an insidious web of corruption and depravity that leads them from the elegant Crescent town house to the hideous London slumbs, from genteel society to murder--again.
When Inspector Thomas Pitt is asked to reopen a three-year-old murder case which had taken place in London's luxurious Hanover Close, he knows that his superiors want him to smooth things over. But that is just not the way Pitt operates. With his wellborn wife, Charlotte, to aid him in penetrating the well-known reserve of high society, the inquisitive Pitts discover a secret so shocking it would lead to more deaths--and, quite possibly -- Pitt's own.... "[A] complex, gripping and highly satisfying mystery...An adroit blend of thick London atmosphere and a convincing cast...A totally surprising yet wonderfully plausible finale." PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
He might be elegant, but there's no mistaking it--the gentleman tied to the lamppost on Westminster Bridge is definitely dead. Before Inspector Thomas Pitt can even speculate on why anyone should want to kill the eminent M.P., Sir Lockwood, a colleague of his, meets the same fate at the same spot. The public is outraged, and clever Charlotte Pitt, Thomas's well-born wife, helps her hard-pressed husband by scouting society's drawing rooms for clues to these appalling crimes. Meanwhile, another victim is being stalked.... "Mrs. Perry once again demonstrates her true and lively passion....Her finely drawn characters couldn't be more comfortable within the customs and sensibility of their historical period." THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW
"Perry gets the Victorian mood just right...Settle in with this one on a rainy day." BOOKLIST Clemency Shaw, the wife of a prominent doctor, has died in a tragic fire. But whether the blaze was set by an arsonist aiming for the doctor, or set by the doctor himself, Inspector Thomas Pitt isn't certain. With the scarcity of clues, Pitt turns to Clemency's stuffy, but distinguished, relatives. Meanwhile, Pitt's wellborn wife, Charlotte, retraces the dangerous path that Clemency walked the last months of her life, and finds herself enmeshed in a sinister web that stretches from the lowest slums to the loftiest centers of power....
When an obscure moneylender named William Weems is murdered in the humble Clerkenwell district, there are no mourners—and there is more than a little discreet rejoicing among those whose meager earnings he so mercilessly devoured. Yet when Inspector Pitt finds in the murdered man’s office a list containing the names of some of London’s most distinguished gentlemen, he begins to realize the magnitude of his duty. William Weems, it transpires, was no common usurer but a vicious blackmailer. Fortunately, Pitt’s clever, well-born wife, Charlotte, has entrée to London’s best society. Her insights prove to be invaluable to Pitt’s investigation as she observes, at glittering balls and over gossipy tea tables, a world of passion, power, and greed that the police are seldom permitted to see.
"Gripping and intense...Her characters are authentically and appealingly drawn, and her plot is sinister." BOOKLIST When a distinguished judge dies of opium poisoning, the crucifixion five years before of Kingsley Blaine is brought back into the public eye, and it is screaming for revenge. The police had arrested a Jewish actor, who was soon condemend to hang. Police Inspector Thomas Pitt, investigating the judge's death, is drawn into the sensational murder, because it appears the judge was about to reopen the earlier case. He receives curiously little help from his colleagues on the force, but his wife, Charlotte, gleans from her social engagements startling insights into the women in both cases. And slowly both Thomas and Charlotte begin to reach the same sinister and deeply dangerous truth.... SELECTED BY THE BOOK-OF-THE-MONTH CLUB
Not since the bloody deeds of Jack the Ripper have Londoners felt such terror as that aroused by the gruesome beheadings in Hyde Park. And if newly promoted Police Superintendent Thomas Pitt does not quickly apprehend the perpetrator, he is likely to lose his own head, professionally speaking. Yet even with the help of Charlotte Pitt's subtle investigation, the sinister violence continues unchecked. And in a shocking turn of events that nearly convinces the pair of sleuths that they have met their match, the case proves to be Pitt's toughest ever . . . . "Very satisfying, a lovely way to spend a rainy spring weekend." -- USA Today "Thrilling . . . [Perry's] understanding of the historically rich period enables her to devise a plot true to its time yet timeless in its approach to human nature." -- The Orlando Sentinel
