Tense and exciting at the same time. Good use of history. Intrigueing characters. Good story flow. Keeps you on the edge of your seat until the end. Would recommend.

This book put the series back on track thank you. After beating himself up Thomas is back on track and so was this mystery.

Since 1979, Anne Perry has provided readers with a window into the affairs of the British upper class, and the lower classes' fight for survival, during the Victorian era. In her first novel, Thomas Pitt, a policeman who has fought his way from destitution to middle class, meets his wife Charlotte while investigating the murder of her sister. Now, 20 years later, it is 1899, and Pitt is Commander Thomas Pitt, the head of Special Branch.

Queen Victoria is tired and in poor health. She has mourned her beloved Prince Albert for over 38 years, and the burden of her grief, combined with the stress of ruling an empire alone since she was 18 years old, has taken its toll. Nonetheless, the Queen has never shirked her duties and when she hears a rumor that her son, the Prince of Wales and future king of England, has been led astray by one of his circle, she asked an old friend to investigate. When that friend suffers an accidental death on the day he was to report his findings to her, the Queen calls on Commander Pitt to investigate the death and determine what he had uncovered.

As he investigates, Pitt must unravel a treasonous conspiracy against Great Britain while protecting the Royal family, and his own family from the fallout. Anne Perry skillfully, and with historical accuracy, brings each character to life against a backdrop of the last years of the Victorian era and the beginning of the 20th century.

I absolutely love the Thomas and Pitt series and this did not disappoint!!! I'll admit I felt it started off a bit slow but it did draw me in and I enjoyed every page!! I am not sure why but I much prefer this series over Anne Perry's Monk series.

Murder on the Serpentine, the latest offering in Anne Perry's Victorian mystery series featuring Charlotte and Thomas Pitt, was an enjoyable addition to the series and I would recommend it for readers who have enjoyed the series in the past as well as those discovering it for the first time. The novel hooked me from the very beginning when Pitt, as Commander of the Special Branch, is summoned by an elderly Queen Victoria and charged with investigating the death of one of her closest advisors, Sir John Halberd, whose body has been found in the shallow water of the Serpentine in Hyde Park. Circumstantial evidence makes it appear that Halberd died during a late night assignation, but the Queen suspects otherwise. Halberd had been investigating one of the friends of her son--Prince Edward--whom she suspects is less than honest and whom she fears might have too much influence over her profligate son when she is gone and he is king. Pitt must of course do this surreptitiously, and the resulting case makes for interesting reading. In the earlier novels Pitt's wife, Charlotte, became embroiled in solving some of the mysteries he encountered as a policeman, but since he has become head of the Special Branch, Pitt has had to keep his cases secret. It is enjoyable that yet again Charlotte, and her high society sister Emily, become involved in solving the case yet again as we catch a glimpse of high society and those occupying the governmental corridors of power during that era when England might become involved again in yet another Boer War in South Africa. Thank you Ballantine/Random House and NetGalley for sharing an ARC of this book with me to review.

I felt that there were too many characters and the book dragged somewhat. More importantly, there was not enough background information provided for the reader to appreciate and understand the politics of the late Victorian period, particularly surrounding the Second Boer War. I had to research other sources as I was reading. This took away from the enjoyment of the book.

First Sentence: The man stood in front of Thomas Pitt in the untidy office, papers all over the desk from half a dozen cases Pitt was working on.

Queen Victoria summons Commander Thomas Pitt to investigate the murder of her confidant, Sir John Hilberd. Sir John had been looking into the influence Alan Kendrick, a horse-racing enthusiast, might have on Victoria’s son, the Prince of Wales and, perhaps, prove a danger to the monarchy.

Perry so perfectly creates the environment of the time, the constraints and social restrictions on men and women, and the division of the classes—“Aunt Vespasia calls all her maids Gwen, regardless of what their names really are. I don’t think they mind.” Perry’s details are exacting, right down to the way we imagine Queen Victoria might sound.

