Product Description

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 . . .

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #153454 in Books
• Published on: 2000-04-04
• Released on: 2000-04-04
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 336 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780449005828
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Amazon.com Review
Even if you prefer the tougher, edgier William Monk books by Anne Perry, such as A Breach of Promise, there's no denying the wealth of detail and the powerful emotions at work in her longer series of Victorian murder mysteries featuring Thomas and Charlotte Pitt. The Pitt books effectively merge Henry James with Raymond Chandler: by having a middleclass policeman married to a socialite, Perry can probe both worlds, as she does in Bedford Square, a story of high-level blackmail and murder.

A famous historical scandal called the Tranby Croft affair (a gambling case involving the Prince of Wales) is very much in the news when the body of a working-class man is found early one morning on the posh doorstep of General Brandon Balantyne. No one in the house claims to know the murdered man, but he has a valuable piece of jewelry belonging to the Balantynes in his pocket. Thomas Pitt and his outspoken aide, Sergeant Tellman, must tread lightly, but Charlotte--and especially her sharp relative Lady Vespasia Cumming-Gould--aren't restrained by such social niceties. Gracie, the Pitts' smart and rough-tongued maid, is also a valued asset to the investigation, which proceeds in a satisfying, if not particularly surprising, manner to a highly dramatic conclusion.

Other recent books in the Pitt series include Brunswick Gardens, Ashworth Hall, and Pentecost Alley. --Dick Adler

From Publishers Weekly
History, social commentary and suspense blend artfully in this 19th installment (after Brunswick Gardens, 1998) in Perry's popular series featuring London Police Superintendent Thomas Pitt and his adventurous wife, Charlotte. The mystery arises when a body is found outside the home of respectable General Brandon Balantyne (who appeared in two earlier Pitt novels). Pitt and Sergeant Tellman, whose class prejudices are challenged during the investigation, are mystified by the body's identity and the motive for the murder. Their diggings lead them to a parallel case, when Pitt discovers that six honorable men, including Balantyne and Assistant Police Commissioner Cornwallis, are being blackmailed. Perry uses the historical Tranby Croft gambling scandal involving the Prince of Wales as backdrop, highlighting how even the imputation of wrongdoing can tarnish someone's good name. To find the blackmailer, Pitt seeks a common bond among the accused. The careful reader may spy that link before Pitt does, but will nonetheless be swept along by the narrative's rush and engaged by its attention to period detail. Aiding Pitt is a cast of smart, well-drawn female characters: Charlotte, whose social connections afford her access to society's upper crust; Gracie, the Pitts' uneducated but no-nonsense maid; and Lady Vespasia Cumming-Gould, Charlotte's worldly-wise relation, who dominates the narrative once she joins the investigation. Pitt solves the case based on a clever red herring, uncovering the murderer in a quick, horrifying finale. Yet again, Perry delivers an astute and gripping examination of life behind Victorian England's virtuous facade. Mystery Guild main selection; author tour.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
YA-Perry opens this volume of her popular series as Superintendent Pitt and his assistant Telman begin to investigate the murder of a homeless man left on General Balantyne's doorstep. Evidence found at the scene points to the general as the murderer. Gradually, it develops that he and many other influential men in Victorian London are receiving notes threatening blackmail. Since the general is a friend of Pitt's wife, she and her Aunt Vespasia also work to clear his name. Clues are brought to light as they interview many individuals. Perry realistically brings out the contrasts in the lifestyles of both the rich and the poor of the time period. However, while the sleuths have distinct personalities of their own, it is difficult to separate the many other individuals. In addition, while many of the victims know that the others have also received threats, none can remember what it is that they all have in common. This seems improbable. Purchase for fans of the series.
Claudia Moore, W. T. Woodson High School, Fairfax, VA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

Perry needs to take a break
I'm a long-time fan of Anne Perry, but her last several books have left me disappointed. I had trouble getting started with this one, not because I found her plot lacking, but her writing has become flat and uninteresting. All her aristocrats are arrogant and haughty, all Pitt's underlings speak with a Cockney slang (which is very irritating to read) and she uses the word "tragedy" about 700 times in each book. Pitt is becoming one-note and all her secondary characters seem to blend together. Perry in earlier works drew interesting and unique characters. Now, she seems to be on automatic pilot filling in the blanks with no thought to originality and raking in the profits. While I enjoy her plots tremendously, this book in particular showed that Ms. Perry has fallen into the formula trap and she needs some time away from her word processor.

One of Perry's Best Pitt Thrillers
I am a huge fan of Anne Perry. I have read all of her books and eagerly look forward to the next one. My actual favourite series is the William Monk series, but the Pitt ones are very good too. This particular one is a very good example of her style of writing and it would be a good book to read first in order to get into the series. Her writing puts the reader right there in Victorian England as no one else can. I never guessed what the motive could be at all and was suitably surprised with the last chapter. A really tight well-knit thriller.

Promises much, delivers little

A dead man found on the steps of one of Victorian London's most fashionable homes kicks off the 19th mystery featuring Superintendent Thomas Pitt of the Bow Street Police Station and his clever wife, Charlotte.

Although General Brandon Balantyne denies knowing the shabbily dressed man, his snuffbox was found in the dead man's pocket. Since he's dealing with his betters in class-conscious Victorian Britain, Pitt must tread carefully as he delves into the dead man's past in hopes of finding a connection.

"Bedford Square" is a story which promises much but delivers little. There's much talk about class differences -- Pitt's constable assistant is nearly blinded in his anger against the upper classes -- and in Pitt's investigation of what turns out to be a nasty wide-ranging blackmail plot, we are repeatedly told that the victims are all pure in character and how least revelation, no matter how false, will blast their reputations so utterly that it becomes tedious. The solution to the mystery is extremely disappointing: neither making much sense, nor is it in keeping with what we know of the characters. A disappointing book to someone who wondered what all the shouting was about.