"In combination with her meticulous research, Ms. Perry's infallible feeling for the historical moment yields animated political debate over the colonization of Africa, glittering views of Victorian society at play and tantalizing glimpses of a confident, assertive creature known as the 'new woman.'" --The New York Times Book Review Someone in the Colonial Office is passing secrets to Germany about England's African strategy. While Police Superintendent Thomas Pitt investigates this matter of treason, he is quietly looking into the tragic "accidental" death of his childhood mentor, Sir Arthur Desmond. Pitt believes he was murdered, and that the crime is connected with the treachery in the government. He is making little progress, until a second murder reverberates through London. In the small hours of a May morning, a Thames waterman finds the strangled body of an aristocratic society beauty floating near lonely Traitors Gate. Only then do hard-pressed Pitt and his clever wife, Charlotte, begin to untangle the threads of passion and intrigue, to see clearly the pattern of tragedy and frightening evil that Pitt must deal with, at the risk of his career--and his life. "In the tradition of Margaret Millar and Ruth Rendell, Perry saves her largest, tastiest revelation for the very last paragraphs." --Los Angeles Times "First rate. . . The saga of Charlotte and Thomas is always a delight." --Mostly Murder
"DIFFICULT TO PUT DOWN . . . Descriptive, evocative, and always precise . . . The mystery plot is tricky and beautifully paced." *The Virginian-Pilot The ritual murder of a prostitute named Ada McKinley in a bedroom on decrepit Pentecost Alley would ordinarily occasion no stir in Victoria's great metropolis. But, under the victim's body, the police find a Hellfire Club badge inscribed with the name Finlay Fitzjames--a name that instantly draws Superintendent Thomas Pitt into the case. Finlay's father *immensely wealthy, powerful, and dangerous *refuses to consider the possibility that his son has been in Ada McKinley's bed. The implication is clear: Pitt is to arrest someone other than Finlay Fitzjames for Ada's demise. But Thomas Pitt is not a man to be intimidated, and with the help of his quick-witted wife, Charlotte, he stubbornly pursues his investigation *one that twists and turns like London's own ancient streets. . . . "Stands as one of her most intricately constructed plots . . . Perry packs a triple wallop into the final pages, one climax following another." *Chicago Sun-Times "Vibrant . . . Alluring." *The New York Times Book Review A MAIN SELECTION OF THE BOOK-OF-THE-MONTH CLUB
With every book she writes, Anne Perry, the supreme enchanter among historical novelists, contributes a mesmerizing new chapter to her magical re-creation of Victorian England. Here, she abandons London's cobblestone streets and exclusive drawing rooms for a great country house, Ashworth Hall, where a fateful secret conference is about to begin. The gathering has the appearance of a smart autumn house party -- stunning womena and powerful men enjoying a few days of leisurely pleasure in a setting of exquisite beauty. In fact, the guests are Irish Protestants and Catholics gathered in a reluctant parley over home rule for Ireland, a problem that has plagued the British Isles since the reign of Elizabeth I. When the meeting's moderator, government bigwig Ainsley Greville, is found murdered in his bath, the negotations seemed doomed. Superintendent Thomas Pitt of Scotland Yard almost despairs as divorce proceedings involving the great Irish Nationalist leader Charles Stewart Parnell and his mistress, Kitty O'Shea, become an open scandal. To make matters worse, it seems the late Greville himself may have had a less than savory personal life. The surviving guests -- six men and five women -- unleash their true feelings, or perhaps only pretend to do so. Their servants follow suit. Unless Pitt and his clever wife, Charlotte, can root out the truth, simmering passions above and below stairs may again explode in murder, the hopeful home rule movement may collapse, and civil war may destroy Ireland. Never before has Pitt borne such terrible responsibilities, and never has Charlotte been less able to share them. From the Hardcover edition.
In London's affluent Brunswick Gardens, the battle over Charles Darwin's revolutionary theory of evolution intensifies as the respected Reverend Parmenter is boldly challenged by his beautiful assistant, Unity Bellwood--a "new woman" whose feminism and aggressive Darwinism he finds appalling. When Unity, three months pregnant, tumbles down the staircase to her death, superintendent Thomas Pitt is virtually certain that one of the three deeply devout men in the house committed murder. Could it have been the Reverend Parmenter, his handsome curate, or his Roman Catholic son? Pitt and his clever wife, Charlotte, refuse to settle for less than the truth--and justice. . . .
