I have been reading Anne Perry's Victorian mysteries for so long that there is little mystery left to her stories for me. In this latest Thomas and Charlotte Pitt mystery, I had surmised by about a hundred pages in who the villain(s) of the piece were going to be. I read the rest of the book in light of my theory, which did, in fact, turn out to be right.

Figuring out the puzzle early on did not necessarily lessen the pleasure of the read. Actually, there is a certain satisfaction in feeling sma More...

Now this was a good read. I have read three or four of the early novels in this historical mystery series starring Thomas Pitt and his eventual wife, Charlotte, and always enjoyed the excellent writing, strong plot, and the way the characters changed and grew.

In the first novel readers meet Charlotte and finally see her escape her stifling, over protective father and shock the whole family, sisters, dreadful grandmother and browbeaten mother, by insisting on marrying a policeman. Thomas Pitt i More...

First Sentence: It was mid-February and growing dark outside.
Just as the series has continued, so have the lives of the characters. That is only one reason those of us who love this series are loyal to it; these are characters in whom we have become invested.

After the events of the previous book, “Treason at Lisson Grove”, we find Thomas Pitt now as head of Special Branch. Unfortunately, neither Pitt nor others are certain he’s capable of handling his new role. Ms. Perry wonderfully helps us und More...

Thomas Pitt is now the head of Britain's powerful Special Branch, no longer a lonely policeman. As such his duties are far more secretive and consequently his fascinating wife Charlotte no longer has as much of a role in solving his crimes. It is a notable omission, but the more intricate plot helps to make up for it. Now that Thomas has such a weightly position, he moves in very different social circles, and while others, who know his origins, would like to condescend to him, they can't openly More...

The fact that this book is #27 in the Thomas and Charlotte Pitt series has as much to do with the character development of the Pitts as to any particular mystery that gets solved, but here that mystery is at a level not found in any previous books. Pitt, who started as a police officer investigating murders is not the head of Special Branch - a special intelligence unit within the police force. Pitt must overcome his own feelings of being in over his head (as well as filling a job normally held More...

Perry always has a good tale to tell of Victorian crime and law inforcement with the Thomas and Charlotte Pitt series; this novels continues that saga, but now the Pitts are financially comfortable and even have a telephone. In 1896 as Thomas Pitt begins his new job as head of England's Special Branch, he proves himself to be decisive and fully capable in this novel, but Lady Vespasia is still a major source of information. The plot revolves around two murders committed to hide long-standing pol More...

I've been reading this series since the first book came out in 1979. So I feel like Thomas and Charlotte Pitt are old friends. I read each new book not so much for the mystery(thought it is always good) but to catch up on how they are doing.
The year is 1896, Thomas has recently been made Head of the Special Branch due to the events of the previous book (Betrayal at Lisson Grove) and he is facing his first real crisis--rumors of an assassination attempt on a minor royal visitor. As with all of Pe More...

Despite being the 27th novel in this series, Anne Perry doesn't disappoint. What I like about her two major series that I've read - the Pitt series (of which this is one) and the Monk series - is that there is very little sentimentality about the eras, romance, while there, does not overtake the plot and characters are never one dimensional.



I don't read every single new book, so I missed the last one which links to this one. However, it wasn't necessary to know what happened in the previous boo More...

I am very happy with the direction Anne Perry is taking her Pitt series characters. While several elements of this mystery seemed obvious at an early stage, the final solution included several devious bits that I defy anybody to have guessed completely, and it provided the perfect setup to discuss a number of interesting issues, among which I found the problem of aging to be most touching.

It does always make me laugh that Lady Vespasia Cumming-Gould was created too old in the series near its be More...

It's hard to believe how long this series has been running, but Perry has kept it fresh and now takes it in an interesting direction with Pitt as the new head of Special Branch after his boss has been forced to resign. Lacking the social standing of most department heads, Pitt wonders: will he be able to do his job or will prejudice get in the way? There's little time to worry, however, for a rumor that a minor foreign royal will be assassinated on an upcoming trip to Britain must be investigate More...

