Thomas and Charlotte Pitt are back in full force as an unstoppable team. Inspector Pitt runs afoul of a powerful secrete society when his testimony sends heroic solider John Adinett to the gallows for the murder of Martin Fetters, traveler and antiquarian.

Adinett has powerful friends, who in order to punish Pitt, strip him of his command of Bow Street Station and compel him to leave his family and go undercover,seeking anarchists, in the slum neighborhood of Spitalfields.

Although separated from his family, Pitt is not abandoned by them. His wife Charlotte, their maid Gracie, and Pitt's subordinate, Sergeant Tellman set out to prove Adinett's guilt and restore Pitt's honor.

Anne Perry weaves a tale of conspiricy that brings us face to face with powerful men who work within the government toward one end, the overthrow of the monarchy. Interwoven with this is a subplot that will delight Jack The Ripper fans and have them begging for more.

I enjoyed this book not just because it was well written and spellbinding, but also because it reminded me of a favorite movie of mine "Murder By Decree" set in the same time period.

I would have liked Charlotte's Aunt Vespasia to have been less "love struck" and more of her forcefull self, but then that would be perfection and that's asking the impossible.

Of all the mysteries in the series, "The Whitechapel Conspiracy" was, to me, the most suspensful, realistic, and enjoyable all around. I found the link to Jack the Ripper to be an interesting historical aspect, which added great flavor and suspense.
Likewise, I enjoyed the ever blooming relationship between Gracie and Tellman, and the wide expansion of growth Pitt experienced as the protagonist.

It seemed that the plot was somehow altered with every turn of the page, and the exciting, realistic social and polotical scenes throughout kept the story alive with action. I recommend this book to any fan of mystery, but especially those who have been with Thomas and Charlotte from the beginning, for their growth as characters is astounding and suprisingly captivating.

This book finds Superintendent Thomas Pitt paying the price for his discovery of a murder (and subsequent identification of the murderer, despite the lack of a motive) that was meant to look like an accident. Having foiled the malevolent Inner Circle (a secret society of powerful men who protect one another and scheme to control the country) once too often, Pitt finds himself demoted to working undercover in the slums of East End, separated from his family and embroiled in danger and revolution.

His wife, Charlotte, and their maid, Gracie, in an effort to restore Pitt's reputation, set out to discover the motive for murder, the one aspect of the case Pitt was unable to unearth. They enlist the help of Sergeant Tellman, loyal to Pitt and even more so to Gracie, to help them discover the truth. In the meantime, Pitt finds himself deeper and deeper in political intrigue, with no one to trust with what he discovers.

As the title suggests, the murders of Jack the Ripper come to play a role in the plot, as do the excesses of the monarchy, the recklessness of tabloid journalism, the virtues and evils of the status quo, and the price one is willing to pay for political gains. At its heart, this book asks, do the ends ever justify the means? It is to Perry's credit that she does not attempt a pat answer to this provocative question.

The increasing involvement of Gracie and Tellman in the Pitt series adds a welcome vibrancy to the otherwise stark tale. Watching these two stumble over their own feelings is a wonderful reminder that even in times of chaos and terror, the human heart dares to hope and dream. Perry has introduced and developed many side characters in this series over the years, but Gracie and Tellman are not only the most enjoyable, their involvement in solving the mystery adds a fresh and interesting element to the mix. I look forward to their continued involvement.

This is not so much a mystery as it is a political thriller, but mystery fans should enjoy it just the same. Perry provides a neat and credible solution to the Ripper murders, but cleverly leaves open the possibility that her solution is untrue. The story is told through varying perspectives--Pitt, Charlotte, Tellman, Gracie, Aunt Vespasia--as each person gathers information, but the solution to the mystery is never obvious.

My faith in Anne Perry is restored.

Perry is not afraid of the unseemly- dead babies, after all are pretty gross. Alas, after a good old time, I found Perry's novels
had said about all that could be said about the love and the era. But I hearily urge any former Nancy Drew devotees and admitted romantics who cannot stomach romance novels to give her a try. I started with this and then wound in and about her other sleuth and also a romantic figure, Monk. Charlotte and Pitt do stay married, and that's all I'll say.

