Callander Square

Charlotte & Thomas Pitt #2

by Anne Perry

Murders just don’t happen in fashionable areas like Callander Square–but these two have. The police are totally baffled. Pretty, young Charlotte Ellison Pitt, however, is curious.Inspector Pitt’s well-bred wife doesn’t often meddle in her husband’s business, but something about this case intrigues her–to the point that staid Charlotte Pitt is suddenly rattling the closets of the very rich, seeking out backstairs gossip that would shock a barmaid, and unearthing truths that could push even the most proper aristocrat to murder.

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical Mystery, Historical, Audiobook, Victorian

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1980

About the author

Anne Perry, born Juliet Hulme in England, lived in Scotland most of her life after serving five years in prison for murder (in New Zealand). A beloved mystery authoress, she is best known for her Thomas Pitt and William Monk series.

Her first novel, "The Cater Street Hangman", was published in 1979. Her works extend to several categories of genre fiction, including historical mysteries. Many of them feature recurring characters, most importantly Thomas Pitt and amnesiac private investigator William Monk, who first appeared in 1990, "The Face Of A Stranger".

Her story "Heroes," from the 1999 anthology Murder And Obsession, won the 2001 Edgar Award For Best Short Story. She was included as an entry in Ben Peek's Twenty-Six Lies / One Truth, a novel exploring the nature of truth in literature.

Series contributed to:
. Crime Through Time
. Perfectly Criminal
. Malice Domestic
. The World's Finest Mystery And Crime Stories
. Transgressions
. The Year's Finest Crime And Mystery Stories

Reviews

[Sonja Rosa Lisa ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ein Krimi aus dem viktorianischen London. Es beginnt sehr spannend, denn in einer feinen Gegend entdecken Gärtner beim Graben zwei Babyleichen. Ein Skandal.
Inspektor Thomas Pitt werden die Ermittlungen dazu nicht leichtgemacht, denn die feine Gesellschaft weiß nichts und hat nur Angst um ihren guten Ruf.
Also ermitteln Pitts Ehefrau Charlotte und deren Schwester Emily auf eigene Faust, indem sie sich heimlich "einschleichen".
Mir hat das Buch recht gut gefallen, auch wenn die anfängliche Spannung rasch nachgelassen hat.
Die Ermittlungsarbeit war zwar auch durchaus interessant, aber irgendwie hat mir noch ein bisschen gefehlt.
Dafür erfährt der Leser allerdings viel über die damalige feine Gesellschaft und deren unumstößliche Regeln.

[Phrynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two books into this series now and I am very happy I have so many ahead of me to read! I really enjoyed this second outing with Charlotte and her policeman husband Thomas.

I always enjoy historical fiction set in yesteryear London and I love a good mystery so Callander Square was bound to be a good read for me. It turned out that there was more than one mystery involved and more than one person responsible and I did not have a clue who did what until it was disclosed almost in the last page.

One minor problem was the abruptness of the ending. I was reading on a Kindle and was only on 84% when suddenly the murderer was outed and it finished. Just like that! Still a very good book and I am looking forward to the next one.

[Jaline · Rating 5 out of 5]

There’s a problem in reviewing a series where the characters’ stories develop with each new book: it is almost impossible to write without spoilers regarding what has occurred previously. Ah well, I will do my best to avoid it.

Somewhere between the first novel and this second one, both Charlotte and her sister Emily marry their respective suitors. Charlotte marries Thomas Pitt, the police Inspector whose persistence in solving a mystery in the first book was matched by his persistence in wooing Charlotte. Emily marries into Society. It will require the investigative skills, curiosity, persistence, and intelligence of the sisters, the police (in the form of Thomas Pitt, of course) and Society itself to resolve the murders in the high-end housing area called Callander Square.

As gardeners dig around trying to find a place to plant a new shrub, they unearth something they didn’t expect – the bodies of two babies, buried one below the other. Pitt is called upon by his superiors to investigate, and the doctor confirms that the one buried deepest appeared to be a year or 18 months older than the one above it. There are no clues, but Inspector Thomas Pitt does what he does: with his calm manner and ability to engage with others, the questioning of house servants begins.

When Charlotte and Emily become involved, it is initially out of curiosity. Then, they realize that Emily’s position can help to open other doors: gossip among the wives in the circles she moves in; specifically, those in Callander Square. Charlotte also becomes involved in the neighbourhood by taking on a secretarial task for one of the residents.

Between the three of them and their efforts to discover information, many secrets begin to filter through about the shady and sordid affairs of some of the residents of Callander Square. Some of the residents even begin stumbling over their own feet in order to hide their secrets while trying to appear cooperative.

Then, another body is found – an adult body this time. The intensity increases – is this one in any way related to the two babies? Is it related to any of the other scandals that have been unearthed? The facts come through fast and furious yet with seemingly no connection to each other. And then blackmail pops up – one attempted, and one successful – by two different people.