'Dorchester Terrace' marks a point of departure for Thomas Pitt, protagonist of Perry's popular Victorian series, and a restructuring of the series itself. It remains to be seen if fans embrace this new, darker Pitt. If they do, it may be reluctantly, in exchange for the broad new range of plots and character conflict made possible by the genre shift from period mystery to international espionage.

Perry's skill, as well as her burden, has been inventing new plots over nearly thirty novels. By the More...

Once again Anne Perry brings the upper echelons of Victorian London to life with her descriptions of the soirees, dress codes, and societal mannerisms of the era.

In this addition to the series, Thomas and Charlotte Pitt are settling in to the societal requirements of his new position. Thomas has just settled in to the position and while questioning his own abilities to handle the responsibilities, he is also faced with prejudice and doubt of his abilities from other officials he must interact wi More...

I have long been a fan of Anne Perry and her Thomas and Charlotte Pitt series. I have found that the books keep getting better and better in this series. Ms. Perry's plots are always tight and her characterizations realistic. These remain strong, but I find that the suspense build-up in each book seems to get better and better. This book is a page-turner and one that I couldn't put down. Pitt is now the Commander of Sepcial Branch, when, after the last book where Pitt's boss was forced to resign More...

Anne Perry crafts amazing historical mysteries. I've thoroughly enjoyed this entire series as well as her Monk series and WWI series, and this latest installment was no exception. Her characters are incredibly compelling, her plots incredibly complex, and her pacing superb. I particularly love the way she writes with a clear vision of the good and beautiful aspects of the little things of daily life, setting the depths of evil and depravity in their proper perspective (as opposed to authors like More...

This is the 27th book in the Thomas and Charlotte Pitt series. While there is a mystery involved--why would anyone want to kill an obscure member of the Austrian royal family or is the threat a red herring--the heart of this book is an examination of the class system in Victorian England and how difficult it was to overcome class prejudices. Thomas Pitt, the son of a gameskeeper, was successful as a poice detective and in excelled in solving cases in the Special Branch. Now, however, he has been More...

•Mlle Alice, pouvez-vous nous raconter votre rencontre avec Dorchester Terrace?
"Anne Perry m'a fait briser ma première résolution de l'année: "ne plus acheter de livres tant que ma PAL n'a pas baissé!" Tant pis, je ne peux pas résister!"

•Dites-nous en un peu plus sur son histoire...
"Thomas Pitt est désormais le Capitaine Pitt, directeur de la Special Branch. Plus que jamais il doit faire ses preuves face à des politiciens sceptiques et à de sérieuses menaces d'attentats sur le sol britannique. More...

Thomas Pitt has risen through the ranks to head of Special Branch, which takes care of threats such as planned asassinations of public figures or terrorist attacks. I find the political intrigue less interesting than good old police detective work, which Perry had him doing in the old days of these characters. This one is sort of a foreshadowing of what we know leads to WWI - the asassination of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria. In this story a minor Duke of Austria is coming to visit London and it More...

Thomas Pitt has been promoted to the head of Special Branch. Victor Narraway is now at loose ends and wonders what he will do now. Pitt is not sure he is ready for his new post. A rumor reaches him that there is a plot to assassinate the Austrian duke Alois Habsburg when he travels to England. Pitt tries to alert the Foreign Office and when that doesn't help he goes higher. Meanwhile, an old acquaintance ofLady Vespasia Cumming-Gould is dying and she is terrified that as she sinks into dementia More...

Anne Perry never disappoints. Her Victorian mysteries are full of excellent characterizations and her historical research for her subjects in each book is faultless. She raises awareness of so many different things. I especially like the way she brings the quotidienne into every story. Daily life in the home, particularly, is very well drawn, and the daily chores of the average housewife or the house servants is told in edifying detail. For instance, I was mightily impressed by laundry day. The More...

I loved Anne Perry's mysteries when I first started reading them, but then somewhere after The Whitechapel Conspiracy I got tired of her books, but rather doggedly kept reading just because I had loved the earlier ones and hoped they would get better. This book was really good and reminded me why I liked Anne Perry's Victorian mysteries in the first place. There was some interesting conflict among the main characters, and although with the political bent the Pitt cases have taken, I find myself More...

