Share for friends:

Read Silence In Hanover Close (1989)

Silence in Hanover Close (1989)

Online Book

Author
Genre
Rating
3.91 of 5 Votes: 2
Your rating
ISBN
0449216861 (ISBN13: 9780449216866)
Language
English
Publisher
fawcett books

Silence In Hanover Close (1989) - Plot & Excerpts

Ninth in the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt mystery series based in late 19th century London.The StoryThomas has been ordered to look back into a three-year-old murder of a Foreign Office dignitary that was never solved. It seems the powers-that-be are concerned about his widow's marrying a fellow dignitary and want assurances that she's as pure as driven snow.Poor Thomas. He has such a high solve rate and his marriage to Charlotte along with his speech and manners mean that he's often requested to take on cases, which involve the upper classes. It does not mean that he's supported by his…ahem…superiors. And this case is no exception. A cold case with no forensic evidence and no truly desired ending at least by the Foreign Office.A man killed in his library with some few things of middling value that never show up in the market. Whispers of a lady in cerise appearing at the murdered man's home as well as at a close friend's besides several public places. A lady who has never been seen in the three years hence. Charlotte takes it upon herself to investigate pulling her sister, Emily, in as well to help alleviate Emily's boredom. George has been dead for six months now and Emily is going mad with staying home observing the period of mourning.Emily decides to take their investigation several steps deeper and gets herself hired on as a lady's maid to the widow where she will have numerous opportunities to observe their suspects from behind the scenes. It's Jack Radley who maintains the connection between Emily and Charlotte. A very necessary aid when Thomas is arrested for murder. And Superintendent Ballarat hangs him out to dry.My TakeAnother excellent tale from Anne Perry with an excellent understanding of the culture, mores, and style of speech for the late 19th century in England. She pulls in such a tangle of misdirected love and keeps the reader hopping as we try to determine who did what only to blow us away at the end.

Thomas Pitt begins an investigation on a 3 year old murder at the request of the diplomatic service. A talented young diplomat is on the verge of marrying the wife of a murdered man and the Home Secretary wants to be certain that she was not involved and that there is nothing that can jeopardize state secrets. Thomas finds it very difficult to get to the bottom of the murder. Nothing about it makes sense. As he delves further, he finds hints of a mysterious woman in a cerise gown who is seen mysteriously appearing in the night. Then a maid is killed and Thomas is implicated in another murder. Charlotte and Emily become involved as only they can.This book turned out to be very interesting and events led to a startling conclusion, but it bogged down in the middle. There are long passages of suppositions that become tedious and don't lead anywhere. It does however, have an interesting conclusion and it worth puting up with the slow pace for a time. I listened to this as an audiobook, but if I had been reading, I'm afraid I would have just skimmed a chapter or two and not lost anything.

What do You think about Silence In Hanover Close (1989)?

Inspector Thomas Pitt assumes a secondary role in this complex, gripping and highly satisfying mystery. High officials in the Foreign Office wish to reopen the unsolved murder case of one of their diplomats, Robert York, and Pitt is reluctantly chosen by Supt. Ballarat, to head the investigation. Ballarat is fearful of offending powerful friends, so he cautions Pitt to be thoroughly discreet, thus rendering him ineffectual. Charlotte decides to aid him by exploring the upper levels of society that are closed to a police inspector. Skillfully assuming the role of a country girl with breeding and money, she befriends key figures in the York murder: Veronica, the stunning yet fragile widow, and Loretta, York's steely and self-contained mother. Emily, Charlotte's titled and wealthy sister, carries the investigation a step further by hiring on as Veronica's ladies' maid, where, her real identity unknown, she is able to eavesdrop on both upstairs and downstairs gossip. The mystery is an adroit blend of thick London atmosphere and a convincing cast, mingled with the complex and straitlaced conventions of Victorian England. A bonus is a totally surprising yet wonderfully plausible finale.
—Connie Melton

This is a Thomas and Charlotte Pitt mystery. Silence in Hanover Close is ninth in the Thomas Pitt series. Charlotte, Thomas Pitt's wife, and her sister, Emily, play major roles in helping Pitt with his investigation of an unsolved murder in the upperclass neighborhood of Hanover Close. In this book Perry toys with treason and its cover up as a possible motive for murder. It turns out not to be the case but, as with all Anne Perry's Pitt mysteries, the motive and the murderer are revealed in the final pages.The plot was intricate and each revelation came as a complete surprise to me. I was amazed by the identity of Cerise.
—Judith

to read till the very end only to find out that the mysterious cerise was actually a transvestite! it must be very dark when cerise was spotted since i find it a tad questionable that even the most handsome man can successfully masquerade as a beautiful woman during the victorian era...
—Doreen

Write Review

(Review will shown on site after approval)

Read books by author Anne Perry

Read books in series charlotte & thomas pitt

Read books in category Fiction