Product Description

In the latest compelling book in Anne Perry's bestselling Pitt series, Inspector Thomas Pitt must navigate the upper echelons of society if he is to find a murderer bold enough to kill in Buckingham Palace.
Early one morning, Inspector Thomas Pitt is awoken by a message from his boss, Narraway. A maid has been murdered. The maid worked at Buckingham Palace and Narraway needs his must trusted man to deal with the investigation.
The suspects are narrowed down to a group of guests, meeting with the Prince of Wales to discuss the funding for a huge project: the Cape to Cairo railway. If the murderer isn't found, the Queen will veto royal support for the scheme.
It rests with Pitt to solve the murder - in doing so he must reconcile his own concept of justice with those who feel it is within their right to make their own laws, whatever the consequences.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #43826 in Books
• Published on: 2009-02-05
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 480 pages

About the Author
Anne Perry is a New York Times bestselling author noted for her memorable characters, historical accuracy and exploration of social and ethical issues. Her two series, one featuring Inspector Thomas Pitt and one featuring Inspector William Monk, have been published in multiple languages. Anne Perry was selected by The Times as one of the twentieth century's '100 Masters of Crime' and now lives in Scotland

Customer Reviews

Perry's Thomas Pitt does it again!
"Prolific" certainly describes Anne Perry. The author of current good British suspense and historical intrigue, whether it's Victorian or World War I periods, Perry keeps up her reputation of "good reads" with her latest Thomas Pitt adventure, "Buckingham Palace Gardens."

Inspector Pitt, the irascible and intrepid central figure, is awakened "by his boss, Narraway, very early in the morning. He's got to investigate the murder of a maid. 'Can't one of the more junior policemen go to the scene of the crime,'" grumbles Pitt. 'It's at Buckingham Palace,' says Narraway."

In Perry's very readable way, she narrows the suspects to a group of house guests who've been meeting with the Prince of Wales to persuade him to support the funding of the Cape to Cairo railway project, certainly a hot and timely topic! Naturally enough, there's plenty of court intrigue here, and as always, plenty of socially relevant significance.

Perry gives us a fascinating picture of Palace life and her hero, naturally, belives firmly in the concept of justice; alas, he also witnesses how the privileged few seem to want to "make their own laws and (provide) their own justice," a theme that certainly is not unique to this particular period. Pitt is able to overcome the usual obstacles, as he has done in all of the Pitt stories. Still, Perry's style of writing--and she handles Pitt with care--carries the book, and with such great ease.

Pitt came to literary life in 1979 with the mesmerizing "The Cater Street Hangman" and then proceeded to lead a successful series of some 18 other books. Perry's similar series, timewise, involves William Monk (debuting in 1990 with "The Face of a Stranger"). A "private equiry agent," Monk and his wife Hester hold their own lenghty series and later Perry introduces us to her WWI set, beginning with "No Graves as Yet." All three are excellent reading. Granted, Perry's conclusions rarely contain any major surprises, but that doesn't dilute the reading thrill and interest-grabbing moments she creates. "Buckingham Palace Gardens" is yet another of Perry's accomplishments!

Could be better
I found Buckingham Palace as a setting as too implausible. Not enough Pitt. There was too much introverted musing by some of the suspects and other characters. The best dialogue and scenes by far were those set "below stairs" involving Gracie, Pitt's trusty maid. The names of the four male protagonists in the project to build the railway were so bizarre, that I found them distracting. The murder plan and how it was carried out was too convoluted to make the story plausible. Not one of her best.

Tiring?
In this 25th of Perry's Pitt tales, I felt that she was beginning to run out of energy. The story was not as enjoyable a read as some of her earlier work, and she does not seem to have considered some 'post-mortem' points that even a Victorian policeman would have known. That is to say, she seems not to have taken into account the onset or disappearance of rigor mortis, nor the way blood pools in a body after death; the latter indicates clearly when a dead body has been moved. I also wish that she would write a story in which neither Charlotte nor Gracie have to take a major part. Perhaps she has written out the Pitt saga and her possible move to new characters and time is coming at the right moment.