Search Results for: anne perry

Despite Thomas Pitt’s success in the Whitechapel case, the secretive Inner Circle prevent his returning to Bow Street police as Superintendent. Pitt’s next task for Special Branch is to investigate Charles Voisy – the corrupt Inner Circle man Pitt defeated in court – who is standing for election as a Tory MP. Pitt must obtain information to stop Voisy’s climb to political power. Then Pitt is ordered to Southampton Row, scene of the hideous murder of a spiritual medium. As the link between the spiritualist and political figures is revealed, the whispers of scandal grow louder. And with Charlotte in hiding for safety, Pitt must turn to his sister-in-law, Emily, to help him solve one of his most high-profile cases yet…

The body lies reclined in a punt, clothed in a torn dress, head thrown back in a mimic of ecstasy. It is a feminine pose but the body is distinctly male. The case already reeks of scandal and the body is not even cold. Pitt is the natural choice to investigate what he soon realises is the most unnatural of killings.

When nurse Hestor Latterly accompanies the elderly Mrs Mary Farraline on a short trip to London, her only medical duty is to ensure her charming patient takes her heart medicine. But Mrs Farraline dies during the night. When her missing brooch ‘turns up’ in Hester’s possession she is arrested for theft, until a post-mortem reveals a lethal dose of medicine in Mrs Farraline’s body, and the charge becomes murder. Inspector William Monk must find a killer amongst the aloof Farraline clan, and in a Scottish courtroom the family’s secrets will be exposed – or buried for ever.

New York Times

bestselling author Anne Perry’s twenty-first heart-warming Christmas novella.
Can a missing person be found before it’s too late?

When Mariah Ellison arrives in the picturesque village of St Helen’s to spend the festive season with her old friend Sadie Alsop, she is shocked to discover that Sadie has vanished. Her husband has no idea where she has gone or when she will return but, thankfully, Mariah has other friends in the village who are willing to offer their hospitality.

Once settled, she begins a rigorous search for Sadie that is fuelled by malicious gossip as harsh as the winter snow. Has Sadie run away? Has she been kidnapped? Has someone harmed her? And how long can she survive if she has no shelter from the bitterly cold weather? As Christmas Day approaches, Mariah is increasingly determined to solve the mystery of Sadie’s disappearance and bring her home in time to celebrate Yuletide together . . .

The fifth novel in Anne Perry’s breathtakingly tense and exciting spy thriller series, featuring young British photographer and secret agent Elena Standish, set in the 1930s when the world was a place of increasing fear and uncertainty…

As Hitler’s influence spreads across Europe, the future of Britain is at stake…

It is late summer 1934 when retired MI6 agent John Repton’s body is found near Wyndham Hall in the Cotswolds. Repton was killed while investigating the Wyndham family’s ties to fascist sympathisers, and Elena Standish is assigned to discover if one of them resorted to murder . . .

Meanwhile, Elena’s sister Margot is courting Lady Wyndham’s brother and, unaware that Elena is a spy, Margot invites her to attend a house party at Wyndham Hall along with her colleague James Allenby, who masquerades as her suitor. As the atmosphere becomes increasingly tense, Elena and Allenby begin to expose the allegiances of the people in the house. But Elena is torn, for she knows that revealing the truth will protect the nation’s security but could potentially destroy her sister’s happiness . . .

The fourth novel in Anne Perry’s breathtakingly tense and exciting spy thriller series, featuring British secret agent Elena Standish, who will need every ounce of her strength and ingenuity to survive what lies ahead…

It is the summer of 1934 when MI6 receives intelligence that two German scientists have made a breakthrough in germ warfare. British agent Elena Standish must return to Berlin to prevent unimaginable horror and, with the help of her trusted friend, Jacob Ritter, embark upon a mission fraught with fear and uncertainty.

Meanwhile, her grandfather’s old adversary Johann Paulus has risen to power as an adviser to Hitler. By his side is his loyal supporter Hans Beckendorff, who is married to Elena’s childhood friend. But when Hans witnesses the bloodshed and atrocities of the Night of the Long Knives, he is torn between ambition and the realisation that he must protect his family from harm.

