73. Brunswick Gardens by Anne Perry (Historical mystery) 389 p.

When a young woman with objectionable opinions about God and Darwin dies in the house of a prominent clergyman, and the man himself is the most likely suspect, it’s a case that needs sensitive handling, so Superintendent Thomas Pitt of Bow Street Station is called in. He’s surprised to find Dominic Corde, his wife’s brother-in-law, staying in the house—and even more surprised that Dominic is now a clergyman himself. As Pitt investigates the case, he finds out a great deal about everyone living in the house, but nothing he discovers seems to provide a motive for the murder.

I guessed the culprit and the motive about halfway through the book, but it almost didn’t matter, because the story was so absorbing. It was a little annoying that none of the characters figured it out earlier, especially Charlotte Pitt, because she had all the clues that reader did.

Anyway, I loved Brunswick Gardens in spite of that. Anne Perry’s writing is superb. Every character, even the most minor, has a personality. I love the recurring characters, and how she brings characters like Dominic back from earlier books. The series is very long-running, but old events are recapped by the characters, not just to bring new readers up to date, but because the things that have happened earlier in the series are a part of them, their lives and emotions. The books are about crimes, but they’re also about the Pitts and their family and friends, and that’s what makes the books so special.

I was happy to see Tellman’s feelings for Gracie continue, and I liked Cornwallis’s budding relationship with Isadora Underhill. Anne Perry writes excellent mysteries, but I’d read her books just to find out what happens to her characters!

Pages read: 21,133

Tags: 50 Book Challenge 2008, A ~ Z Reading Challenge, Anne Perry, Thomas and Charlotte Pitt