Product Description

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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7023 in Books
• Published on: 2008-03-25
• Released on: 2008-03-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 320 pages

From Publishers Weekly
The detecting and diplomatic skills of Thomas Pitt, now assigned to the Special Branch, are tested as never before in bestseller Perry's solid 25th novel to feature the Victorian sleuth (after 2005's Long Spoon Lane). In 1893, the discovery of a prostitute's mutilated corpse in a Buckingham Palace cupboard after a stag party presided over by the prince of Wales could spell political disaster for the monarchy. Pitt soon eliminates the members of the sizable household staff as suspects, narrowing his focus to the prince himself and his close friends, who, it turns out, have been planning a major construction project in Africa—a railway that would run from South Africa to Egypt. Though the sensitive nature of Pitt's assignment precludes any active involvement by Charlotte, his wife and partner in earlier cases, he's able to place her maid, Gracie Phipps, on the palace staff to assist him. Perry does a nice job with some plot twists, even if most readers will quickly discount the heir to the throne of England as a viable suspect. (Mar.)
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From AudioFile
With a plot as winding as the 6,000-mile railroad that stretches the full length of Africa, upon which this mystery is based, Anne Perry's latest delves into subterranean aspects of the aristocracy, probing emotions as well as morality and politics. Navigating an alluring world of Victorian crime and intrigue, Inspector Thomas Pitt investigates the death of a prostitute, found naked in a palace linen closet while the Prince and Princess of Wales are in residence. Narrator Michael Page deftly becomes Perry's versatile cast of characters as the author explores her usual themes: the mores of the various British social classes and the preservation of the Empire. His smooth delivery is well paced; however, his women's voices sound shrill. A.W. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Review
Praise for Anne Perry and her Charlotte and Thomas Pitt novels

Long Spoon Lane

“Anne Perry has once again delivered the tasty concoction her readers have come to expect . . . and presents us with moral and political puzzles that are all too close to our own.”
–Los Angeles Times Book Review

“The clear parallels [Perry] draws to current political issues are persuasive–and chilling.”
–The New York Times Book Review

Seven Dials

“Terrific, vivid stuff . . . The alarmingly prolific Anne Perry [is] a master of the genre.”
–The Seattle Times

“Perry’s as good as it gets. . . . The final courtroom scene produces more victims and left me breathless.”
–The Providence Journal

Customer Reviews

Buckingham Palace Gardens by Anne Perry
This book is great and good reading as all of her books are. She is my favorite writer.

A GOOD, JUICY MURDER WITH ONLY ONE FLAW...
...no Charlotte to give Pitt help with his inquiries. But little Gracie, all 4'11.5" of her, finally gets to shine in this well-crafted novel. I did miss Charlotte and some of the other characters that often appear in this fine series but I was glad to see Pitt back solving murders and not hunting down saboteurs.

I don't want to give too much away, so I'll just say I thoroughly enjoyed this latest edition of Charlotte and Thomas Pitt's adventures in crime. If you are a fan of this series, I think you'll be pleased as well.

Another fine job by Ms. Perry. But next time, a little bit more of Charlotte.

Great rainy afternoon reading
I've been addicted to these books by Anne Perry for a number of years. They track well with stories my great-grandmother told me, and it's enjoyable to curl up with one of the books on a rainy afternoon.