The third novel in Anne Perry’s breathtakingly tense and exciting spy thriller series, featuring young British photographer and secret agent Elena Standish, set in the 1930s when the world was a place of increasing fear and uncertainty…

Spring, 1934. With the threat of war looming, political tensions begin to rise…

Elena Standish, a young English photographer who works for British Intelligence, is visiting her grandparents’ home in Washington DC when tragedy strikes. A lavish party is held to mark her grandparent’s sixtieth wedding anniversary and Elena takes pride in capturing the event on camera, but when the beautiful wife of a renowned scientist is found murdered in the driveway, allegedly run over by Elena’s grandfather’s car, Elena’s world is turned upside down.

Arrested on suspicion of murder, Wyatt Baylor protests his innocence, claiming he has enemies who are trying to frame him. But who are these enemies and how can Elena defend a man she barely knows? Turning to secret agent James Allenby for help, Elena must uncover the truth behind the events of that fateful night. But can she trust Allenby or her family and is she willing to risk everything in her pursuit of the truth?

New York Times bestselling author Anne Perry brings us the second exciting instalment in her new thriller series, set in a time of increasing fear and violence across Europe in the 1930s and featuring British photographer and secret agent Elena Standish.

It is the autumn of 1933 and, fresh from her exploits in Berlin, young British photographer Elena Standish is chosen for a secret assignment in Trieste to establish contact with an MI6 agent whose handler has gone missing, presumed dead.

Elena’s mission is to bring back the agent along with top secret information that could save the lives of thousands of people. But the agent is none other than Aiden Strother, the lover who broke Elena’s heart six years ago when he betrayed his country. With the revelation from MI6 that Aiden is, in fact, a loyal double agent, Elena knows she must put her sense of duty before her personal pride.

But with political tension growing across Europe, the unstoppable rise of Hitler, and an alarming discovery within the very heart of British Intelligence, Elena and her family fear that her life is, once again, in grave danger…

The third gripping instalment in an exciting new generation of Pitt novels, from the New York Times bestselling author and queen of Victorian crime, Anne Perry.

It is 1910 and a warehouse fire on the banks of the Thames has left one criminal dead and another charged with his murder. Convinced of his innocence, Jessie Beale begs barrister Daniel Pitt to defend the accused. It’s a hopeless case – unless Daniel can find an expert witness, whose testimony on fire damage is so utterly convincing that any jury would believe him.

Daniel’s friend Miriam fford Croft was taught by formidable forensic scientist Sir Barnabas Saltram, who has built his reputation on giving evidence of this kind. But when Saltram agrees to testify, thus saving an innocent man from the gallows, Daniel unwittingly starts a chain of events that has devastating consequences for all of them…

A daring rescue reveals the true meaning of Christmas…

The queen of Victorian crime, New York Times bestselling author Anne Perry returns with the 16th novella in her festive crime series.

Christmas is coming and the streets of London are full of festive cheer. As young Worm returns to his home at the Portpool Lane clinic, he encounters the most beautiful woman he has ever seen and, spellbound, he follows her until she is dragged away by two evil-looking men.

Convinced that she is in grave danger, Worm begs Squeaky Robinson to help him track her down. But Elouise is embroiled with dangerous criminals who want information that only she can tell. They will stop at nothing to get what they want and, with Christmas day fast approaching, Worm and Squeaky must conjure up a daring plan to help Elouise before it is too late.

Praise for Anne Perry’s Christmas novellas: ‘A bite-sized mystery that could be fitted in after your Christmas lunch’ Daily Telegraph

New York Times bestselling author Anne Perry brings us an exciting new thriller of espionage and murder set across Europe in the 1930s. The world is on the brink of war and no one is to be trusted as young photographer Elena Standish becomes embroiled in a terrifying game of cat and mouse…

It is 1933 and Europe is a place of increasing fear and violence. Young British photographer Elena Standish is on assignment in Amalfi when she meets Ian Newton, a charming Englishman with whom she falls in love. But what does she really know about him?

Accompanying him on a train across Italy to Paris, she finds him critically stabbed and dying. He tells her he is a member of Britain’s Secret Service, on his way to Berlin to warn MI6 so that they can foil a plot to assassinate one of Hitler’s vilest henchmen and blame Britain for it, thus causing a devastating diplomatic crisis. Elena promises to deliver the message. But she is too late, and finds herself fleeing for her life.

