Treason At Lisson Grove

Thomas and Charlotte Pitt return after a three year hiatus in Anne Perry's latest Victorian novel Treason At Lisson Grove (#92).  Thomas is now with the Special Branch ever since his boss Victor Narraway recruited Pitt after he trod on the wrong toes and was booted out the Metro Police in London.  Special Branch's job is to deal with the Irish Problem and to keep a watchful eye on the anarchists, socialists and revolutionaries agitating throughout Europe. 

As the story begins, Pitt and his partner, Gower, are to meet with a source with important information to provide.  Almost right under their noses the informant is killed in brutal fashion, and Pitt and Gower pursue the assailant across the English Channel as far as St. Malo.  They decide to keep watch on the comings and goings at the house where their suspect takes refuge to see if they can turn up any further intelligence on their own.  In the meantime, Pitt's boss, Narraway, is abruptly dismissed from his post over financial misconduct and challenged by the Minister in charge of Special Branch to clear his own name if he can.  Narraway comes to suspect that the root of his present troubles rests with a twenty year closed case in Ireland.  He has no resources or files to fall back on at Special Branch since he cannot return there, nor will it be possible for him to make effective inquiries in Ireland; his face is too well known there.  There is only one person he can trust to help him in this case; Charlotte Pitt.  She agrees to help him for his own sake and for the sake of Thomas and her family, whose fate is tied up with Narraway's.

As always, the fascination in Anne Perry's dark books is the pyschological aspect of the mystery as layer after layer is peeled back and motivations and loyalties are examined and re-examined.  Who is the real traitor here?  Is there more than one?  And is the Irish question the real heart of the matter, or only a distraction?  The only thing never in question here is Charlotte and Thomas' devotion to each other, and their moral courage to do the right thing.  Charlotte's aunt, Lady Vespasia Cumming-Gould, with her sharp intelligence and well-placed connections, plays a minor - but key - role in this book.  Also look for one of Anne Perry's Christmas mystery characters to find a new home in the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series, a most welcome addition. 

Someday I hope my husband will finally cave in and read one of these Victorian mysteries and realize what he's been missing all along.