When a man is found murdered on the doorstep of a respectable house in Bedford Square, Victorian England's finest and most controversial policeman, Thomas Pitt, is called immediately to the scene. The only clue to the victim's identity is a silver snuff box found on the body, curiously at odds with the man's dishevelled appearance. Pitt soon discovers that the box, and the house where the body was found, belong to General Balantyne, a man Pitt knows to be a pillar of the community. He is dismayed to learn that Balantyne can barely recall the evening, let alone account for his movements.

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 evidence presented in court by Thomas Pitt leads to the execution of a distinguished soldier and archaeologist, the retaliation from the hanged man's influential friends is swift. The murderer was a member of the Inner Circle, a group of men whose power extends further than Pitt realised was possible, and, within days, he loses command of the Bow Street police station. To protect him from the Inner Circle's hatred, he is forced to leave his family to work undercover in the dangerously volatile East End.

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...

Thomas Pitt is summoned to the offices of Victor Narraway, head of the Imperial Secret Service. An ex-army officer and promising young diplomat has been shot and the prime suspect is the Egyptian mistress of a senior cabinet minister. But some things don't add up at the scene of the murder. When the Egyptian Ambassador puts in a call to Prime Minister Gladstone, it seems a major diplomatic row is brewing. Thomas is convinced Narraway knows more than he claims, and Pitt's wife Charlotte fears there could be involvement with the secret organisation that destroyed Pitt's Metropolitan Police career and nearly cost him his life. Can Pitt tread the tense diplomatic tightrope between protecting justice, the security of his country, and the safety of his family?

You need a very long spoon indeed to dine with the devil. Early one morning, two bombs explode in an East London street. Forewarned of the attack, Thomas Pitt of the Special Branch, arrives in time to chase the bombers to a tenement in Long Spoon Lane. There, two men are arrested and one shot dead – but who and where and is the killer? As Pitt investigates, he uncovers truths more disturbing than the acts of a few misguided idealists. There’s a web of corruption within the police force, and all the clues point to Inspector Wetron of Bow Street as its mastermind. But as head of the sinister Inner Circle, Wetron has powerful allies in every sphere.

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.

Another fantastic Pitt novel from the master storyteller of the Victorian mystery.1895 and an increasingly violent tide of political unrest is rising fast all over Europe. Special Branch's Inspector Thomas Pitt knows that they must find those responsible before England is overrun by reformists intent on overthrowing the government. When he finds himself in pursuit of a suspected terrorist, Pitt has no hesitation in following the chase all the way to France. But events take a sinister turn when Narraway, Pitt's superior, is accused of involvement in the death of an Irish informant and abruptly removed from office. Aware that her husband's own career is also in jeopardy if he is not reinstated, Pitt's wife Charlotte determines to help Narraway clear his name. As Charlotte and Narraway depart for Ireland and Pitt is drawn deeper into the investigation in France, it becomes clear that outside forces have conspired to separate them at a crucial time in the country's history. With no one else to trust can they make it back to England and stop the revolt before it's too late?

Loyal, honest and, above all, principled. There is no finer detective in Victorian London than Thomas Pitt.It is 1896, and Thomas Pitt is in charge of Special Branch. He is beginning to understand the power he now commands, but is still ill at ease at the glittering events he and his wife Charlotte must attend. During a lavish party at the Spanish Embassy, a policeman breaks into Pitt's conversation with investor Rawdon Quixwood to break the terrible news that Quixwood's wife, Catherine, has been viciously assaulted at their home, and left for dead. Worse still, it appears that the assailant was someone she had trusted as she opened the door to the attacker herself.At the same party, Charlotte sees Angeles Castelbranco, an ambassador's daughter, flinch in fear at the teasing of some young men. A few days later, Angeles flees from the same group and, in her terror, falls from a window - what could have caused her to take that fatal step?Pitt and his friend Victor Narraway vow to uncover the unspoken truth behind these two women's deaths. But as they investigate, deception and violence get ever nearer and danger is only ever one step away...

Greenwich, 1897. A macabre scene is discovered outside a house on Shooters Hill. There has been a vicious fight, and amid the bloodstains are locks of long auburn hair. Thomas Pitt, head of Special Branch, is called: this is the home of Dudley Kynaston, a minister with access to some of the government's most dangerous secrets, and any inquiry must be handled with utmost discretion. An auburn-haired maid has disappeared from Kynaston's household, but no major crime appears to have taken place. Then a disfigured body is found in the gravel pits nearby. Could this be Kynaston's missing servant? As Pitt begins to investigate, he finds small inconsistencies in Kynaston's story. Are these harmless omissions, or could they lead to something more serious, something that could threaten not just Kynaston's own family but also his Queen and country?

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.

Thomas Pitt arrives at a devastating bombing in Lancaster Gate to find two policemen dead and three more gravely wounded. London's anarchists are blamed, but as Pitt and Inspector Tellman investigate they find it looks increasingly like a personal vendetta against those particular men. Did they lie about a drugs raid that went fatally wrong, and let an innocent man hang? The idea of police dishonesty cuts Tellman to the quick - he joined the force to protect society, not exploit it. But he must uncover the truth, however much he wants to resist the signs of blackmail and corruption. With the threat of further bombings, and their superiors pushing for a quick resolution, Pitt and Tellman find their every move scrutinised, and their own lives suddenly at risk...Treachery at Lancaster Gate is the exceptional new historical thriller from the master of Victorian crime.