Anne Perry's mysteries featuring Thomas Pitt and his wife Charlotte have been favorites of mine for a long time. Perry combines the history of Victorian England with the novel. I like the combination. This one is filled with rising tension as Thomas takes on a difficult case with many angles and murky details that the author goes over and over, a little tediously for me. The probable attempted murder of an Austrian aristocrat was likely to have disastrous consequences for all of Europe, possibly More...

This book was disappointing because the plot was too obvious. We learn about the old woman who is suffering from dementia but also has moments of lucidity. She was once in the inner circles of a revolution and has seen a lot. She is murdered so what was being covered up? Well, from all viewpoints the author draws a linear story that tells us who might have done it (& why) and then confirms that they did do it (& why). The conversations and interactions of the socially elite in London wer More...

Dorchester Terrace is the 27th book in Anne Perry’s Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series. Although reading it was like spending time with old friends, the series is definitely ready to wind down. The author spent more time with side characters than she did with the two main characters. The plot did not grab me, and there was more language that felt out of place than usual. (I don't know - is "go rogue" really a phrase that would have been used about people in this time frame?) If you are a fan of th More...

"Dorchester Terrace" (Charlottte and Thomas Pitt) by Anne Perry houses Mrs Serafina Montserrat 75. Formerly promiscuous, fiercely intelligent rider and sword fighter against monarchy especially Austria-Hungary 1848 p27, she fears her deteriorating faculties will lead to murder, as does her long-time friend, elegant, lovely, incisively intelligent Lady Vespasia, great-aunt to Charlotte Pitt (actually younger Emily "sister's great-aunt by marriage to her first husband" p237). Someone overdoses Ser More...

I love all things of Victorian England and mysteries. As the new head of Scotland Yards Special Branch Thomas Pitt is not sure if he is capable of doing this job but he has the support of Charlotte his wife,Great-Aunt Vespasa and his second Stoker. Ms. Perry has done a marvelous job of staying true to the times. The characters are well written with more than one lead character. The storyline relates to events that happened in Treason at Lisson Grove, so I have put it on my TBR list. For all of y More...

`I really enjoyed this episode of Thomas and Charlotte Pitt's adventures. I'm always happy to catch up with them every year or so. The kids are growing up, they aren't broke anymore, but then there is always the at any moment the rug could get pulled out from under thier feet...a feeling I know only too well. Well, Thomas aced this one...I missed having Gracie be a part of it, as happy as I am for her that she's now a married lady with a house of her own! Vespasia as ever too fabulous...Victor N More...

I'm a real Anne Perry fan, and one would think that after 27 novels, Thomas and Charlotte Pitt would become a bit of a bore. Not so in this her latest in the series. Thomas in now head of Special Branch and the crimes he now solves are more political in nature, but the suspense is there, especially as the plot draws to a close. The story line of this novel was a bit slow getting started. Lots of background to put forth. But when it started to cook it held your interest. I just wish that Charlott More...

This series has had its ups and downs but this one was riding the top of a crest. Thomas has paid his dues over and above the norm and is finally head of Special Branch. All my favorite characters make an appearance and contribute to the story, Charlotte, Emily, Jack, Lady Vespasia and Narroway. Now Thomas must prove himself, not only to those that would question his abilities to hold this position but to himself as well. Intrigue. Betrayal. Murder. Treason. All of these and more are the backdro More...

Because this was first exposure to this author and this is book 25 in a series, the book had a slow start for me. Having read the cover jacket I knew what the murder plot was to be, but felt like it took a lot of time to get to it. I enjoyed the character and the development of the plot. Solving the mystery was doled out at a nice pace and enjoyed the book to the end. A good mystery set in 1896 England so also go enjoy the society, costumes, and customs of that age - slightly pre Douton Abby tim More...

Thomas Pitt has now been promoted to the Head of the British Special Branch. As he is not a gentleman's son, but the son of a gameskeeper, he feels at quite a disadvantage in this new position. The previous head has been relieved of his position, and must also adjust to his new role in life. Pitt's brother-in-law has also received a promotion in the Foreign Office, and needs to adjust there. The mystery revolves around the rumored attack on a minor member of European royalty as he is visiting En More...