The freshly dead body sprawled on the Bedford Square doorstep of General Brandon Balantyne is an affront to every respectable sensibility. The general denies all knowledge of the shabbily dressed victim who has so rudely come to death outside his home. But Superintendent Thomas Pitt cannot believe him. For in the dead man's pocket he finds a rare snuffbox that recently graced the general's study. He must tread lightly, however, lest his investigation trigger a tragedy of immense proportions, ensnaring honorable men like flies in a web. Pitt's clever wife, Charlotte, becomes his full partner in probing this masterpiece of evil, spawned by an amorality greater than they can imagine . . .
For superintendent Thomas Pitt, the sight of the dead man riding the morning tide of the Thames is unforgettable. He lies in a battered punt drifting through the morning mist, his arms and legs chained to the boat's sides. He is clad in a torn green gown and flowers bestrew his battered body. Pitt's determined search for answers to the victim's identity leads him deep into London's bohemia to the theatre where beautiful Cecily Antrim is outraging society with her bold portrayal of a modern woman--and into studios where masters of light and shadow are experimenting with the fascinating new art of photography. But only Pitt's most relentless pursuit enables him to identify the wildfire passions raging through this tragedy of good and evil, to hunt down the guilty and protect the innocent.
THE WHITECHAPEL CONSPIRACY is “a beauty, brilliantly presented, ingeniously developed and packed with political implications that reverberate on every level of British society.” – The New York Times Book Review In 1892, the grisly murders of Whitechapel prostitutes by a killer dubbed Jack the Ripper remain a terrifying enigma. And in a packed Old Bailey courtroom, Superintendent Thomas Pitt’s testimony causes distinguished soldier John Adinett to be sentenced to hang for the inexplicable murder of a friend. Instead of being praised for his key testimony, Pitt is removed from his station command and transferred to Whitechapel, one of the East End’s most dangerous slums. There he must work undercover investigating alleged anarchist plots. Among his few allies are his clever wife, Charlotte, and intrepid Gracie, the maid who can travel unremarked in Whitechapel. But none of them anticipate the horrors to be revealed. . . . “ONE OF HER BEST MYSTERIES EVER . . . You can’t put this book down. . . . Each scene, each encounter takes on a many-layered resonance.” – The Providence Sunday Journal “A POWERHOUSE OF A HISTORY-MYSTERY . . . Reading Perry is a bit like reading Thackeray edited by Elmore Leonard.” –Booklist (starred review)
For many years Anne Perry’s magnificent novels have transported millions of readers into the very heart of one of the richest, most vibrant societies the world has ever known: England in the golden ages of Queen Victoria. Gaslight, cobblestones, halls of power, haunts of vice–all the splendor and sordidness of a world that believed the opulence would last forever. But now, toward the end of her long reign, Victoria’s gold is tarnishing. With a general election fast approaching, a deep rift separates aristocratic Tories from the Liberal opposition. The powerful Inner Circle–a secret society of men sworn to support each other above all other loyalties–is committed to seizing one critical seat in Parliament, a first step towards the achievement of sinister secret ambitions. Passions are so enflamed that Thomas Pitt, shrewd mainstay of the London police, has been ordered to forego his long awaited vacation, not to solve a crime, but to prevent a national disaster. The Tory candidate is Pitt’s archenemy, Charles Voisey, a ruthless leader in the Inner Circle. The Liberal candidate is Aubrey Serracold, whose wife’s passionate committment to the Socialist agenda may hurt his chances. Equally damaging is her dalliance with spiritualism. Indeed, she is one of the three participants in a late-night séance that becomes the swan song of stylish clairvoyant Maude Lamont. For the next morning, the maid finds Lamont’s brutally murdered body in the séance room of the house on Southampton Row. To Pitt’s heavy burdens is now added the investigation of this most baffling crime. Meanwhile, his wife, Charlotte, and their children are enjoying the country vacation that Pitt has been denied–unaware that they, too, are deeply endangered by the same fanatical forces hovering over the steadfast Pitt. In this riveting new Thomas and Charlotte Pitt novel, Anne Perry again proves herself a sorceress who transcends time and change, a master without parallel of the dazzling milieu she has so memorably made her own.
