Silence in Hanover Close

While the plot in this Charlotte and Thomas Pitt mystery deals with espionage and murder, its theme pointedly addresses inequalities prevalent in Victorian society. Inspector Thomas Pitt and his wife, Charlotte, and her sister, Emily, find themselves in a life-and-death situation as they go undercover to identify a traitor. Davina Porter outdoes herself with her stellar performance as Emily masquerading as a maid, and as Lady Charlotte disguising herself as a simple country lass visiting the big city. The layering of one accent over another is an impressive accomplishment. Porter so blends with the characters that one forgets the voice between the words and the ear. It is as if one is thinking the book aloud. B.H.B. (c) AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine

August 5, 1988
Inspector Thomas Pitt, Anne Perry's gentle and astute hero of eight other Victorian mysteries, 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, his arrogant and ambitious superior, to head the investigation. Ballarat is fearful of offending powerful friends, so he cautions Pitt to be thoroughly discreet, thus rendering him ineffectual. Charlotte, Pitt's able wife, 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.