Meanwhile Lucas Standish, secret head of MI6 during the war, learns that his beloved granddaughter is being hunted in Berlin for murder. With Elena on the run, and at least one traitor in the British Embassy, it is impossible to know who to trust…

Praise for Anne Perry’s previous novels:

‘A brilliant Victorian police procedural in which well-realized characters and settings are fascinating in themselves‘ Booklist

‘Engrossing… Perry has always excelled in courtroom scenes and arguments between barristers, and she outdoes herself in two dramatic trials’Washington Times Daily

‘Perry balances plot and character neatly before providing a resolution that few will anticipate‘Publishers Weekly

A CHRISTMAS RETURN is the 15th novella in the festive series by Anne Perry, the queen of Victorian crime.

As the festive season approaches, Charlotte Pitt’s grandmamma, Mariah Ellison, is facing Christmas alone. When she receives an unexpected gift, memories are sparked of a Christmas in Haslemere long ago, when her beloved friend Cullen Wesley died and a local villager was brutally murdered, with no killer brought to justice.

The unsolved case has resurfaced and Cullen’s grandson, Peter, begs for Mariah’s help to solve the crime that led to his grandfather’s death. Mariah can’t resist a friend in need and she returns to Haslemere to investigate the murder and heal old wounds. But evil still lurks in the picturesque village and she’ll need all her wits about her to see that justice is done.

A Christmas Return is the enthralling new festive tale from the pen of Anne Perry, the master of Victorian crime.

The master of the Victorian crime, New York Times bestselling author Anne Perry returns with the 23rd novel in the William Monk series, AN ECHO OF MURDER.

London, 1870: The body of a Hungarian immigrant is found dead in what appears to be a ritualistic killing, with a bayonet through his heart, his fingers broken and his body surrounded by seventeen blood-dipped candles. At first, Commander William Monk of the Thames River Police suspects the killer is from within the community, but when another murder takes place, Monk fears the immigrants are being targeted by an outsider…

Meanwhile, Hester is reunited with a doctor who had been left for dead on a Crimean battlefield. Traumatised by his experiences, Fitz has made his way home via Hungary and is now living in the community. Hester is determined to help him and, when he is accused of the killings, she sets out to prove his innocence…

When Commander Thomas Pitt is ordered to protect a young woman visiting London from Spain, he cannot see why this is a job for Special Branch. When she disappears in the dead of night from Angel Court, however, he is faced with a dangerous mystery. Sofia preached new, and some say blasphemous, religious ideals, and her life had been threatened. But Pitt senses there is some deeper and more dangerous reason for her kidnap – if that is what it is.

Three men are caught up in the hunt for Sofia – her cousin, a banker for the Church of England, a popular and charismatic politician, and a journalist who seems determined to goad Pitt to the truth. Each seems to be hiding something, and as the search for answers stretches from London to Spain, Pitt knows that time is running out, and the nation’s security could be at stake…

Angel Court is the thirtieth superb mystery featuring Thomas and Charlotte Pitt from the master of Victorian crime.

From the slums of Devil’s Acre, to the elegant drawing rooms of Callander Square, there is always something to investigate…

In Death in the Devil’s Acre, Anne Perry’s seventh mystery featuring Thomas and Charlotte Pitt, the Devil himself seems to be at work in the dark slums of Victorian London. Perfect for fans of C. J. Sansom and Harriet Smart.

‘Rich in plot development, believable characters and period detail, this entry will only add to the already sizable ranks of Perry’s admirers’ – Publishers Weekly

A serial killer is loose in Devil’s Acre. The murders are brutal, but it is the killer’s grizzly signature that shocks even Inspector Thomas Pitt, no stranger to death and violent crime. The victims are stabbed and sexually mutilated. When Pitt recognises one of the dead as a blackmailing footman from a case on Callander Square, his investigation takes him from the slum brothels to the high reaches of Victorian society and into a world where upper-class women descend to depravity to relieve their boredom.

Despite Pitt’s warnings, his wife Charlotte is determined to pursue her own investigation in the elegant drawing rooms of Callander Square. As Pitt and Charlotte approach the same dangerous conclusion from differing paths, no one is spared – not even Pitt.

