Callander Square
84. Callander Square by Anne Perry (Historical mystery) 256 p.
It’s been so long since I read this that my impressions have mostly faded, but I do remember enjoying it a fair bit. Callander Square is the second in Perry’s Thomas and Charlotte Pitt series, which by now runs to over two dozen books. In the first book, The Cater Street Hangman, Charlotte was a middle-class, young living with her parents in Victorian London. By the end of that book, Charlotte has had many of her illusions about her feelings and her world shattered, and has managed to fall in love with the decidedly unsuitable Inspector Pitt. In this next book, Charlotte and Pitt have already been married for some time, which is a shame, since I would have liked to witness Charlotte’s family’s reactions to her marriage, as well as Thomas and Charlotte’s marriage and early days living together. Oh, well–maybe Anne Perry will go back and write that book someday.
In Callander Square, the bodies of two newborns are found buried in the park in the middle of an upscale London square, and it’s Pitt’s job to investigate. It’s quite possible that there has been no foul play, and that they babies were merely stillborn or died soon after birth, and that their mother, likely an unmarried woman, buried them there to avoid disgrace or dismissal. The babies’ mother may be a servant, but there is a possibility that she belongs to one of the wealthy, upper-class families living in the square. Charlotte and her sister Emily become involved, ferreting out gossip to help Pitt in his investigation.
Except for Perry’s usual abrupt ending, I enjoyed this book and found it a satisfying blend of mystery and historical fiction. Anne Perry really does her research into the period, and it shows; none of the characters’ behaviour seems anachronistic, and their thoughts, morals, and preoccupations are decidedly Victorian. It’s an author of rare skill who can write period characters who come to life and are true to their time, and yet are distinct individuals, each with his or her own beliefs and opinions.
There’s no need to read Anne Perry’s novels in order, since although there’s character development throughout the series, the books stand alone perfectly well. This book is a slight exception, since it’s the first of three which all feature prominently a family of recurring characters, the Balantynes, and the later books contain spoilers for the earlier. Callander Square, Death in the Devil’s Acre, and Bedford Square should not be read out of that order.
Rating: 9 out of 10
Pages read: 24,613
Tags: 50 Book Challenge 2008, 888 Challenge, Anne Perry, General Balantyne, Thomas and Charlotte Pitt
The dead body of an unknown man is found in the doorway of a house in Bedford Square, and Superintendent Thomas Pitt is called in. The house belongs to General Balantyne, an old friend of Pitt’s wife Charlotte. The only connection between the General and the body is an expensive snuffbox found in the dead man’s pocket. Pitt soon discovers that a terrifying blackmail operation is somehow involved.