Buckingham Palace Gardens by Anne Perry

Anne Perry is one of my favourite authors, and I am really looking forward to getting her new book Buckingham Palace Gardens. I have already written about her book Whited Sepulchres which is part of the William Monk series of books. She has another series based on police officer Thomas Pitt and his wife Charlotte, who live in Victorian England and Buckingham Palace Gardens is the latest book in that series. I love her books because you really get a sense of what life was like then, she is very good at the small details that do so much to set the scene and add to our understanding of the characters. I think she creates very strong and believable female characters and her writing has certainly made me understand how little power women of that time had to control their own lives and those of their children. My favourite characters are Great Aunt Vespasia and the Pitt's maid Gracie, Charlotte's grandmother is not an endearing character but she is very well written, I am sure I have met her in another time and another place!

It is hard to choose a favourite from the Thomas Pitt series of books because I have enjoyed them all, so I have chosen just one to write about in more detail.

Belgrave Square by Anne Perry
I think the style of writing seems a bit prim at first, but you get used to it and you realise that it conveys a sense of the times, there is a good plot to carry you along. This book is set the year after Jack the Ripper made his mark on London. A moneylender is found dead in the back streets, he has been shot with unconventional ammunition. This confusing case leads Inspector Thomas Pitt and Charlotte, his wife, to uncover secret societies and corruption in the highest places. The very poor are being exploited and powerful people are keen to ensure that the identities of slum landlords remain hidden. This book uncovers a powerful love story that has been a closely guarded secret for many years. It is well worth the read and the characters are well drawn but perhaps just a little 'larger than life'