What readers are saying about Death in the Devil’s Acre:

‘Anne Perry scans the width and depths of Victoria society with skill and efficiency, bringing her characters to life so vividly‘

‘As always, Anne Perry excels‘

‘Five stars‘

A deadly killer stalks the streets of Victorian London…

The Cater Street Hangman is the opening novel in Anne Perry’s bestselling Victorian crime series, introducing us to her acclaimed characters Inspector Thomas Pitt and Charlotte Ellison. Perfect for fans of C. J. Sansom and Harriet Smart.

‘Give her a good murder and a shameful social evil, and Anne Perry can write a Victorian mystery that would make Dickens’ eyes pop out’ – New York Times Book Review

A killer is strangling young women in Cater Street, leaving their swollen-faced bodies in the dark shadows of this genteel neighbourhood. When the Ellison family’s maid becomes the murderer’s third victim, young Inspector Thomas Pitt is assigned to the case. He must break through the walls of upper-class society to get at the truth, and his investigation gradually peels away its veneer, exposing secrets and desires until suspicion becomes more frightening than truth.

Outspoken Charlotte Ellison, struggling to remain within the confining expectations of Victorian manners, has no trouble expressing herself to the irritating policeman. As their relationship shifts from antagonism to something more complicated, Thomas and Charlotte must work together to solve the mystery before the Cater Street hangman strikes again.

What readers are saying about The Cater Street Hangman:

‘I love reading Anne Perry – her description of Victorian life conjures up lifelike images and you really feel you are there‘

‘Engrossing murder mystery‘

‘You have a treat ahead of you as the rich characters expand and evolve’

London, 1868. As the Christmas season begins, Claudine Burroughs feels little joy in its endless social calls and extravagant events. Working at a clinic for desperate women has opened her eyes to a different world.

Then her two worlds collide. A prostitute smuggled into a grandiose Christmas party is found brutally beaten. Poet Dai Tregarron stands accused. But Dai insists he was trying to protect her from the violence of three young men. Claudine believes him, but with society closing ranks against him, how can she prove his innocence without risking everything?

Commander William Monk – A man with no past has only his conscience and instinct to guide him…

One: THE FACE OF A STRANGER

Monk is given a particularly sensational case: the brutal murder of Crimean war hero, Joscelin Grey, in his rooms in fashionable Mecklenburgh Square. It’s an assignment to make or break an investigator who must pry into a noble family’s secrets.

Suggesting that his superior, the wily Runcorn, hopes he will fail, Monk returns to a world where he cannot distinguish friend from foe. Grasping desperately for any clue to his own past and to the identity of the killer, each new revelation leads Monk step by terrifying step to the answers he seeks but dreads to find.

Two: A DANGEROUS MOURNING

No breath of scandal has ever touched the aristocratic Moidore family. London’s wealthiest and most influential can often be found taking tea or dining in the opulent family mansion of Sir Basil Moidore in Queen Anne Street.

Now Sir Basil’s beautiful widowed daughter has been stabbed to death in her own bed, a shocking and incomprehensible tragedy. Inspector William Monk is ordered to find her killer without delay – and in a manner that will give least pain to her family.

Handicapped by his inept supervisor and the lingering traces of amnesia, Monk gropes warily through the silence and shadows that obscure the case. But with the intelligent help of Hester Latterly, he begins to approach the astonishing solution, step by dangerous step.

Three: DEFEND AND BETRAY

After a brilliant military career in India, General Thaddeus Carlyon finally meets death not in the frenzy of battle, but at a London dinner party, in what appears to be a freak accident. But the General’s beautiful wife readily confesses that she killed him – a story she clings to even under the shadow of the gallows.

Investigator William Monk, nurse Hestor Latterly and Oliver Rathbone, counsel for the defence, work feverishly to break down the silence of the accused and her husband’s proud family; and with the trial only days away they inch towards the appalling heart of the mystery.

Does the murder of a young woman have a religious cause?

Anne Perry’s Brunswick Gardens delves deep into the politics of the church, uncovering thwarted ambitions, unfulfilled promises and frustrated passions amid murder. Perfect for fans of C. J. Samson and Ann Granger.

