Anne Perry has done an excellent job with letting us view more of the human side of Thomas Pitt. While investigating the 3 year old murder of a member of the London consulate, Pitt continues to examine his own emotions regarding society, prostitution and his own family life. Additionally, Pitt begins to express anger at the well defined hierarchy of the London police. Charlotte takes a bit of a back seat in this novel as her sister Emily is moved to the forefront of the mystery. Although a bit contrived, based on her character in other Pitt novels, Emily enters the house in question as a lady's maid. Emily too begins look internally and examine her own mindset and treatment of domestic help. The ending of this thriller is a sad as it is shocking when the veil of deceit is finally lifted. I highly recommend this Perry novel as one of her best in terms of character development and page turning excitement.

I have read most of the books in this series, so it's plain that I generally enjoy them. Thomas and Charlotte Pitt, along with the others who regularly appear in these stories, are well-developed and plausible characters. By this time, they have become much like old friends and this familiarity adds to their appeal. Perry also does a good job of engaging the interest of the reader by providing mysteries that are intriguing from the start. Also, though I'm not an expert on Victorian London, she seems to do a good job of re-creating that milieu.

On the other hand, Perry sometimes makes it plain who the murderer is in her stories by giving you one clearly dysfunctional character. Sometimes, too, her stories virtually turn into morality plays. She will take up some social evil of the period, make it part of her plot, and dwell on it. Finally, Perry has a tendency to end her stories very abruptly, leaving loose ends dangling and making you feeling like you've just stepped off a cliff.

This particular installment has all the usual strengths. Charlotte and Emily work to solve the case and save Thomas from a dire fate. The unsolved death of Robert York three years earlier gets Pitt started. The case is re-opened because York's widow is soon to marry a Foreign Office official. York was also with the Foreign Office at the time of his death and some secret papers disappeared at that time, so any possibility of scandal or espionage must be put to rest. During the course of the story, the reader gets a close look at the evils of nineteenth century English prisons, but not more so than fits the story. The mystery deepens as more deaths compicate matters. Perry keeps the reader guessing right up to the end in this one. While the end comes rather abruptly, there aren't too many loose ends in this one, so the reader isn't left hanging so much as in some of Perry's other stories.

As a mystery writer, Perry is a step below Conan Doyle or Agatha Christie. Her stories are enjoyable, especially if you've read enough of them to be familiar with the main characters, but the plots aren't usually as difficult to solve. This particular episode, however, is one of her best. A first-rate whodunit that will keep you guessing to the very end. Give it a try.

I have only read 2 books by Anne - "Farrier's Lane" and Bluegate Fields". Anne Perry has shown us a great mystery within a victorian era. My goal is to read all Anne Perry's books. This book is probably the best I have read out of the three. You won't be disappointed whe reading an Anne Perry novel.

This book is simply marvellous! Totally informative, and very historic in detail. The photographs are lovely, and well-sequenced. It is obvious a great deal of thought had gone into this book, and the authors are to be congratulated on their fine work.

The book spans about 100 years. I live in Whippany and found the photos and facts wonderful. I find myself riding through town remembering the way things "used to be" according to photos in this book. It was fasinating to see how far Whippany and its surrounding area has grown, as well as, learning about the businesses, culture and people that made it what it is today.

It is amazing how a person's life can be summarized in only a chapter or two but this book helps bring these men to life with so little space. So much is focused on George III and IV and even William IV (Duke of Clarence). It is nice to see how the other brothers turned out. I got a little clearer image of the Duke of Cumberland. He isn't quite the monster so many authors portray him as. Above all I enjoyed the Duke of Sussex and how he went a little against the grain and was a man of the people but still enjoyed his royal privileges. A great read.

They have to reprint this book one day - or perhaps the time is right to do a more indepth look at the lives of the Dukes - really this book and Dorothy Margaret Stuart's book "The Daughters of King George" are the only substantial books written on the children of King George III. (with the exception of the Prince Regency of course)

It is surprising there haven't been more books on the Royal Dukes,. their lives were rich with juicy scandal, (murders, gossip of incest, whippings, failed careers, prostitutes, secret marriages and scads of illegitimate children). Of course as Fulford also shows us their lives were also full of a great deal of excellent public service. The Duke of York in the army, Duke of Clarence (later William IV) the Navy, and the Duke of Cumberland in Hanover.

Fulford allows a chapter for each of the six Royal Duke's as well as one by way of an introduction of their parents, King George and Queen Charlotte, which includes some detail on their childhood and the dominance which the Dukes's father held over them throughout their adult lives.

This is an intelligent and entertaining look at The Royal House of Hanover, beautifully researched and humourously presented. A great little reference book.

The Union cavalry spent the first years of the war trying to equal Southern horsemen, until new leaders emerged with new tactics for handling these horsemen. Cavalry on the Roads to Gettysburg covers mounted actions in 1863, outlining units, battles, and leaders and individuals who made names for themselves in the cavalry. Civil war buffs will find it excellent, packed with depth and insight.

Hanover Place was the first Michael Thomas novel that I read and it made me fan for life. Financial oriented fiction is an underappreciated subject for writers, but amongst the few Michael Thomas is without a doubt the best. Its the only novel I've found that propels the reader through the evolution of Wall Street at the turn of the 20th century to the modern era. Its the best of Thomas's works and a mainstay in my library.

Its hard to imagine that our traditional, yet modern New England town once looked like the photographs in this wonderful book. From the covered bridge across the river, to the horse-and-buggy transportation, the photos capture the magic of Hanover over a period of more than 100 years. Anyone who loves Hanover will absolutely love this book.

This book-The Mystery at Hanover School- is the seventh one of eight Ghost Twins books, and I think it's really cool- if you're eight or nine. It's about two siblings, Robbie and Beka, who became ghosts fifty years ago. They decide to check out their old school only to find that it's in big trouble. The school needs supplies like computers and books for the library, but grouchy Mr. McKritty, who runs a hardware store in Juniper, doesn't want to give Hanover the supplies they need. How can Robbie and Beka change his mind?

This is a pretty good history of the Hanovers and their two immediate descendants. There are alot of pictures, and fairly short biographies of each of them. The book is very informative and a very quick read. I just wish that these biographers would realize that not all of us speak French, there are never any translations. Latin I can read, but French is beyond me, and I would guess, alot of other people.

A trip through the British museum triggers Garfield to write this summary of the cultual highlights of Great Britain in the 18th Century. Garfield discusses how the common people (at least the 10,000 educated ones) become more prominent in society is such things as literature, art, and music. The prominet artists and authors are reviewed such as Gibbon, Hogarth, and Swift. Politicians such as Walpole also mentioned. The book was short, so it did a good job summarizing the cultural aspects of Britain in the 1700s at the start of the reign of the three Georges. A good review, but for more detail, read elsewhere.