Detective Series

A New York Christmas

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By Anne Perry

She was profoundly grateful for her own mother’s advice, and even more for that of her aunt Emily, who was less of a rebel than Charlotte. It was very good to know the rules, even if you did not intend to follow them.

Loved this one. Jemima has grown up to be a wonderful woman, the romance was much more developed than is usually found in Anne Perry, and her trademark too abrupt ending was thankfully missing for once. Very happy and satisfying. Loved Perry’s romantic choice for Jemima. Very apt. In addition to her choice of partner, Jemima has inherited her Charlotte’s ability to ingratiate herself and uncover secrets from the upper echelons in society even though she is an outsider and viewed with uneasy wariness. In Jemima’s case, actually detained under suspicion of murder. That’s a feat even her redoubtable mother can’t claim. **5 stars out of 5**

Rating: 5 out of 5.

June 1, 2016

A Christmas Beginning

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by Anne Perry

Weak motivations in this one. The dark secret was very dark, and entirely plausible. However I did not see how it was much of a motivation for murder, especially considering the personality of the perpetrator and their tenuous relationship with the victim. I may have liked it better had I been more familiar with the hero, Runcorn, of the Monk series. His romance and his longing for a woman whom I would have presumably met in an earlier novel was sweet and had a happy end. However, once again, I did not understand why she would have fallen in love with him going by his self –described lifelong character weaknesses, and her beauty and intelligence. Still, it was a nice example of an upstairs/downstairs romance, a favorite trope of mine, if done right. **3 stars out of 5**

Rating: 3 out of 5.

June 2, 2016

Treason at Lisson Grove

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By Anne Perry

I remember this one as being a pretty tough slog. Pitt spent much of his time separated from Charlotte, in Europe, dealing with a colleague who is a traitor, if memory serves. Very uninteresting. I skipped through all of that, (which I’ve never done with an Anne Perry book before) to get to the Narraway/Charlotte half of the book. It was better, but only marginally. I was uncomfortable with their travelling together and of his crush on Charlotte. Also, justice is not served as far as Narraway’s fate, which is a big No-No for me.**1 out of 5 stars**

Rating: 1 out of 5.

May 4, 2016

Midnight at Marble Arch

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By Anne Perry

Thomas Pitt leaves the world of international intrigue to delve into more personal crimes: Rape and Murder. I welcomed that return. Unfortunately, Charlotte did not pay a major role in solving the mysteries, but he is ably assisted by Vespasia and Narraway. We get much more of Charlotte and Thomas together in the home along with the children, which was also very much welcomed, after several books in which they barely crossed paths. One mystery was not solved, for me. What the heck is “Marble Arch?” And what happened there at Midnight? I obviously missed something kinda important. **4 out of 5 stars**

Rating: 4 out of 5.

September 9, 2016

Treachery at Lancaster Gate

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By Anne Perry

This is the best Anne Perry in a long, long, time. The mystery and motivations were hard to untangle but understandable and clear once one piece of information was revealed. In reviewing the clues, it was all there for the reader to see. As with most of Anne Perry’s mysteries, it is not a who-done-it, but a why, how, and who else is involved. Who hates who, and why? What is the collateral damage? What deep, dark secrets will be revealed? What is the psychology? How will it all tie together?


Pitt’s role in this one was much closer to his old detective days, dealing with murder, not international affairs, scandals, and the security of the nation except peripherally. She brought in some of the old cast of characters: Emily and Jack Radley, and most significantly, Tellman and Gracie play substantial roles. It has been years since we last saw them. Hopefully, AP will continue to follow this couple and keep Tellman in some of her novels. (Perhaps a transfer to Special Branch, now that he has been thoroughly disillusioned with the integrity of the police and his life possibly still in danger?)
There were a few plot holes and shades of deus ex machina. **spoiler**

Would a witness for the prosecution be allowed to interrogate and accuse the prosecutor himself while on the stand? Nope. The judge is an old flirt of Aunt Vespacia and so allows her to approach the bench and influence the outcome and judicial decisions. **end spoiler**
Whatever, it was great drama and justice was well and thoroughly served. **5 out of 5 stars**

Rating: 5 out of 5.

May 17, 2016

A Christmas Guest

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By Anne Perry

This novella redeems Charlotte’s venomous, spiteful, and thoroughly unlikable grandmother. In Half Moon Street we learned her terrible secret of abuse by her late husband which has colored her relationships through the years. Unfortunately, to my memory, she does not make an appearance in later books after the metamorphosis she experiences here. I hope that in future books we do see some more of her and how her change of heart affects those around her.