‘Beautifully crafted, filled with the gaslit atmosphere of a bygone world’ – Cosmopolitan

In London’s affluent Brunswick Gardens, the battle over Charles Darwin’s revolutionary theory of evolution intensifies as the respected Reverend Parmenter is boldly challenged by his beautiful assistant, Unity Bellwood – a ‘new woman’ whose feminism and aggressive Darwinism he finds appalling. When Unity, three months pregnant, tumbles down a staircase to her death, Superintendent Thomas Pitt is certain that one of the three deeply devout men in the house committed murder. Could it have been the Reverend Parmenter? His handsome curate? Or his son, a fervent Roman Catholic? Pitt and his clever wife, Charlotte, will refuse to settle for less than the truth – or less than justice.

What readers are saying about Anne Perry:

‘[Anne Perry’s] books are always gripping and beautifully written‘

‘These are a great set of books. Pitt is a really likeable hero‘

‘Five stars‘

Can Pitt solve the case before the killer strikes again?

The murder of a prominent politician has links to Irish civil unrest in Anne Perry’s gripping Victorian mystery, Ashworth Hall. Perfect for fans of C. J. Sansom and Sarah Perry.

‘Elegant period novel with a contemporary resonance’ – Guardian

When a group of powerful Irish Protestants and Catholics gather at a country house to discuss Irish home rule, contention is to be expected. But when the meeting’s moderator, government bigwig Ainsley Greville, is found murdered in his bath, negotiations seem doomed. Unless Superintendent Thomas Pitt and his wife, Charlotte, can root out the truth, simmering hatreds and passions may again explode in murder.

What readers are saying about Anne Perry:

‘The atmosphere of turn of the century London is so absorbing and tangible that you can almost feel yourself shrouded in a cold blanket of East End fog and hear the Hansom carriages clatter along the streets’

‘These are a great set of books. Pitt is a really likeable hero‘

‘Five stars‘

A body is found floating towards Traitors Gate – a coincidence, or symbolic?

In the fifteenth novel in the Thomas Pitt mystery series, Thomas and Charlotte must battle against the political games at play in the foggy streets of Victorian London. Perfect for fans of C. J. Samson and Ann Granger.

‘Perry’s infallible feeling for the historical moment yields animated political views of Victorian society at play’ – New York Times Book Review

Someone in the Colonial Office is passing secrets to Germany about England’s strategy on Africa. While Police Superintendent Thomas Pitt investigates this matter of treason, he is quietly looking into the tragic death of his childhood mentor, Sir Arthur Desmond. Pitt believes that Sir Arthur was murdered, and that the crime is connected with the treachery in the government. And when the strangled body of an aristocratic society beauty is found floating near lonely Traitors Gate, Pitt and his clever wife, Charlotte, begin to see clearly the pattern of tragedy and frightening evil that Pitt must deal with, at the risk of his career – and his life.

What readers are saying about Traitors Gate:

‘Another excellent Anne Perry’

‘She takes you into the heart of Victorian London‘

‘Five stars‘

A young girl is searching for the truth behind her uncle’s death. Can she solve the mystery before the Christmas bells toll?

It’s March 1916, and Joseph Reavley is on sick leave and finding recovery slow and hard. His sister Hannah is caring for him at home, and it’s a delight to them both when Shanley Corcoran, an old friend, comes to visit. Corcoran confides in Joseph that he’s come very close to completing an invention that will paralyse the deadly German U-boats. Soon afterwards, however, the leading scientist on that project is found murdered, and it’s clear that someone has been betraying secrets to the enemy. Joseph’s brother Matthew, of the S.I.S., comes down to investigate, and together the two men embark on a search that will solve the crime and lead them to the spy.

Henry Rathbone arrives to spend Christmas at the Dreghorn family manor house near Ullswater. He is greeted by the news that the master of the house, Judah Dreghorn has slipped while crossing a stream in the grounds of the estate in the middle of the night, and drowned. Not only this, but Ashton Gower, recently released from prison, is slandering Judah’s name, claiming that his family rightfully owns the estate and that the forged deeds for which he was imprisoned were in fact genuine. To Rathbone and the two remaining Dreghorn brothers, also returning to the Lakes for Christmas, Judah’s mysterious death and Gower’s outrageous claims seem inextricably linked.