When a man is found murdered on the doorstep of a respectable house in Bedford Square, Victorian England's finest and most controversial policeman, Thomas Pitt, is called immediately to the scene. The only clue to the victim's identity is a silver snuff box found on the body, curiously at odds with the man's dishevelled appearance. Pitt soon discovers that the box, and the house where the body was found, belong to General Balantyne, a man Pitt knows to be a pillar of the community. He is dismayed to learn that Balantyne can barely recall the evening, let alone account for his movements.

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 evidence presented in court by Thomas Pitt leads to the execution of a distinguished soldier and archaeologist, the retaliation from the hanged man's influential friends is swift. The murderer was a member of the Inner Circle, a group of men whose power extends further than Pitt realised was possible, and, within days, he loses command of the Bow Street police station. To protect him from the Inner Circle's hatred, he is forced to leave his family to work undercover in the dangerously volatile East End.

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...

Thomas Pitt is summoned to the offices of Victor Narraway, head of the Imperial Secret Service. An ex-army officer and promising young diplomat has been shot and the prime suspect is the Egyptian mistress of a senior cabinet minister. But some things don't add up at the scene of the murder. When the Egyptian Ambassador puts in a call to Prime Minister Gladstone, it seems a major diplomatic row is brewing. Thomas is convinced Narraway knows more than he claims, and Pitt's wife Charlotte fears there could be involvement with the secret organisation that destroyed Pitt's Metropolitan Police career and nearly cost him his life. Can Pitt tread the tense diplomatic tightrope between protecting justice, the security of his country, and the safety of his family?

You need a very long spoon indeed to dine with the devil. Early one morning, two bombs explode in an East London street. Forewarned of the attack, Thomas Pitt of the Special Branch, arrives in time to chase the bombers to a tenement in Long Spoon Lane. There, two men are arrested and one shot dead – but who and where and is the killer? As Pitt investigates, he uncovers truths more disturbing than the acts of a few misguided idealists. There’s a web of corruption within the police force, and all the clues point to Inspector Wetron of Bow Street as its mastermind. But as head of the sinister Inner Circle, Wetron has powerful allies in every sphere.

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.

Another fantastic Pitt novel from the master storyteller of the Victorian mystery.1895 and an increasingly violent tide of political unrest is rising fast all over Europe. Special Branch's Inspector Thomas Pitt knows that they must find those responsible before England is overrun by reformists intent on overthrowing the government. When he finds himself in pursuit of a suspected terrorist, Pitt has no hesitation in following the chase all the way to France. But events take a sinister turn when Narraway, Pitt's superior, is accused of involvement in the death of an Irish informant and abruptly removed from office. Aware that her husband's own career is also in jeopardy if he is not reinstated, Pitt's wife Charlotte determines to help Narraway clear his name. As Charlotte and Narraway depart for Ireland and Pitt is drawn deeper into the investigation in France, it becomes clear that outside forces have conspired to separate them at a crucial time in the country's history. With no one else to trust can they make it back to England and stop the revolt before it's too late?

Loyal, honest and, above all, principled. There is no finer detective in Victorian London than Thomas Pitt.It is 1896, and Thomas Pitt is in charge of Special Branch. He is beginning to understand the power he now commands, but is still ill at ease at the glittering events he and his wife Charlotte must attend. During a lavish party at the Spanish Embassy, a policeman breaks into Pitt's conversation with investor Rawdon Quixwood to break the terrible news that Quixwood's wife, Catherine, has been viciously assaulted at their home, and left for dead. Worse still, it appears that the assailant was someone she had trusted as she opened the door to the attacker herself.At the same party, Charlotte sees Angeles Castelbranco, an ambassador's daughter, flinch in fear at the teasing of some young men. A few days later, Angeles flees from the same group and, in her terror, falls from a window - what could have caused her to take that fatal step?Pitt and his friend Victor Narraway vow to uncover the unspoken truth behind these two women's deaths. But as they investigate, deception and violence get ever nearer and danger is only ever one step away...

Greenwich, 1897. A macabre scene is discovered outside a house on Shooters Hill. There has been a vicious fight, and amid the bloodstains are locks of long auburn hair. Thomas Pitt, head of Special Branch, is called: this is the home of Dudley Kynaston, a minister with access to some of the government's most dangerous secrets, and any inquiry must be handled with utmost discretion. An auburn-haired maid has disappeared from Kynaston's household, but no major crime appears to have taken place. Then a disfigured body is found in the gravel pits nearby. Could this be Kynaston's missing servant? As Pitt begins to investigate, he finds small inconsistencies in Kynaston's story. Are these harmless omissions, or could they lead to something more serious, something that could threaten not just Kynaston's own family but also his Queen and country?

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.

Thomas Pitt arrives at a devastating bombing in Lancaster Gate to find two policemen dead and three more gravely wounded. London's anarchists are blamed, but as Pitt and Inspector Tellman investigate they find it looks increasingly like a personal vendetta against those particular men. Did they lie about a drugs raid that went fatally wrong, and let an innocent man hang? The idea of police dishonesty cuts Tellman to the quick - he joined the force to protect society, not exploit it. But he must uncover the truth, however much he wants to resist the signs of blackmail and corruption. With the threat of further bombings, and their superiors pushing for a quick resolution, Pitt and Tellman find their every move scrutinised, and their own lives suddenly at risk...Treachery at Lancaster Gate is the exceptional new historical thriller from the master of Victorian crime.