Seven Dials - A Charlotte and Thomas Pitt Novel

Zusatztext “Terrific! vivid stuff . . . Prolific Anne Perry [is] a master of the genre.” —The Seattle Times “Intricately layered . . . The visual panorama is voluptuous to behold.”— The New York Times Book Review “Perry’s as good as it gets. . . . The final courtroom scene produces more victims and left me breathless.”— Providence Journal   “Captivating . . . offers an added dollop of historical interest! immersing both Pitt and the reader in the intrigue and seething atmosphere of Egypt.”—Spartanburg Herald-Journal   “One of the best [novels] that Perry has written.”— The Historical Novels Review Informationen zum Autor Anne Perry Klappentext Thomas Pitt, mainstay of Her Majesty's Special Branch, is summoned to Connaught Square mansion, where the body of a junior diplomat lies huddled in a wheelbarrow. Nearby stands the tenant of the house, the beautiful, notorious Egyptian woman Ayesha Zakhari, who falls under the shadow of suspicion. Pitt's orders are to protect-at all costs-the good name of the third person in the garden: senior cabinet minister Saville Ryerson. The distinguished public servant, whispered to be Ayesha's lover, insists that she is as innocent as Pitt himself. Pitt's journey to uncover the truth takes him from Egyptian cotton fields to the insidious London slum called Seven Dials-and ultimately to a packed London courtroom in which shocking secrets will at last be revealed. Pitt opened his eyes but the thumping did not stop. The first gray of mid-September daylight showed through the curtains. It was not yet six, and there was someone at the front door. Beside him, Charlotte stirred a little in her sleep. In a moment the knocking would waken her too. He slid out of bed and moved quickly across the floor and onto the landing. He ran down the stairs in his bare feet, snatched his coat off the rack in the hall, and with one arm through the sleeve, unbolted the front door. "Good morning, sir," Jesmond said apologetically, his hand still in the air to knock again. He was about twenty-four, seconded from one of the local London police stations to Special Branch, and he considered it to be a great promotion. "Sorry, sir," he went on. "But Mr. Narraway wants you, straightaway, like." Pitt saw the waiting hansom just beyond him, the horse fidgeting a little, its breath hanging vapor in the air. "All right," he said with irritation. It was not a particularly interesting case he was on, but he had it nearly solved; only one or two small pieces remained. He did not want a distraction now. "Come in." He gestured behind him towards the passage to the kitchen. "If you know how, you can riddle the stove and put the kettle on." "No time, sir, beggin' your pardon," Jesmond said grimly. "Can't tell you wot it's about, but Mr. Narraway said ter come right away." He stood firmly on the pavement as if remaining rooted to the spot would make Pitt leave with him even sooner. Pitt sighed and went back in, closing the door to keep the damp air out. He climbed the stairs, doffing his coat, and by the time he was in the bedroom, pouring water out of the ewer into the basin, Charlotte was sitting up in bed pushing her heavy hair out of her eyes. "What is it?" she asked, although after more than ten years of marriage to him, first when he was in the police, now the last few months in the Special Branch, she knew. She started to get out of bed. "Don't," he said quickly. "There's no point." "I'll get you a cup of tea, at least," she replied, ignoring him and standing on the rug beside the bed. "And some hot water to shave. It'll only take twenty minutes or so." He put down the ewer and went over to her, touching her gently. "I'd have had the constable do it, if there were time. There isn't. You might as well go back to sleep . . . and keep warm." He slid his arms around he...

Product details

• Authors: Anne Perry
• Publisher: Ballantine
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 04.10.2011
• EAN: 9780345523716
• ISBN: 978-0-345-52371-6
• No. of pages: 368
• Dimensions: 132 mm x 201 mm x 20 mm
• Series: Charlotte & Thomas Pitt Novels; Charlotte and Thomas Pitt; Charlotte and Thomas Pitt
• Subject: Fiction > Suspense