Belgrave Square

April 26, 1993
In her 12th mystery featuring Victorian police inspector Thomas Pitt and his well-born wife, Charlotte, Perry once again weaves social history and a well-plotted puzzle to moving effect. Here the pair investigate the murder of a back-street usurer.

When a moneylender/blackmailer is brutally murdered, Thomas Pitt is called in because the case could bring scandal to half of London's aristocratic families. Davina Porter, who specializes in the Pitt mysteries, does her usual fine job as she gives the upper crust, police, servants, and many other characters distinction and believability. Pitt's wife, Charlotte, and her sister, Emily, can penetrate high society in ways that the police cannot. Porter enlivens each member of a large cast of characters who demonstrate a variety of classes, educational advantage, and lifestyles. The result is an excellent historical mystery and view of society's double standard for those lucky enough to find themselves among the privileged. S.G.B. (c) AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine