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.
Spotlight customer reviews:
Customer Rating: Summary: Disappointing Trend Continues Comment: it is extremely disappointing to have had so little of Charlotte in this novel. Charlotte's 'screen time' is getting to be less and less. It has been a disturbing trend in this so-called 'Thomas and Charlotte Pitt' series to find so little of the original main character who hooked me on the series. I'm not buying the books any longer. I'll just wait to get it from the library...and if I don't remember, it's no great loss since Charlotte no longer plays an important role in the stories. Customer Rating: Summary: Predictable but fun Comment: This book is typical schmaltz with some good atmospherics, but I guessed the murderer immediately [though not all the related details]. It was a fast read but not at all demanding or rich. If you're looking for something light to enjoy on the subway, okay; if not, stick to Holmes. Customer Rating: Summary: second books Comment: My favourite author, great idea to have second hand books available at such low prices Customer Rating: Summary: Good example of Anne Perry's Work Comment: A fun mystery with an interesting, unpredictable story line. This is a fine example of Anne Perry's work and one of her better ones at that. It moves along revealing more and more of the characters inner natures without being dull. The use of the similar crime style to other "famous and notorious" crimes in the era made me wonder if she had solved the Jack the Ripper cases once and for all. I did miss Charlotte and Emily, but they don't have to be in every story, do they? Customer Rating: Summary: Excellent but not her best Comment: This latest effort by Anne Perry is excellent but she has written other, better books. I am ready for Pitt to be moved up on the social ladder now that he is involved with the Crown and Britain's equivalent of the FBI. The book is worth reading and is very entertaining.
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