Anne Perry has keen insight into dark psychology, but sometimes she makes too great of a leap between cause and effect. Her sentences and paragraphs are sometimes convoluted and hard to decipher. Luckily this is sporadic, and usually with a few rereadings one can usually follow what she was trying to convey. Now onto the next Christmas story! 5 stars out of 5**

Rating: 5 out of 5.

May 26, 2016

The Angel Court Affair

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By Anne Perry

I thought this mystery was well thought out and motivated for the most part. There are some parts I don’t understand (why the ransom demand that Sophia’s husband repudiate her religion and destroy her reputation?) **spoiler**

Perhaps to throw Pitt off the scent by making him believe it was a religious motive rather than a financial one? to somehow flush Castillo out? **end spoiler** Although it was pretty clear who was probably behind the kidnapping from the beginning, the psychological aspects were interesting as always.

I like the way Anne Perry is beginning to bring Jemima into the fore, and perhaps Daniel as well. I wish Charlotte was not so much in the background. In the next installment, I hope Emily and Charlotte are featured more prominently.
I found the musings on God and religion interesting.
I’m glad it ended on a positive note. Not all of Perry’s dark mysteries do. **4 out of 5 stars**

Rating: 4 out of 5.

May 2, 2016

Note: I feel like I need to explain that even though I have read all of Anne Perry’s Charlotte and Thomas Pitt Mysteries, (also saw the movie and bought the tee-shirt, figuratively) I haven’t written down my thoughts on all in the series because I only started doing that in the last 5 years or so, when I found I had more time on my hands. So some of my very favorites by this and other authors are not included in my reviews here. I feel kind of bad about it.

The Secret of Skeleton Island (Alfred Hitchcock and The Three Investigators #6)

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by Robert Arthur

A Word from Alfred Hitchcock WARNING! Proceed with Caution! THE ABOVE WARNING is meant for you if you are of a nervous nature, inclined to bite your fingernails when meeting adventure, danger, and suspense. However, if you relish such ingredients in a story, with a dash of mystery and detection thrown in for good measure, then keep right on going.

I had read some good things about this series so I thought I would try one. This one title was on Kindle for $3.99 so I thought I’d give it a whirl. The books are really rather expensive, so unless they put quite a few more on kindle, this will probably be my last of this series as well as the first. It was a good little mystery aimed for 9 or 10-year-old boys. Definitely a younger audience than my favorite juvenile series, Judy Bolton. In addition to the decent mystery as well as the boys hunting and finding gold doubloons (always a welcome ingredient), there was some good humor and cute banter between the boys.
Also, it had some good messages about prejudice against immigrants.

“Chris didn’t seem like a thief to us, Dad,” Pete put in. “He seemed like an all-right kid. He has a sick father to help, and he sails round looking for washed-up treasure, but that’s nothing against him.” “The boy’s right,” Chief Nostigon agreed. “I know Chris has a bad reputation, but he’s a foreigner and most folks in this town are pretty clannish. They’re ready to believe anything bad of a foreigner.” “Just the same, I have my suspicions of him,” Mr. Crenshaw declared. “Now that I think of it, it could easily be a boy stealing our equipment. Maybe he’s hoping to sell it to help his father.”

And this is from the father of one of the investigators and supposedly a “good guy.”

“Gosh, I was hoping we could persuade them Chris didn’t do anything,” Pete said. “But they won’t even listen.” “Adults don’t like to listen to kids when their minds are made up,” Bob observed.

So true, Bob. Except people don’t like to listen to anyone when their minds are made up. As true then as it is now. **3 out of 5 stars**

Rating: 3 out of 5.

April 20,2021

Detection Unlimited

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By Georgette Heyer

“But what you see in this case to be pleased about I can’t make out! Seems to me it’s either going to be so easy that this local Sergeant you think so well of might just as well have solved it for himself; or it’s going to be such a snorter that we shall never get to the bottom of it.’ ‘It’s got class,’ said Hemingway, selecting a radish from the dish. ‘It’s got a good decor, too, and, barring the Pole, I like the sound of the dramatis personae. It isn’t every day you get a murder amongst a lot of nice, respectable people living in a country village.“

For some reason, I had never read this mystery by Georgette until this week. The narration and acting by the reader, Ulli Burve’ was excellent. The puzzle was clever and twisty and Inspector Hemingway is as bright as ever. And yes, he still is a fan of “psychology.” As always in a cozy mystery many secrets are revealed. Heyer is a master at the characterization of the mostly stock English village types. And always, the witty repartee and humorous observations were one of the strengths. There is a slight but sunny little romance as well. I was mystified as to the perpetrator until the end but it was one of two people I hoped it would be. I wish the final confrontation and reveal would have been real time and not just regurgitated later because it would have made a deliciously satisfactory scene. I’m knocking off part of star for that **3 1/2 stars out of 5**

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

August 10, 2020