The story revolves around Caroline Blessing, a congressman's wife and cellist, who has taken a trip with her very difficult and newly widowed mother, Hilda Finch, to the exclusive Phoenix Spa in Virginia. Caroline hopes that their time at Phoenix Spa will give her mother and herself a chance to heal after her father's death, and maybe even a chance to bond. Unfortunately, Caroline's dreams of a relaxing and healing vacation go up in smoke when the spa's owner, Claudia De Vries, is found murdered in one of her own mud baths!

Caroline realizes that everyone at the spa is a potential suspect and a potential victim. The spa's guests include a model-waif and her manager, an aging rock star, a short and stout grey-haired psychic, a dried-up Hollywood producer, and a beautiful and successful actress. They all have their own hidden connections to Claudia and secrets aplenty. Not to mention Claudia's own husband, the half-naked pool-boy, and the rest of the spa's staff. Everyone has something to hide, and these 13 talented authors take us along on a fast-paced and thrilling mystery filled with strange clues, red herrings, blackmail, and incest.

And when more people start turning up dead, the very likable police detective, Vince Toscana, goes into overdrive trying to find the culprit. Not only is Caroline overwhelmed by what's going on around her, but she also must deal with some crushing news about her supposedly devoted husband Douglas. Caroline resolves to take her life back into her own hands and find out what's really going on, but there is nothing that can prepare her for the staggering truth behind the murders!

"Naked Came the Phoenix" is an outrageous and exciting murder mystery that is sure to entertain. I found the first chapter, by Nevada Barr, a bit tough to wade through, but after that every other author was great. This book is just good clean fun, and if you read it with that in mind, I have no doubt that you will enjoy it enormously.

I was attracted to this book by two selling points. One, all the proceeds from this book goes to help breast cancer charities; second, except for two of the authors, I had read previous works from the participants and have enjoyed every one. Each author contributes a chapter and then passes it to another author to continue the story. They all did a great job and made it interesting to see how they reacted to some outrageous plot threads put in the story. The story is definitely farfetched but it was fun. I applaud Laurie King for writing a decent final chapter to the mess provided by the other authors. All threads were tied and everybody could breath a sound of relief. I am not claiming this to be great literature but I thought the concept was a good idea and it all goes to a worthy cause.

At the spa, Caroline's mother remains her usual obnoxious manipulative self though perhaps acting a bit more bizarre than usual. The owner of the spa Claudia de Vries, her mother's college roommate, behaves even weirder than Hilda does. However, Claudia's behavior becomes moot, as someone murders her. The police and Caroline conduct separate inquiries even while other patrons die.

NAKED CAME THE PHOENIX is an entertaining collaboration from thirteen of the leading female mystery writers on the market today. The story line is fun though the line up of superstars tend to void pronouncements from the previous chapters. Still, the plot seems fresh due to Caroline who is the one consistency throughout the who-done-it. For the most part the authors provided strong entries that help make NAKED CAME THE PHOENIX a likable story. What else would you expect from a who's who consisting of Nevada Barr, J.D. Robb, Nancy Pickard, Lisa Scottoline, Perri O'Shaugnessy, J.A. Jance, Faye Kellerman, Mary Jane Clark, Marcia Talley, Anne Perry, Diana Gabaldon, Val McDermid, and Laurie King.

Harriet Klausner

Unfortunately, Pitt fails. Two murders are committed despite his efforts, terrifying both the guests and the sizable contingent of servants. We then have the usual collection of suspects and motives, and Pitt eventually sorts through all of the information to solve the mystery - with considerable help from his wife Charlotte and their maid Gracie.

It's a tightly written mystery, along with a convincing portrayal of Victorian mores and the unending hatreds in Ireland. It doesn't quite rise to the level of true literature, as Elizabeth George's and P. D. James's books often do, but it's a solid, high-quality production.