This is a time when Germany and the Kaiser are looking at expanding their power. That the Pitt’s son, Daniel, realizes this and wants to study German, looking at a possible career in the diplomatic service, is interesting and a possible bridge to the series’ future.

The Boar War, and that there were actually two Boar Wars, isn’t something about which most know very much. While this doesn’t go into the war, it focused a bit on the lead up to it. It deals with the issue of the greed of men, and on trading connections for profit.

For those who follow the series, it is nice to see Charlotte and her sister, Emily, working together again to help Pitt in his investigation. Perry’s descriptions of fashion and food provide us a true sense of place and time, as do the inclusions of actual historical events and the social issues of the time.

“Murder on the Serpentine” is a very good entry into and excellent series. Redemption is a theme which runs through the series. The manner in which the villain is dealt with is satisfactory and very effective, and the ending particularly gratifying.

MURDER ON THE SERPENTINE (Pol Proc-Thomas/Charlotte Pitt-England-Victorian)-VG
Perry, Anne – 32nd in series
Ballentine Books – March, 2017

The Thomas and Charlotte Pitt series just gets better and better!!!! This one was particularly timely because of Pitt's interactions with Queen Victoria and the resent season of VICTORIA on Public Broadcasting. After so many books in the series it must be challenging to continue developing such familiar characters as Charlotte and Thomas, but Perry is definitely up to the task! Pitt's introspection as he deals with new responsibilities is certainly realistic. Charlotte's changing role is equally challenging, and her struggles with those changes are just as realistically portrayed as Thomas's. I can hardly wait to read about the next mysterious adventures of this indomitable couple!!

This is the 32nd mystery in Anne Perry's long-running series featuring Thomas and Charlotte Pitt. Pitt is called in by Queen Victoria to investigate the death of Sir John Halberd. Halberd had been looking into the life of Alan Kendric for the Queen since she was worried about the influence he was having on the Prince of Wales. However, Halberd is found dead in the Serpentine of an apparent suicide before he can tell the Queen what he has discovered.

I have read quite a few of Anne Perry's mysteries over the years and, I must admit, this was not one of my favorites. I felt her characters and her plots were becoming a bit formulaic. Pitt will doubt his abilities, Charlotte will borrow clothes from her sister and investigate on her own, they both will do a lot of introspective thinking. If they thought a bit less and there was a bit more action maybe I would have enjoyed it more.

That being said, it was nice to meet familiar characters again and the book did keep me happily entertained for the evening.

If you haven't read Perry before, you are in for a treat and for those of you who are fans of this series, this is as satisfying as all of the preceding novels. I was quite unhappy with the prospect of this being the last of the Pitt books (having read them all) but hope is alive for a new variation in the future. Charlotte and Thomas are two of the most vivid characters in the mystery series genre and with them you also get a good dose of Victorian England. This book is no exception. It's carefully plotted and well written. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. This was an enjoyable read that was perfect for a lazy day at home.

Pitt is summoned by Queen Victoria to investigate the death of Lord Halberd. His investigation becomes two-fold as Pitt must determine if Lord Halberd was indeed murdered and what information he had possibly uncovered about the Prince's acquaintances. Solid Anne Perry offering.

I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

From the publisher's summary:
"It is not the custom for the commander of Special Branch to receive a royal summons—so Thomas Pitt knows it must be for a matter of the gravest importance. The body of Sir John Halberd, the Queen’s confidant, has been found in the shallow water of the Serpentine in Hyde Park, bearing the evidence of a fatal blow to the head. At Her Majesty’s request, Sir John had been surreptitiously investigating Alan Kendrick, a horse-racing enthusiast who seems to have had an undue amount of influence on her son, the Prince of Wales.

Now Commander Pitt must navigate the corridors of power with the utmost discretion and stealth, for it seems certain that Sir John’s killer is a member of the upper classes. Aided by his wife, Charlotte, and her social contacts, Pitt seeks out the hidden motives behind the polite façade of those to the manner born—and uncovers a threat to the throne that could topple the monarchy.