Thomas Pitt, mainstay of Her Majesty’s Special Branch, is summoned to Connaught Square mansion where the body of a junior diplomat lies huddled in a wheelbarrow. Nearby stands the tenant of the house, the beautiful and notorious Egyptian woman Ayesha Zakhari, who falls under the shadow of suspicion. Pitt’s orders are to protect—at all costs—the good name of the third person in the garden: senior cabinet minister Saville Ryerson. This distinguished public servant, whispered to be Ayesha’s lover, insists that she is as innocent as Pitt himself is. Pitt’s journey to uncover the truth takes him from Egyptian cotton fields to the insidious London slum called Seven Dials, to a packed London courtroom where shocking secrets will at last be revealed. From the Hardcover edition.
Anne Perry’s bestselling Victorian novels offer readers an elixir as addictively rich as Devonshire cream or English ale–enticing millions into a literary world almost as real as the original. While flower sellers, costermongers, shopkeepers, and hansom drivers ply their trades, the London police watch over all. Or so people believe. . . . Early one morning, Thomas Pitt, dauntless mainstay of the Special Branch, is summoned to Long Spoon Lane, where anarchists are plotting an attack. Bombs explode, destroying the homes of many poor people. After a chase, two of the culprits are captured and the leader is shot . . . but by whom? As Pitt delves into the case, he finds that there is more to the terrorism than the destructive gestures of misguided idealists. The police are running a lucrative protection racket, and clues suggest that Inspector Wetron of Bow Street is the mastermind. As the shadowy leader of the Inner Circle, Wetron is using his influence with the press to whip up fears of more attacks–and to rush a bill through Parliament that would severely curtail civil liberties. This would make him the most powerful man in the country. To defeat Wetron, Pitt finds that he must run in harness with his old enemy, Sir Charles Voisey, and the unlikely allies are joined by Pitt’s clever wife, Charlotte, and her great aunt, Lady Vespasia Cumming-Gould. Can they prevail? As they strive to prevent future destruction, nothing less than the fate of the British Empire hangs in precarious balance. From the first sentence to the last, Long Spoon Lane is a miracle of suspense, of plot and counterplot, bluff and counterbluff, in a take-no-prisoners battle between good and evil. It is possibly the very best of all the wonderful Charlotte and Thomas Pitt novels. From the Hardcover edition.
Anne Perry’s Charlotte and Thomas Pitt mysteries are perhaps the best loved of all her Victorian bestsellers, luring us into the multilayered richness of London, from the great mansions and secluded drawing rooms to the city’s festering slums. Now, in her most mesmerizing novel yet, she invites us to a house-party at Buckingham Palace. The Prince of Wales has asked four wealthy entrepreneurs and their wives to the palace to discuss a fantastic idea: the construction of a six-thousand-mile railroad that would stretch the full length of Africa. But, alas, the prince’s gathering proves disastrous when the mutilated body of a prostitute hired for a late-night frolic (after the wives have retired to bed) turns up among the queen’s monogrammed sheets in a palace linen closet. With great haste, Thomas Pitt, brilliant mainstay of Special Services, is summoned to resolve the crisis. The Pitts’ cockney maid, Gracie, is also recruited–to pose as a palace servant and listen in on the guests’ conversations, scan their bedrooms, and scrutinize their troubled faces for clues to hidden rivalries and attachments that could have lead to murder. If Pitt and Gracie fail to find out who brutally murdered the young woman–as seems increasingly likely–Pitt’s career will be over, and the scandal may just cause the monarchy to fall. With a cast of wonderful characters, among them the gentle Princess of Wales, and a twisting plot that takes us into the hidden world of the royal family, Anne Perry probes deeply the hearts of men and women ensnared by their own emotions. Never has this distinguished novelist told a story with more truth and passion.
Another fantastic Pitt novel from the master storyteller of the Victorian mystery.1895 and an increasingly violent tide of political unrest is rising fast all over Europe. Special Branch's Inspector Thomas Pitt knows that they must find those responsible before England is overrun by reformists intent on overthrowing the government. When he finds himself in pursuit of a suspected terrorist, Pitt has no hesitation in following the chase all the way to France.But events take a sinister turn when Narraway, Pitt's superior, is accused of involvement in the death of an Irish informant and abruptly removed from office. Aware that her husband's own career is also in jeopardy if he is not reinstated, Pitt's wife Charlotte determines to help Narraway clear his name.As Charlotte and Narraway depart for Ireland and Pitt is drawn deeper into the investigation in France, it becomes clear that outside forces have conspired to separate them at a crucial time in the country's history. With no one else to trust can they make it back to England and stop the revolt before it's too late?