A dead man found on the steps of one of Victorian London's most fashionable homes kicks off the 19th mystery featuring Superintendent Thomas Pitt of the Bow Street Police Station and his clever wife, Charlotte.

Although General Brandon Balantyne denies knowing the shabbily dressed man, his snuffbox was found in the dead man's pocket. Since he's dealing with his betters in class-conscious Victorian Britain, Pitt must tread carefully as he delves into the dead man's past in hopes of finding a connection.

"Bedford Square" is a story which promises much but delivers little. There's much talk about class differences -- Pitt's constable assistant is nearly blinded in his anger against the upper classes -- and in Pitt's investigation of what turns out to be a nasty wide-ranging blackmail plot, we are repeatedly told that the victims are all pure in character and how least revelation, no matter how false, will blast their reputations so utterly that it becomes tedious. The solution to the mystery is extremely disappointing: neither making much sense, nor is it in keeping with what we know of the characters. A disappointing book to someone who wondered what all the shouting was about.

While I didn't think that this was one of her best works, I did feel that Perry was trying to do something different with regards to involving one of the prime suspects in the actual sleuthing process (in this case, Charlotte's widower brother-in-law, Dominic Corde). As I read the book, I felt that Corde, in some ways, made more progress than Pitt. It does make a sort of sense though, since Corde lived in the same house as Bellwood.

I was disappointed that Perry's more interesting supporting characters, Great-Aunt Vespasia and Charlotte's mother, Caroline, barely get a mention. Charlotte's Grandmama only got one good scene, and she is great for comedic relief. I wish Perry could have somehow involved these ladies more in her exploration of how feminism affected them personally. That could have been really interesting.

Still, kudos to Perry for trying something different. Wish it could have been better.

Traitor`s Gate features Thomas much more prominently than Charlotte. Thomas` surrogate father, Sir Arthur Desmond, the owner of the estate for which Thomas` actual father was the gamekeeper, has died in his club in London. The death is ruled accidental, or suicide, but his son Matthew, Thomas` close boyhood friend, is convinced it must have been murder, and asks Thomas to investigate.

Thomas is unable to officially investigate Desmond`s death, but rather fortuitously he is asked to investigate a case of missing information at the Colonial Office, to do with Africa and with British support for Cecil Rhodes. As it turns out, Arthur Desmond, formerly employed in the Foreign Office, had just prior to his death been making "wild" accusations of abuse of power in the government support of Rhodes. Naturally, Desmond`s death and the missing information are linked, and, more importantly, both are linked to the mysterious organization Thomas has run afoul of in previous books, The Inner Circle.

As Pitt`s investigations continue, his own life and Matthew`s are threatened, another murder is committed, and finally Pitt`s discoveries trigger a chain reaction of suicides and murders, ending somewhat in medias res with Pitt apparently ready to openly take on the Inner Circle.

The story is entertaining, and the solutions to the crimes are reasonably clever and interesting. However I don`t rank this as highly as the best books in the series for a few reasons. The Inner Circle has become non-credible to me, in its villainy, and its apparent size and power, not to say the incompetence of such a powerful organization in dealing with such a minor figure as Pitt. Pitt`s solutions to the crimes take on the all-too-familiar form of confronting the criminal with the (often rather sparse) evidence of his wrongdoing, upon which he either confesses or commits suicide. The device of having Pitt assigned to investigate a case of espionage is rather unconvincing. Also, the key crime of the book (the second murder) is not only difficult to credit as far as motive is concerned, but is committed in a foolish manner which seems calculated to ultimately draw attention to the murderer (indeed Thomas is misled rather more than I think he should be).

Finally, a key element of the enjoyment of this series is the ongoing stories of the advancing social life of the continuing characters. The books generally feature a love story or two, and this is no exception, but I didn`t find the love stories very involving. And as I said, Charlotte`s role in this book is minor, which is understandable for this book, but something of a drawback nonetheless.