Treason at Lisson Grove

That is all that I can say about this book. It is absolutely stunning and one of the best Anne Perry books I've ever read. And that's saying a lot since I've read everything she's written as soon as it comes out. Not for nothing is she one of my favourite authors. It's been three years since we've had a Thomas and Charlotte Pitt novel, and it's been a long wait, but well worth it with the release of this book. The book is terrific-suspenseful, a great mystery, a wonderful plot and, of course, the characters that I love. The tension that she creates in this book is incredible. Something is badly wrong in Special Branch, and Pitt and his boss Narraway are almost swallowed up by it. But with the help of Charlotte and her Great Aunt show more Vespasia, they manage to put the pieces together and stop a terrorist plot against their beloved England, and they manage to stay alive in order to do that. This latter is difficult with all the enemies surrounding them. Pitt and Narraway trust no one, while continuing to investigate. Please Ms. Perry, don't make us wait so long for the next book in this wonderful series. show less

Treason at Lisson Grove is the latest in the series of late Victorian murder mysteries by Anne Perry involving Thomas and Charlotte Pitt. The opening of the novel has an extended chase scene that went on and on with Thomas Pitt and his assistant Gower chasing a man fleeing the scene of a crime and which I found tedious rather than exciting or interesting. Luckily the novel captured my interest soon after as we began to deal with intrigue and subplots involving betrayal and revenge.

The story pulled me in, and I enjoyed it, although I had to not dwell on a few improbable happenings. The result of the subplot involving Pitt and Gower was one of those improbable (to me) things. The major part of the novel involving Thomas Pitt’s superior show more Victor Narraway was much better. It was an exciting and interesting story with characters I cared about. Victor Narraway was really brought to life, and seen to be a complex man. Thomas Pitt is absent in a large part of the novel and his wife Charlotte takes center stage with Victor Narraway. I really enjoyed the interaction between the two of them.

By the middle of the book my interest was increasing substantially as Thomas returned to the stage and events became quite exciting and involved for both the Pitts as well as Narraway. It isn’t hard to figure some of the mystery out, but there are plenty of surprises. I enjoyed Ms. Perry’s depiction of 1895 Dublin Ireland.

I thought the ending was just a little rushed and untidy. Overall I was quite pleased with the novel. show less

I'm giving this a surprisingly low rating, as I usually enjoy Ms. Perry's mysteries, especially the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series. I try to read these in order as there are threads of character development that build upon each consecutive book. However, I missed this next to last volume in the series and so, read it after her latest book released this year. Perhaps that is why it was a disappointment to me.

I kept thinking of the literary conceit deus ex machina as I read this book. I know it's probably not the absolute correct term to us, but it seemed like the entire book was setting the reader up for the next volume where Pitt is the head of Special Branch & Victor Narroway has been "kicked upstairs" with a title into the House of show more Lords.

This book opens with Pitt chasing a fleeing informant who ends up with his throat cut in a back alley and Pitt then pursuing his murderer all the way across the Channel to St. Malo in France. Meanwhile, Narroway is accused of embezzling funds that were intended for an Irish informant and after he is summarily dismissed from office decides to travel to Ireland to clear his name despite being so hated because of events that have happened 20 years before that there is probably a price on his head. Charlotte, meanwhile, decides to accompany Narroway to help him solve his case despite the fact that she know nothing about Ireland or Irish politics and has no contacts to draw upon in any kind of investigation. The manner in which both Charlotte and Narroway blunder about in Dublin is clearly a sub-par performance for both of them.

Then, almost 250 pages into the book we learn that none of the previous plot has anything to do with what is really going on with the story. The crux of the problem, outlined & solve in the last 60 pages, really has to do with socialists trying to overthrow the monarchy! This is dishonest mystery writing at its worst.

If this had been the first Anne Perry mystery I had ever read, I would never read another one. Thankfully, in her latest book, Dorchester Terrace, she redeems herself & returns to form. Fans of this series will be excused if they decide to skip this volume. show less

Thomas and another Special Branch agent, Gower, are on their way to a meeting with an informant who has vital information about a violent plot by political radicals, but when they come into view of the man, he unexpectedly runs. They pursue, splitting up in order not to lose him in the crowded and maze-like London streets, and catch up with him just in time to see him murdered by another radical, Wrexham. They pursue the killer, and could catch him, but Gower argues it's better to follow him back to whoever he's reporting to, and Thomas agrees. They wind up in St. Malo, France, having had no chance to call or wire Special Branch headquarters at Lisson Grove until after they are across the Channel.

So Thomas isn't there when his friend show more and patron, the head of Special Branch, Victor Narraway, is framed for embezzling the funds intended to pay off an Irish informant, and get him out of the country. Narraway is dismissed from his post, with possible charges of embezzlement to follow if he can't--without access to any of his papers and no agents to help him--prove his innocence fairly quickly.

We have two intertwined stories. Thomas Pitt tries to figure out what Wrexham is up to and what is the dangerous plot the dead informant, West, had intended to warn them of, while gradually realizing how little he knows his subordinate, Gower. Victor Narraway visits Charlotte Pitt to let her know where Thomas is, and the dangerous situation. (Since Thomas is Narraway' protege, and has risen fast despite being relatively new to Special Branch, Narraway's enemies are likely to be his enemies.) Of course Charlotte, realizing that Narraway has to be cleared for her husband to keep his career, insists on accompanying Narraway to Ireland to investigate his framing from that end. It's the first time in a while that Charlotte has been able to participate in an investigation, but Thomas isn't with her, and she doesn't have friends and connections in Dublin society as she does in London. And who can she and Narraway and, over in France, Thomas, trust? No one.

This is another nicely executed adventure for Charlotte and Thomas.

Recommended.

I borrowed this book from my local library. show less

I always liked the Thomas and Charlotte series but some of the books are better than other, and this is definitely one of them! I mostly read Anne Perry, if I don't have much time and I can put the book away at any time, but this story is exciting from start to finish so that I not only was reading along, but wanted badly to know how the story ended and therefore often had to hurry in the morning, because I forgot the time.

Anne Perry's very special world of mystery, passion, and danger has attracted an entire generation of readers to her bestselling Victorian novels. "Treason at Lisson Grove, " her first Thomas and Charlotte Pitt novel in three years, is a masterpiece, inspired by history and spinning on a razor's edge of tension, with a cast of characters as rich as the universe Perry evokes.
The man who lies bleeding to death in a London brickyard is no ordinary drifter but a secret informant prepared to divulge details of a potentially devastating international plot against the British government. Special Branch officer Thomas Pitt, hastening to rendezvous with him, arrives a second too late, preceded by a knife-wielding assassin. As the mortally show more wounded man's life slips away, so too does the information Pitt desperately needs. The killer in turn flees on an erratic course that leads Pitt in wild pursuit, from London's cobblestone streets to picturesque St. Malo on the French coast.
Meanwhile, Pitt's supervisor, the formidable Victor Narraway, finds himself accused of embezzling government funds. With Pitt incommunicado in France, Narraway turns to Pitt's clever wife, Charlotte, for help. The man who badmouthed Narraway and ruined his career with innuendo can be found in Ireland--so Charlotte agrees to pose as Narraway's sister and accompany him to Dublin to investigate.
But unknown to Pitt and Narraway, a shadowy plotter is setting a trap that, once sprung, could destroy not just reputations but the British empire itself. show less

So many twists and turns, and right at the end! I guessed one rather before it was time, but still lots of good suspense moments and human interest. Great read!