Anne Perry’s acclaimed Charlotte and Thomas Pitt novels have made London’s exclusive world of wealth and power an addictive literary destination for readers everywhere. This new masterpiece, a haunting story of love and treason, invites us not only into the secret places of Britain’s power but also into the innermost sanctums of the fin de siø¨cle Austro-Hungarian Empire.Thomas Pitt, once a lowly policeman, is now the powerful head of Britain’s Special Branch, and some people fear that he may have been promoted beyond his abilities. He, too, feels painful moments of self-doubt, especially as rumors reach him of a plot to blow up connections on the Dover-London rail lineon which Austrian duke Alois Habsburg is soon to travel to visit his royal English kin.Why would anyone destroy an entire train to kill one obscure Austrian royal, or are the rumors designed to distract Pitt from an even more devastating plot? He must resolve this riddle at
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY RT BOOK REVIEWS 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 jurisdiction of new 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? As an ordinary policeman, Pitt used to enter London’s grand houses through the kitchen door. Now, as a guest in those same houses, can he find the steel in his soul to challenge the great men of the world with their crimes? The path to the truth takes him in deeply troubling directions, from the lofty world of international politics and finance to his own happy home, where his own teenage daughter, Jemima, is coming of age in a culture rife with hidden dangers. In this rich, emotionally charged masterpiece, Anne Perry exposes yet another ugly secret of Victoria’s proud empire. And in a courtroom battle of unparalleled brilliance, we thrill at the chance to witness a massive wrong righted. Praise for Midnight at Marble Arch “Sweeping and scandalous . . . Perry has perfected a delicate touch.” — The New York Times Book Review “Fresh and vibrant . . . Perry captures Victorian England with flair, and her storyline is fascinating.” —Wichita Falls Times Record News “Perry is a master at illuminating the wrongs of the Victorian age.” — Booklist (starred review) “Bestselling author Perry continues her Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series with another splendid success. She is so familiar with life at this time that history, attitudes and culture are slipped in seamlessly so the reader sees the world as Victorians did. Not only are Inspector Pitt and his wife fully realized, their circle of friends and acquaintances also feel real and alive. This is a series to read from the beginning.” — RT Book Reviews (Top Pick) “May be [Perry’s] most intense and thrilling novel to date . . . Midnight at Marble Arch is stunning and insightful from start to finish.” —Bookreporter “This book is packed with intrigue.” —The Huffington Post “The monsters Anne Perry creates are not easy to live with, and their actions linger long after the book is closed.” —New York Journal of Books “Engrossing . . . intriguing . . . Perry does a nice job exploring late Victorian attitudes toward sex crimes.” — Publishers Weekly
NATIONAL BESTSELLER Anne Perry’s superb New York Times bestselling novels set in the glorious reign of Victoria are loved by readers far and wide. Now, with this new Charlotte and Thomas Pitt mystery, Perry returns us to that charmed era, when wealth and power rule—but where, alas, poisonous corruption lies coiled in the heart of the empire. As commander of the powerful Special Branch, Thomas Pitt has the job of keeping Britain safe from spies and traitors. So there’s no obvious reason why he is suddenly ordered to investigate two minor incidents: the blood, hair, and shards of glass discovered outside the home of naval weapons expert Dudley Kynaston, and the simultaneous disappearance of Mrs. Kynaston’s beautiful lady’s maid. But weeks later, when the mutilated body of an unidentified young woman is found near Kynaston’s home, Pitt realizes that this is no ordinary police investigation. Far from it. Is Kynaston—one of Britain’s most valuable scientists—leading a double life? Is Pitt saddled with a conspiracy so devilishly clever that it will ruin him? A baffled Pitt has never needed his friends more desperately, including his indomitable wife, Charlotte; his canny old colleague Victor Narraway; and his personal drawing-room spy, Lady Vespasia Cumming-Gould. But even these allies may not be able to save Pitt—or Britain. Only Anne Perry could have created the tense unfolding of plot and counterplot, love and betrayal, scandal and murder that follows. Death on Blackheath is rich with fascinating characters, authentic period flavor, knife’s-edge suspense, and a haunting, unforgettable denouement. Praise for Death on Blackheath “There’s just