London detective Thomas Pitt is investigating the murder of a junior diplomat by a notorious Egyptian woman and her lover, a senior Cabinet minister involved in negotiating the conflict between Egypt's cotton growers and England's textile industry. Lovat, the diplomat, once served in Egypt, and to unravel the mystery of his death, Pitt travels to Alexandria, where he finds that the beautiful Ayesha Zakhari is not who she appears to be--and that Lovat's murder may be tied to an old crime which, if exposed, could set the Middle East aflame. While Pitt is in Egypt, his wife, Charlotte, occupies herself with a more mundane matter--the disappearance of a valet whose sister is a friend of the Pitt's housemaid. It's not long before the reader realizes the connection between the two crimes; meanwhile, Perry layers this smoothly plotted mystery with a fascinating history of Egypt in the days of the British Empire and the religious and economic tensions whose repercussions still resonate more than a century later. Perry, the author of two Victorian-era series (the other stars investigator William Monk), does her usual fine job of bringing the colorful time period alive, helped along by the details of domestic life provided by her protagonists' wives, interesting and accomplished women who have lately played all but equal roles in solving their husbands' cases. --Jane Adams


From Publishers Weekly
In her 23rd Victorian mystery featuring Thomas and Charlotte Pitt (after 2002's Southampton Row), Perry uses a pending economic crisis to good effect. Now firmly ensconced in his job with Special Branch, Thomas looks into the murder of a junior diplomat, whose corpse turns up in a wheelbarrow in a garden belonging to a mysterious and beautiful Egyptian woman, Ayesha Zakhari. Pitt travels to Egypt for answers, but the more he learns about Miss Zakhari the more he suspects that she's the pawn in some ugly political game. The Pitts' maid, Gracie, involves Charlotte in the search for a missing valet. Gracie also enlists the aid of Thomas's former subordinate, Sergeant Tellman, and in one of the charming subplots of the book, their romance develops further. The trail leads Charlotte into the dark and dangerous alleys of London's Seven Dials district, and eventually she and Thomas discover that the two cases intersect in a horrifying way. Perry once again delivers a complex and satisfying tale that fans of the series will devour.Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Thomas Pitt must protect Senior Cabinet Minister Saville Ryerson from scandal when he is implicated in a murder at the house of a mysterious Egyptian woman. Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From AudioFile
Special Branch Agent Thomas Pitt and his wife, Charlotte, pursue separate investigations of different crimes, only to find them tragically connected. Both offenses resulted from a mosque fire in Egypt some twenty years earlier. Michael Page's low, understated voice gives perfect characterization to turn-of-the-century Brits and Egyptians, both male and female. While preserving the gravity of the crime drama, his mellow tones bring compassion to the heart of a jaded inspector and spirited worry to the voice of an aggrieved and uneducated house servant. Page knows just when to pick up the pace and when to linger over an emotional or complex passage, lending balance to the entire production. R.P.L. © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine


From Booklist
Perry, selected by the London Times as one of the twentieth century's "100 Masters of Crime," is still knocking them dead in the twenty first. Her latest, a Thomas and Charlotte Pitt caper, is a typical blend of Victorian social history (Perry's research extends even to the cleaning agents--sorrel juice, chalk, horse-hoof parings--used in wealthy Victorian homes), political intrigue, and exemplary detective work. What gives this particular series added punch is the character of Charlotte, an aristocrat with a social conscience, who descends into London's netherworld to help fallen women and lost souls. This time, Charlotte goes undercover to find a disappeared servant. Thomas Pitt, of Her Majesty's Special Branch, is faced with an exquisitely sensitive case. A junior diplomat has been found murdered in the garden of a notorious Egyptian woman, with her current lover, a very powerful senior Cabinet minister, found at the scene as well. Pitt is asked to untangle the mystery without bringing down the government. As usual with Perry, the mystery ripples out in complications and new dangers. A fine puzzle. Connie Fletcher
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Review
“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

“TERRIFIC, VIVID STUFF . . . The alarmingly prolific Anne Perry [is] a master of the genre.”
—The Seattle Times



From the Hardcover edition.


Review
?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

?TERRIFIC, VIVID STUFF . . . The alarmingly prolific Anne Perry [is] a master of the genre.?
?The Seattle Times



From the Hardcover edition.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Millions of readers who love New York Times bestselling author Anne Perry and her novels cherish the magical passport she provides into the age of Victoria at its brilliant zenith. It was an unforgettable time when rich and powerful Englishmen contrived to make themselves even richer and more powerful. When Englishwomen were the glittering ornaments of an opulent society, rolling over cobblestones in their costly carriages, entertaining the chosen few in their elegant drawing rooms. Thoughts of the poor, rotting in London slums and in British dominions east and west of Suez, seldom troubled this prideful aristocracy. But a shocking murder was soon to remind them of their ever-present vulnerability.

In the first gray of a mid-September morning, 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 and notorious Egyptian woman Ayesha Zakhari, who falls under the shadow of suspicion. Pitt’s orders, emanating from Prime Minister Gladstone himself, are to protect—at all costs—the good name of the third person in the garden: senior cabinet minister Saville Ryerson. This distinguished public servant, whispered to be Ayesha’s lover, insists that she is as innocent as he is himself. Could it be true?

In the dead man’s less-than-stellar reputation, Pitt finds hope. But in ancient Alexandria, where the victim was once an army officer, hope grows dim. For there, Pitt receives intimations of deadly entanglements stretching from Egyptian cotton fields to Manchester cotton mills, from the noxious London slum known as Seven Dials to the madhouse called Bedlam.

Meanwhile, in a packed courtroom at the Old Bailey, time is ticking away for Ayesha and Saville. With Pitt and his clients racing against the hangman, the trial reaches its pulse-pumping climax.

SYNOPSIS

Millions of readers who love New York Times bestselling author Anne Perry and her novels cherish the magical passport she provides into the age of Victoria at its brilliant zenith. It was an unforgettable time when rich and powerful Englishmen contrived to make themselves even richer and more powerful.

FROM THE CRITICS

Library Journal

The beautiful Egyptian Ayesha Zakhari is the primary suspect when Lt. Edwin Lovat, her former lover, is found murdered at her London mansion. Also present when police arrive is cabinet minister Saville Ryerson, whose involvement prompts Prime Minister Gladstone to ask Special Branch to solve the case. While Thomas Pitt journeys to Egypt in search of the truth, his wife, Charlotte, and their plucky maid, Gracie, look for a missing valet. Thomas learns that Ayesha is far from the notorious woman everyone assumes her to be. He also uncovers Lovat's part in a horrifying crime in Egypt 12 years earlier. Perry once again ingeniously combines a lively mystery with a harsh portrait of a society devoted to covering up unpleasantness, though her character development is a bit thinner than usual. Michael Page perhaps tries to overcome this weakness by making much of the dialog melodramatic. Recommended where Perry is popular.-Michael Adams, CUNY Graduate Ctr. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

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