78. Southampton Row by Anne Perry (Historical mystery) 336 p.

Just like Traitor’s Gate, Southampton Row features Thomas Pitt against the might of the Inner Circle, a secret society with vast influence on Victorian politics. Having been transferred against his will from his post as Superintendent of Bow Street Station to a position with Special Branch, Pitt finds himself working against his nemesis, Sir Charles Voisey, who is standing for parliament. His opposition is the untried Aubrey Serracold, a friend of Pitt’s brother-in-law, Liberal MP Jack Radley.

Serracold’s idealist, left-leaning politics might be enough to damn him, even in his traditionally Liberal riding, but a worse obstacle emerges when his wife Rose becomes involved in a murder investigation.

I spent most of the first part of this book bored by Inner Circle conspiracies, and wishing that the story would focus on a real mystery. Even though I ended up enjoying the mystery, I really wish the Inner Circle had been left out of this book (and that it would be left out of subsequent books!) I was happy to see that the solving of two crimes once again allowed resolution of at least some of the plot threads!

Pages read: 22,904

Tags: 50 Book Challenge 2008, Anne Perry, Thomas and Charlotte Pitt