no stopping Anne Perry. . . . [Her] Victorian mysteries never disappoint.” — Bookreporter “Thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining . . . The period detail is beautifully done, and realistic characters and tense action are woven seamlessly together.” — Historical Novels Review “What distinguishes [Anne] Perry’s work is her clean, penetrating style and her contemporary take on antique, prewar society.” — St. Louis Post-Dispatch Praise for Anne Perry’s most recent Charlotte and Thomas Pitt novels Midnight at Marble Arch “Sweeping and scandalous . . . Perry has perfected a delicate touch.” — The New York Times Book Review “Perry is a master at illuminating the wrongs of the Victorian age.” — Booklist (starred review) Dorchester Terrace “The always clever Anne Perry infuses Dorchester Terrace with the right amount of intrigue and complex relationships that have made this prolific series one of the finest in modern mystery fiction.” — Bookreporter Treason at Lisson Grove “Perry has always done her historical homework on the darker elements of the British ruling class, and she has outdone herself this time.” —The Washington Times Buckingham Palace Gardens “An intricate plot about a murder at the palace [with] an irresistibly appealing Upstairs, Downstairs perspective . . . a fine introduction to Perry’s alluring world of Victorian crime and intrigue.” — The New York Times Book Review
In New York Times bestselling author Anne Perry, the glorious era when Britain reigned supreme has found its most brilliant modern interpreter. Perry’s gripping new Charlotte and Thomas Pitt novel invites us back to Victorian London, where greed and ambition never sleep, and passion sometimes runs riot. As the nineteenth century draws to a close, most of Europe is in political turmoil, and terrorist threats loom large across the continent. Adding to this unrest is the controversial Sofia Delacruz, who has come to London from Spain to preach a revolutionary gospel of love and forgiveness that many consider blasphemous. Thomas Pitt, commander of Special Branch, is charged with protecting Sofia—and shielding Her Majesty’s government from any embarrassment that this woman, as beautiful as she is charismatic, might cause. When Sofia suddenly vanishes and two of her female disciples are gruesomely murdered, Pitt is challenged as never before. Is Sofia’s cousin, wealthy banker Barton Hall, somehow involved? And why has handsome cricket star Dalton Teague insinuated himself into Pitt’s investigation? Fearful that this sensational crime may trigger an international incident, Pitt welcomes the help of three allies: his clever wife, Charlotte; her great-aunt, Lady Vespasia; and Victor Narraway, Pitt’s friend and former commander at Special Branch. From the narrow streets of Toledo and a lonely monastery high in the hills of Spain, to the halls and wharves of London, Pitt and his friends race against time in their desperate bid to catch a murderer. Anne Perry is the acknowledged mistress of Victorian intrigue. No one else can match her period flavor, her all-too-human characters, or her haunting truths, which speak so clearly to our own time. The Angel Court Affair may be the best of all the beloved Thomas Pitt novels. Praise for The Angel Court Affair “Brilliant, heart-warming . . . Perry combines the history of the period with social issues that echo our own.” — RT Book Reviews (Top Pick) “Be prepared for another well-deserved vacation to Victorian London with Anne Perry as the most cunning tour guide you will ever need. . . . She is one of the best.” — Bookreporter “Perry melds the intellectual debates of the day with a suspenseful plot line.” — Publishers Weekly Praise for Anne Perry’s most recent Charlotte and Thomas Pitt novels Death on Blackheath “Thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining . . . The period detail is beautifully done, and realistic characters and tense action are woven seamlessly together.” — Historical Novels Review “A complex and rewarding plot and outstanding characterization . . . a book that fans of Stieg Larsson’s Dragon Tattoo trilogy will find interesting.” —Huntington News Midnight at Marble Arch “Sweeping and scandalous . . . Perry has perfected a delicate touch.” — The New York Times Book Review “Perry is a master at illuminating the wrongs of the Victorian age.” — Booklist (starred review) Dorchester Terrace “The always clever Anne Perry infuses Dorchester Terrace with the right amount of intrigue and complex relationships that have made this prolific series one of the finest in modern mystery fiction.” — Bookreporter Treason at Lisson Grove “Perry has always done her historical homework on the darker elements of the British ruling class, and she has outdone herself this time.” —The Washington Times
