Daniel Pitt is startled one morning being awoken one morning to come and identify a body found in Mile End, a seedy section of town. The victim had Daniel's card in his pocket is the police feel that he would know the victim. Daniel is devastated when he recognizes the coat believing that he will see his friend Toby Ketteridge when the victim is revealed. But no, it's not Toby, but one of the head barrister's in the law office where he works. Giving the police the identity that they were searching for, Daniel arrives at the law offices to inform the head of chambers of the death. In trying to find out why this man was murdered, Daniel places not just himself but his friends and family in danger because the main suspect is a very powerful man.

I really enjoyed the intricacies of this mystery as well as seeing Daniel's father and mother playing minor parts in the story. ( )

Anne Perry has penned a huge amount of books, and I have read every one of them. This latest addition to the Daniel Pitt series is another winner. I did find that Ms. Perry used a bit more "shock and awe" in this one than in her other books. There were a few coincidences and quick jumps in plot as well. That is why I gave the book 4 stars instead of my usual 5. But this book is another winner in my opinion, albeit maybe just a bit less stellar. It certainly kept me going anyway. The body of a lawyer from Daniel's chambers is found hacked to death in a very bad East End neighbourhood in the spring of 1911. Daniel is tasked with finding out what happened to him by his head of Chambers. Enlisting the help of his friend and colleague Toby Kitteridge, his very famous father Thomas Pitt and his mother Charlotte, he sets out on a dangerous game of cat and mouse with a very powerful and evil foe. I did know who had been committing the crimes in Mile End almost right from the beginning, but that didn't spoil my eagerness to speed through the book. It was lovely to see my old friend Thomas Pitt in action again as well. This book could be read on its own and enjoyed, but it is far better to have the whole back history of the Pitt in my memory bank. It makes it so much more enjoyable, and more like visiting with old friends. ( )

Set in May of 1911, a new era, a new King, a new murder. Perry has scraped the underbelly of the infamous Whitechapel area placing the body of a renowned senior lawyer amidst the brothels and opium dens. Perry tasks Daniel Pitt with the identification of the body and thereby you just know this young terrier isn’t going to let go until he solves the murder and mystery behind the nefarious goings on. What he lacks in experience he encompasses in dedication and fear in equal measures. He is going to chase himself in circles.

Utilizing many of the familiar characters it was not hard to put the players in their roles and watch the plot play out. There was too much of the same and more of the same. Is Mr. Ford Croft totally losing it? And can the firm be saved? And is Thomas Pitt going to get involved and threatened yet again? And what about Charlotte Pitt? What about her indeed? Is Kitteridge going to help Daniel? Is Daniel going to help himself? Is Miriam going to show up and help save them all? And never forget Blackwell and his sister who can always be relied upon to stir up the bottom with those unanswerable questions that have to be answered. Just a little too much of more of the same.

I like Anne Perry’s Daniel Pitt Series even when I am slightly disappointed as I was with this installment. True to its time, well described and written, I am rounding up to four stars. Thank you NetGalley and Ballantine Books for a copy. ( )

The story starts with the police coming to Daniel’s office asking him to go to the morgue to identify a body of a man found in Miles End with Daniel’s business card in his pocket. Afraid it’s his colleague Kitteridge but it's Drake, another solicitor in the law firm, wearing Kitteridge’s borrowed jacket. Looking into Drake's cases, leads to more murders and an overlap with Special Branch, bringing Daniel’s father into the mix. Four murders and a kidnapping before the crime is solved. ( )