With Murder on the Serpentine, Thomas Pitt nears a crossroads in his brilliant career—one that promises new challenges, both professional and personal, still to be met. But first, he and Charlotte must conquer the twists and turns of suspense master Anne Perry’s most cunningly crafted plot yet—to achieve their finest hour, or suffer their darkest."

I really love this series, and this latest installment did not disappoint. I am a few books behind, so I was a bit surprised to see how some of long-familiar characters were situated, but that is just motivation for me to go back and read the rest of the books that I have missed. Some may call the stories formulaic (in the way that Charlotte always tries to step in to help Pitt with his investigations), but I really like the chemistry between them. And I love the way that the Pitt family interacts, and the way that Charlotte's family interacts with them, too. I am a little sad that the book says that this is the last way that we will see the Pitt family in this iteration, but I understand that all good things must come to an end. I am curious to see what Anne Perry has in mind for the future!

Commander Thomas Pitt gets set onto his latest case by none other than the queen herself. This quickened my interest and had me eager to be along with Pitt and Charlotte as they hunted down the truth. Pitt's case is two-fold. He must determine if a death of a man in a pleasure boat was accident or murder and he must find out what the man knew about one of the Prince's rising star friends.

Murder on the Serpentine was more quiet and cunning rather than heart-stopping intensity. I loved how it returned to the feel of the older books for this middle-aged husband and wife detecting team. In the last several books, Pitt's cases were getting away from team detecting because Charlotte couldn't help with spies and anarchist issues, but this one took things back into the world that Charlotte and her sister Emily know well- drawing room and garden parties where the real clues are to be found among the aristocracy.

It was also reminiscent of the early years of their marriage when they had to work to make a class-difference relationship and two strong personalities with stronger opinions really work as they solved Pitt's cases. In this one, Charlotte is having a mid-life crisis moment of 'does he still love me? See me as attractive?' and 'have I become boring and predictable?' Pitt is having his own crisis involving conscious as he must determine if the ends justify the means with the ‘good of the many outweighing the needs of the one’ sort of thing with his position of Commander of Special Branch. It was interesting exploring these personal plot threads alongside the actual mystery.

Now if there was a part that was a wee bit disappointing- and I do mean minor- it was that the actual murderer and reason came out well early of the end. This was on purpose and happened well after much work was done to find the truth, but I missed that never knowing feeling and big twists to give me the aha at the end. This one becomes more a thing about how to get the perpetrator particularly since things must be kept discreet with the royal family involved.

As is always the case, this book was loaded with authentic historical detail on high Victorian society, British world affairs like the fear and warmongering between the Boer Wars, the rising power of Germany, and the latter days of Victoria's reign. Neat to see the forensics and ways of police work at the time for Pitt's part of the story and also fascinating to get Charlotte's side as she navigates drawing room afternoons with other ladies and attends a woman's club for women serious about women's rights.

This author's gift is allowing the reader to get to know the cast of characters through and through with their strengths and flaws so motives and actions become as intriguing as the mystery itself which is rolled up with these character studies.

In summary, this was another grand installment and I loved that fun surprise at the end of this one and look forward to seeing how it will affect the future books of the series. While, I think a reader could pick up any story in the series and enjoy it as a standalone mystery for the most part, personally I recommend getting them in order because the series is very much about the characters ongoing stories that carry through and there will be multiple references to the past and other regular characters. Either way, I can recommend these who enjoy a strong character-driven and historical authentic feel to a husband and wife detective series.

Death and intrigue in high places.

