Anne Perry: Buckingham Palace Gardens (USA 2009)

From the Publisher:
The Prince of Wales has asked four wealthy entrepreneurs and their wives to Buckingham Palace to discuss a fantastic idea: the construction of a six-thousand-mile railroad that would stretch the full length of Africa. But, alas, the prince's gathering proves disastrous when the mutilated body of a prostitute turns up in a linen closet among the queen's monogrammed sheets.

With great haste, Thomas Pitt, brilliant mainstay of Special Services, is summoned to resolve the crisis. The Pitts' cockney maid, Gracie, is also recruited to pose as a palace servant and listen in on the guests' conversations. If Pitt and Gracie fail to find out who brutally murdered the young woman, Pitt's career will be over, and the scandal may just cause the monarchy to fall.

Anne Perry: Buckingham Palace Gardens. A Charlotte and Thomas Pitt Novel. Random House, ISBN: 9780345469328 (March, 2009), 391 p., $6.99.

Anne Perry: Buckingham Palace Gardens (UK 2009)

From the Publisher:
In the latest compelling book in Anne Perry's bestselling Pitt series, Inspector Thomas Pitt must navigate the upper echelons of society if he is to find a murderer bold enough to kill in Buckingham Palace. Early one morning, Inspector Thomas Pitt is awoken by a message from his boss, Narraway. A maid has been murdered. The maid worked at Buckingham Palace and Narraway needs his must trusted man to deal with the investigation. The suspects are narrowed down to a group of guests, meeting with the Prince of Wales to discuss the funding for a huge project: the Cape to Cairo railway. If the murderer isn't found, the Queen will veto royal support for the scheme. It rests with Pitt to solve the murder - in doing so he must reconcile his own concept of justice with those who feel it is within their right to make their own laws, whatever the consequences.

Anne Perry: Buckingham Palace Gardens. An Inspector Thomas Pitt Novel. Headline, ISBN: 9780755348930 (February, 2009), 471 p., £6.99.

Anne Perry: Buckingham Palace Gardens (UK 2008)

From the Publisher:
In the seventh compelling book in Anne Perry's bestselling Pitt series, Inspector Thomas Pitt must navigate the upper echelons of society if he is to find a murderer bold enough to kill in Buckingham Palace. Early one morning, Inspector Thomas Pitt is awoken by a message from his boss, Narraway. A maid has been murdered. Only when Pitt focuses does he realise the import of what he is being told. The maid worked at Buckingham Palace and Narraway needs his most trusted man to deal with the investigation. The suspects are narrowed down to a group of guests, meeting with the Prince of Wales to discuss the funding for a huge project: the Cape to Cairo railway. The Prince might overlook the unfortunate loss of a maid but the same cannot be said of the Queen, whose return is imminent. If the murderer isn't found, the Queen will veto royal support for the scheme. It rests with Pitt to solve the murder - in doing so he must reconcile his own concept of justice with those who feel it is within their right to make their own laws, whatever the consequences.

Anne Perry: Buckingham Palace Gardens. A Thomas Pitt Novel. Headline, ISBN: 0755320603 (April, 2008), 313 p., £19.99.

Anne Perry: Buckingham Palace Gardens (USA 2008)

From the Publisher:
Anne Perry's Charlotte and Thomas Pitt mysteries are perhaps the best loved of all her Victorian bestsellers, luring us into the multilayered richness of London, from the great mansions and secluded drawing rooms to the city's festering slums. Now, in her most mesmerizing novel yet, she invites us to a house-party at Buckingham Palace.

The Prince of Wales has asked four wealthy entrepreneurs and their wives to the palace to discuss a fantastic idea: the construction of a six-thousand-mile railroad that would stretch the full length of Africa. But, alas, the prince's gathering proves disastrous when the mutilated body of a prostitute hired for a late-night frolic (after the wives have retired to bed) turns up among the queen's monogrammed sheets in a palace linen closet.

With great haste, Thomas Pitt, brilliant mainstay of Special Services, is summoned to resolve the crisis. The Pitts' cockney maid, Gracie, is also recruited-to pose as a palace servant and listen in on the guests' conversations, scan their bedrooms, and scrutinize their troubled faces for clues to hidden rivalries and attachments that could have lead to murder. If Pitt and Gracie fail to find out who brutally murdered the young woman-as seems increasingly likely-Pitt's career will be over, and the scandal may just cause the monarchy to fall.

With a cast of wonderful characters, among them the gentle Princess of Wales, and a twisting plot that takes us into the hidden world of the royal family, Anne Perry probes deeply the hearts of men and women ensnared by their own emotions. Never has this distinguished novelist told a story with more truth and passion.

Anne Perry: Buckingham Palace Gardens. A Novel. Ballantine Books, ISBN: 0345469313 (March, 2008), 391 p., $26.00