Good read! Loved the investigations and all the twists and turns. Ending was a surprise but I had started to think that was where it was going. I do wish she wrapped up the endings better though. I appreciate the "cliffhanger" aspect but expecting me to remember these characters and all the details a year from now when the next book is published...wrap it up now. ( )

I enjoyed this entry into the Thomas Pitt series. An opium bust gone wrong results in an explosions that kills 3 policemen and severely injures two more. Was it set by anarchists, or to draw attention to a false conviction and police corruption. Pitt and Tellman agonize as they solve the case. ( )

A tip-off sends five police officers to a house, expecting an opium deal. What they find is not opium, but a bomb. Two of them are killed and the other three injured in the explosion.

What Thomas Pitt has to find out, is whether the bomb was set by anarchists, or someone else. And if not anarchists, then why? And did the bomber want to kill any police officers, or these ones in particular?

The storyline is particularly resonant in the current political climate - Charlotte Pitt has some pertinent things to say about terror tactics, and how they serve to make people so afraid that they will do the anarchists' work for them.

Since Pitt has transferred to Special Branch, there is less role for Charlotte in his cases, which is always disappointing - although in this book, Emily gets a little more page time. Vespasia makes a brief appearance, and Narraway comes in at the end.

There wasn't really much in the way of mystery; the thrust of the book was more about how Pitt was going to handle the political fallout of the case. However, I felt that even there, the suspense was lacking somewhat. Pitt didn't really have many options, so there was never any doubt as to what he might do. There were some interesting avenues that might have been explored, but which were not. For me, though, the worst failings were inaccurate medical detail and a very unconvincing court scene. I can't imagine a modern judge allowing such goings-on in his or her court, and from reading nineteenth century court reports, I don't think judges back then were any more lenient.

All in all, however, it was a pleasant enough way to spend a couple of hours (which I desperately needed), but not one of the best of the series. Best left for fans: anyone new to the series should start with the first few books. ( )

I enjoyed the plot of this book, but I did find some parts confusing. It may have been better if I had read the other books in the series to understand more of the background. ( )

After two disappointing reads, the latest book in Anne Perry's Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series, Treachery at Lancaster Gate shows that Ms. Perry is back in form with an entertaining novel. All of our favorites, Charlotte, her sister Emily, Aunt Vespasia and even the ex-maid, Gracie are in the thick of it in this book, helping Pitt solve who bombed a house in Lancaster Gate in London that killed three and severely wounded two other policemen.

Pitt is called into the case because, of course, everyone suspects that an anarchist group is responsible. However, it soon becomes apparent that the culprit(s) are something else altogether, and what Pitt is actually dealing with is a wicked stew of drug addiction and police corruption.

I would have given this book 4 stars if not for the irritating dues ex machina ending that Ms. Perry uses all to often. Still, this was a fun and absorbing summer vacation read. ( )