In this novel Pitt finds himself undertaking a mission for Queen Victoria. One that could have grave consequences for the Prince of Wales and the future of the monarchy.
We meet some interesting new characters along with old friends.
A boating accident on the Serpentine, 'a decorative stretch of water that curved across the middle of Hyde Park.' In the dead of night of a trusted and favoured courtier of the Queen's--Sir John Halberd drowns. This leads to Pitt being called before the highest figure in the land. His task, to discreetly continue the inquiries Halberd had undertaken for the Queen and to discover the truth behind the boating 'accident.' It seems embroiled in the affair is Delia Kendrick, a former mistress of the Prince of Wales and now wife to one of his closet friends.
For me a huge part of the intrigue of this novel lies in the emotional and psychological struggle that Pitt has to come to terms with. We see him wrestle with his conscience and ideals as he fully assumes the mantle of Commander of Special Branch. Trying to formulate the ways between honourable behaviour and necessity for the good of all. A very rocky path.
Victor Narraway and Vespasia are out of the country. Normally Pitt would consult Victor when the action moves into the upper stratosphere of high society. Now Pitt has to rely on his own resources and Victor's notebooks.
Looming on the horizon is the possibility of a second Boer War. Murder, suicide and gun running are in the mix.
Charlotte cannot enter so readily into Pitt's cases--these are now concerned with State secrets and anarchy. She does however do what she can.
I find her inclusion into the Lady's Club and murmurs of the suffragette movement interesting. Ah, if that came to pass that could open up a whole lot of possibilities, even conflicts for Pitt and Charlotte. But I digress!
Another fascinating addition to the Pitt collection.

A NetGalley ARC
(March 2017)

Anne Perry has Commander Pitt of Special Branch commissioned by Queen Victoria to solve the Murder on the Serpentine. Intrigue in High Society and arms deals with the Boers swirl around a friend of Prince Albert. Dirty deeds and social infighting. Tightly plotted.

Book was different from the previous novels in that Pitt had to investigate an accident of a close friend of the Queen and to learn about the nature of the friendship of another person with her son, the heir apparent to the crown. He had to accomplish these tasks without the help of his friends Lord and Lady Narraway and of his wife. The power of knowledge came into play. People’s poisonous secrets that involved their errors, weaknesses, and misjudgements had to be explored and exploited where necessary. Without Pitt’s knowledge, his wife and her sister used their cunning ways to elicit gossip to draw out more secrets that Pitt did not discover.

A fun, exciting read that will keep you guessing to the very end. Read my entire review here: https://journalingonpaper.com/2017/03/04/book-review-murder-on-the-serpentine-by-anne-perry/

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced digital copy of this book in exchange for my review.
I am a long-time fan of Thomas and Charlotte Pitt, having read many, but not nearly all, of their adventures. Far from his humble beginnings as a low-level policeman married above his station to a minor aristocrat, Thomas has proved himself and his deductive powers over and over. So much so, that now he is the head of Special Branch, which is in charge of the safety of all the kingdom. So when Queen Victoria summons him to look into a questionable companion of the Prince of Wales, he is honored, and honor-bound to acceed. But soon there are murders to be dealt with and once again his wife's connections to the higher classes help in the investigations.

A good read. It is not really necessary to have read any other of the books in this series to fully enjoy this one, although if you have time it is a series to check out.

This is my first book by this author and I feel I have been missing out. Clean, crisp writing of Victorian England times. An engrossing mystery with character portrayal. Settings descriptions allow the reader to conjure images of the times and the people. Along with a peek at the politics of the times a story of people characteristic being much like present day folk. Corruption, greed, infidelity and class awareness, those of the upper class and those of the lower status in life. Plain good detective work as the lead gumshoe tracks offenders and tricks the lead villain to suffer a deserved demise.

In many ways, the actual murder takes a backseat. Pitt must find his way through the murky mire of politics, while still uncertain of his footing in Special Branch, and with his mentor and friend travelling and out of contact, his trust and loyalty might be severely tested.

We learn a lot about Pitt here, including what's important to him, his innermost beliefs and values, and his ability to reconcile awkward situations with political traps, but we also learn about Charlotte and the importance of family, and the terrible loneliness that comes with some tasks along with fear that our children will repeat the same mistakes.

I haven't followed the Pitt series as much as those featuring Monk, but Anne Perry masterfully entwines historical events and fears with the plot to surround you with a deeper picture of how it was, even down to the moral expectations.