SOUTHAMPTON ROW
Charlotte
and Thomas Pitt #22
By Anne Perry
Headline - February 2002
ISBN: 0747268886 - HB
Historical Crime
London 1892
Reviewed by: Rachel A Hyde, MyShelf.Com
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Just when I thought that the long-running series of novels about Pitt
& Charlotte was getting a little samey, master storyteller Perry throws
several new elements into the mix and comes up with a whole new twist.
If you haven't read The Whitechapel Conspiracy then you had better hunt
up a copy before reading this novel, as it follows on directly. Pitt has
been demoted back to Special Branch and his implacable enemy Sir Charles
Voisey is running for Parliament. Just as Pitt is going off to Dartmoor
(the moor, not the prison) for a well-earned vacation with his family
he is hauled back to solve the seemingly unconnected murder of a society
medium, Maude Lamont, who has been found dead at her home. Who were the
mysterious three people who visited her last, and what connection, if
any, does it all have with the upcoming elections?
In the background looms the sinister presence of the Inner Circle, a secret
society that demands all its members have to give. In adding this new
element Anne Perry has gone beyond the mere detective novel and piled
on lashings of spying, political intrigue and terrorism that is sure to
please - and surprise - her many readers. In hinting at the society only
she also escapes turning a serious series into a colourful romp and if
you are wondering whether all this is a cross between Dennis Wheatley
and Conan Doyle then the answer is a definite no. In Perry's hands the
disturbing secrets seem all too real and I wouldn't say that the novel
is too far-fetched but nicely understated and very, very compelling. None
of the wandering off into sub plots that slow down the pace of many another
thriller here - even the over-cozy domesticity takes a back seat here
and frankly these books just seem to go on getting better and better.
Dare I say it? Hugely enjoyable!
Reviews of other titles in this series
Rutland
Place #5
Southhampton
Row #22
Seven
Dials #23
Buckingham
Palace Gardens #25
Treason
at Lisson Grove #26
Dorchester Terrace #27 [review
1] [review
2 ]
Death
on Blackheath #29
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