Gripping and provocative, the latest Thomas and Charlotte Pitt mystery by New York Times bestselling author Anne Perry peers unflinchingly into the corrupt affairs of Victorian society on the brink of the century’s turn. The world is poised for social and political change, but England holds tight to its traditions, classes, and prejudices. When an explosion in London kills two policemen and seriously injures three more, many believe that anarchists are the culprits. But Thomas Pitt, commander of Special Branch, knows the city’s radical groups well enough to suspect that someone with decidedly more personal motives lit the deadly fuse. As he investigates the source of the fatal blast, Pitt is stunned to discover that the bombing was a calculated strike against the ranks of law enforcement. But still more shocking revelations await, as Pitt’s inquiries lead him to a member of Parliament hoping for a lucrative business deal, a high-ranking police officer with secrets to keep, and an aristocratic opium addict seeking murderous revenge. As he pursues each increasingly threatening lead, Pitt finds himself impeded at every turn by the barriers put in place to protect the rich and powerful—barriers that, as they start to crumble, threaten to bury him alive. Praise for Anne Perry’s most recent Charlotte and Thomas Pitt novels The Angel Court Affair “Be prepared for another well-deserved vacation to Victorian London with Anne Perry as the most cunning tour guide you will ever need. . . . She is one of the best.” — Bookreporter Death on Blackheath “Thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining . . . The period detail is beautifully done, and realistic characters and tense action are woven seamlessly together.” — Historical Novels Review Midnight at Marble Arch “Sweeping and scandalous . . . Perry has perfected a delicate touch.” — The New York Times Book Review Dorchester Terrace “The always clever Anne Perry infuses Dorchester Terrace with the right amount of intrigue and complex relationships that have made this prolific series one of the finest in modern mystery fiction.” — Bookreporter Treason at Lisson Grove “Perry has always done her historical homework on the darker elements of the British ruling class, and she has outdone herself this time.” —The Washington Times
In the history of Anne Perry’s bestselling Victorian mystery series, the stakes have never been greater than now—as a mission for queen and country places the future of the British Empire squarely in Thomas Pitt’s hands. It is not the custom for the commander of Special Branch to receive a royal summons—so Thomas Pitt knows it must be for a matter of the gravest importance. The body of Sir John Halberd, the Queen’s confidant, has been found in the shallow water of the Serpentine in Hyde Park, bearing the evidence of a fatal blow to the head. At Her Majesty’s request, Sir John had been surreptitiously investigating Alan Kendrick, a horse-racing enthusiast who seems to have had an undue amount of influence on her son, the Prince of Wales. Now Commander Pitt must navigate the corridors of power with the utmost discretion and stealth, for it seems certain that Sir John’s killer is a member of the upper classes. Aided by his wife, Charlotte, and her social contacts, Pitt seeks out the hidden motives behind the polite façade of those to the manner born—and uncovers a threat to the throne that could topple the monarchy. With Murder on the Serpentine, Thomas Pitt nears a crossroads in his brilliant career—one that promises new challenges, both professional and personal, still to be met. But first, he and Charlotte must conquer the twists and turns of suspense master Anne Perry’s most cunningly crafted plot yet—to achieve their finest hour, or suffer their darkest. Praise for Murder on the Serpentine “For nearly four decades Anne Perry’s riveting detective novels have played out against the backdrop of the Victorian era. Fans of British royalty will delight in Murder on the Serpentine , which spotlights the woman this British author reminds us was ‘queen and empress of a quarter of the earth’ during her 63-year reign. . . . Perry writes meticulously laid-out police procedurals, and Pitt’s methodical investigation sets the novel’s early, steady pace.” — The Washington Post “The mystery may follow familiar lines, but even newcomers are likely to be charmed by scenes that deepen Pitt’s family relationships. This entry’s main strength lies in the quiet, emotionally intelligent interactions among its characters.” — Publishers Weekly “[Anne] Perry returns with another engrossing read brimming with superb period details and complex characters.” — RT Book Reviews “Marvelous . . . Perry delivers once again by simply doing what she does better than anyone else—capturing the flavor, spirit and political temperature of Victorian-era London.” — Bookreporter