52 books in 2011

[lumineaux]

30.  Treason at Lisson Grove by Anne Perry

I pick up an Anne Perry book looking for a murder mystery.  Of late, however, she has decided to take her detective character Thomas Pitt out of being a murder detective and into being a secret agent, 1890s style.   I don't find the Pitts' involvement in Victorian espionage nearly as captivating as their previous adventures solving ordinary murders.  There is less opportunity for the sort of character study that Perry does so very very well. 

As an out-and-out adventure novel, Treason at Lisson Grove is satisfactory, but only just.  The villains aren't well-defined.  The rationale behind the plot is sketchy (even anarchists have *got* to be better organized than this).  There's the obligatory society dinner -- which Perry must be contractually obligated to include in every book -- but it's lacking in her usual bite and polish.  There is also a wealth of missed opportunities in the book.  For example, Thomas Pitt's boss seems to have a crush on Pitt's wife, Charlotte.  Pitt is aware of it but seems utterly unconcerned by it.  Charlotte may or may not be aware of.  I'd have loved to see this potential problem addressed in more thorough way.   Does Pitt trust Narraway that much?   In addition, in about the middle of the book, a character turns coat and ends up being a villain.  Pitt is forced to kill this character.  I would have liked a little more reaction from Pitt to this turn of events.

For regular fans of the series, the most interesting event happens entire off-screen.  Gracie and Telman are finally married and living in their own establishment.  Gracie does make a brief appearance.  Telman does not.