Anne Perry - Bedford Square

FASCINATING.
San Francisco Examiner

An Anne Perry novel is a delight to read as much for its Victorian-era details as for the mystery it unfolds . [She] captivates readers with her vivid descriptions of a time that often has been thought virtuous but in reality was plagued with problems and scandals. She intertwines characters and their livestheir daily routines, hardships and emotionsinto a suspenseful tale that always tackles a social issue.

Chicago Tribune

Anne Perry is deliciously at it again . Perrys style is expressly gracious and fluid, as impeccable as Victorian manners. And she will keep you guessing right up until the final pages, when everything suddenly, violently, falls into place, revealing yet again the depths to which people will sink in order to keep their proprieties and public facades intact. Perrys seamless surface reveals a seamy underside, and the shock is swift and sure.

The Providence Sunday Journal

A RIVETING READ YOU DONT WANT TO PUT DOWN.
J ILL J ACKSON Hollywood

Perry, as always, excels at portraying the richness, poverty, and class distinctions of Victorian England. However, she achieves brilliance in palming the ace which would give the whole game away to a reader alert enough to spot it.

Chicago Sun-Times

History, social commentary, and suspense blend artfully [The] reader will be swept along by the narratives rush and engaged by its attention to period detail. Aiding Pitt is a cast of smart, well-drawn female characters . Yet again, Perry delivers an astute and gripping examination of life behind Victorian Englands virtuous facade.

Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Anne Perry, who critics and fans agree writes Victorian mysteries better than anyone else, explores high and low London society in Bedford Square.

St Paul Pioneer Press (Pick of the Week)

TANTALIZING HER SLEEKEST, FASTEST-MOVING BOOK IN YEARS.
Kirkus Reviews

The Pitts investigate a dark phenomenon not limited to the Victorians: the destruction of reputation through nothing more than innuendo . [Perry] uses the eras quaint and often bizarre trappings to frame concerns for social issues that have relevance today.

The Seattle Times

Bedford Square is a multilayered novel about deception, love, murder, and, ultimately, the meaning of honor. The setting is so vividly drawn, its almost as if the reader is swept back into late Victorian times.

Romantic Times

Perrys popular mysteries are scathing exposs of hypocrisy and corruption in the English Victorian era . The mood and pace of the tale are exemplary.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer

By Anne Perry
Published by Ballantine Books

Featuring Thomas and Charlotte Pitt:

THE CATER STREET HANGMAN

CALLANDER SQUARE

PARAGON WALK

RESURRECTION ROW

BLUEGATE FIELDS

RUTLAND PLACE

DEATH IN THE DEVILS ACRE

CARDINGTON CRESCENT

SILENCE IN HANOVER CLOSE

BETHLEHEM ROAD

HIGHGATE RISE

BELGRAVE SQUARE

FARRIERS LANE

THE HYDE PARK HEADSMAN

TRAITORS GATE

PENTECOST ALLEY

ASHWORTH HALL

BRUNSWICK GARDENS

BEDFORD SQUARE

HALF MOON STREET

THE WHITECHAPEL CONSPIRACY

SOUTHHAMPTON ROW

SEVEN DIALS

LONG SPOON LANE

BUCKINGHAM PALACE GARDENS

Featuring William Monk:

THE FACE OF A STRANGER

A DANGEROUS MOURNING

DEFEND AND BETRAY

A SUDDEN, FEARFUL DEATH

THE SINS OF THE WOLF

CAIN HIS BROTHER

WEIGHED IN THE BALANCE

THE SILENT CRY

A BREACH OF PROMISE

THE TWISTED ROOT

SLAVES OF OBSESSION

FUNERAL IN BLUE

DEATH OF A STRANGER

THE SHIFTING TIDE

DARK ASSASSIN

EXECUTION DOCK

The World War I Novels:

NO GRAVES AS YET

SHOULDER THE SKY

ANGELS IN THE GLOOM

AT SOME DISPUTED BARRICADE

WE SHALL NOT SLEEP

The Christmas Novels:

A CHRISTMAS JOURNEY

A CHRISTMAS VISITOR

A CHRISTMAS GUEST

A CHRISTMAS SECRET

A CHRISTMAS BEGINNING

A CHRISTMAS GRACE

A Ballantine Book
Published by The Random House Publishing Group
Copyright 1999 by Anne Perry

All rights reserved.

Published in the United States by Ballantine Books, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York, and simultaneously in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto.

B ALLANTINE and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

www.ballantinebooks.com

eISBN: 978-0-307-76769-1

v3.1

FOR MY MOTHER

1

P ITT LEANED OUT of the bedroom window in his nightshirt and looked down into the street below. The police constable was standing on the pavement staring up at him. The constables face, yellow in the gaslight from the street lamps, was tense and unhappy, and it was for more reason than simply having woken the commander of the Bow Street police station at four oclock in the morning.

Dead, sir, he answered Pitts question. An I cant see as ow it could a bin an accident, not ow e is, an were I found im. An I oughta be gettin back, sir. I darsent leave im there by isself, sir. Someone might move im, like mess wif evidence.

Yes, of course, Pitt agreed. Go back, Constable. You did the right thing. Ill get dressed and Ill be there. I presume you havent had a chance to call the surgeon or the mortuary van?

No sir, I come straight ere, seein as were e is.

Ill call them. You go back and stand guard.

Yes sir. Im sorry, sir.

Dont be. You did the right thing, Pitt repeated, pulling his head in and shivering involuntarily. It was Juneat least nominally summerbut in London the nights were still chilly, and there was a faint mist hanging over the city.

What is it? Charlotte sat up in bed and fumbled for a match. He heard it scrape and then saw the flame as it caught the wick of the candle. It lit her face softly, gleaming on the warm, dark color of her hair, which was falling out of its long braid. She looked worried.

Theyve found a body in Bedford Square, he answered. It seems as if he was murdered.

Do they really need you for that? she protested. Is it somebody important?

Since his promotion Pitt had been asked to concentrate on those cases which were of political significance or threatened scandal.

Maybe not, he replied, closing the window and walking over to where his clothes were hanging across the back of the chair. He took off his nightshirt and began to dress, not bothering with collar or cravat. There was water in the ewer, and he poured it into the basin. It was cold, but there was certainly no time to light the kitchen stove and heat it so he could shave. Unfortunately, there was also no time for a cup of tea, which he would have liked even more. He splashed his face and felt the sharp tingle of coldness, then with his eyes shut, felt for the towel.

Thank you. He took it from Charlottes outstretched hand. He rubbed his face vigorously, feeling the rough cotton stir the blood and warm him. Because apparently he was on the front doorstep of one of the big houses, he replied.