There is yet another murder, and some of the residents lobby the Home Office to end all the investigating by the police because they are convinced that the police poking around in their affairs is the cause of these murders, and they have had enough of it.

But have they? Is protecting their reputations from scandal more important than finding the murderer or murderers in their midst?

Anne Perry is very skilled at creating a maze for us to get lost in, and then propelling us through it – dead ends and all. When we eventually emerge on the other side of the maze, it is to a bright and sunny prospect and we can happily leave all the darkness behind. Until next time.

[Zain · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m Loving It!

Now that Charlotte has married her Inspector Pitt, she sees herself as a semi-sleuth.

But fortunately, she is good at what she does and makes a wonderful aid to her husband.

He doesn’t know how lucky he is. 😉

Four stars. ✨✨✨✨

[Ingrid · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars Again a book to enjoy. I'm beginning to get to know the characters, which I always consider as a great plus in reading series.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

It moved along and flowed very nicely but there were a few things that I found odd and lost the book a 5-star rating. I also had to remember that women in the era that the books are set didn't have the freedoms that women have today. t seemed that at times Charlotte was not even that interested in the investigation. She spent numerous hours immersed in helping General Balantyne with his family history. There were great stretches of time when she made absolutely no moves toward resolving the case at all. Her only reason for being in the vicinity at all was to enable her to meet a secondary character and provide a link for the end of the story. Then suddenly her sister Emily was front and center playing a huge part in the solving of the mystery by providing information that Charlotte would have certainly been helpful in uncovering. This series very much offers an "insiders" view to the lives and thoughts of life during the Victorian era. This author and this series was one of my mother's all-time favorites and I try to read at least one book a year from her favorite authors or titles...this was 2023's. as a "modern woman" I am still slightly put-off by the hypocrisy and double standards of this era. In spite of that, I think Anne Perry does a fantastic job of immersing the reader in the time period. If you just want to escape into a good mystery...Anne Perry is an author to trust to provide this escape for you.

[Linda (NOT RECEIVING NOTIFICATIONS) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I ‘met’ the tall Charlotte Ellison who lacked a filter on her mouth, her beautiful but conniving sister Emily, the secretive Lord William Ashworth and Inspector Thomas Pitt when I read The Cater Street Hangman. The mystery was good and I enjoyed Thomas’s character. He was a working man’s son who was educated side by side with a nobleman’s heir. His wisdom and speech did not match his disheveled clothes or wild hair. He wasn’t handsome but he fell in love with Charlotte. And he solved the case.

The young couple were now into their second year of marriage, Charlotte was in the early stages of her first pregnancy and Thomas still couldn’t believe she gave up everything to marry a poorly-paid police officer. Mrs. Pitt has mellowed slightly and matured. She does her best to think before she speaks. And she is still learning to cook. And clean. And surrender to her husband’s better judgment but only when necessary.

This historical mystery took a dark subject- the death of two babies- and twisted it behind the doors of the upper elite of Callander Square. Guilt chooses no friends. We are reminded more than once of Upstairs meets Downstairs. And loyalty, the games of marriage and unhappiness with your lifelong partner.

Emily is now Lady Ashworth and conveniently involves herself in solving the mystery. Charlotte develops an odd friendship of sorts. Lord Ashworth was mentioned but I still knew little of his character. And Thomas was still Thomas, doing his very best to solve the mystery.

*I just wish there was a better groove between them. More conversations. Interactions. Looks. I think this is a minor weak spot that needs work on.*

The suspense was very good. I thought more than once of Victoria Thompson’s earlier Gaslight mysteries while reading the book. I was happy it didn’t dwell on the little ones; Ms. Perry put more weight on the rich, their expectations and their dirty little secrets. Well done!

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m really enjoying this series. This one was a little more difficult to read bc there were so many possible suspects, but I mainly read this for the characters, particularly Charlotte, a strong, intelligent woman in an era where these qualities were under-appreciated, and for the good flavor for the Victorian era this book gives. Definitely going on with the series and glad to have finally read this author’s work!

[Scot · Rating 4 out of 5]

Second in this series. Charlotte has married Thomas, and finds a way to get around Victorian gender rules about the reaspectable wife remaining in the home to get out and help him solve a series of murders that begin with the discovery of some buried infant skeletons in the shared garden of a fashionable cul-de-sac where some well-to-do Londoners reside, Callander Square. Who put those dead babies there, and why? I liked Charlotte's sister Emily even more in this volume, for she uses her skills in flattery and social manipulation as well as her social standing (she is married to a viscount) to help the Pitts move the investigation along. While Charlotte and Thomas as our heroic couple are pure of heart, morally superior, both intelligent and shrewd, Emily demonstrates how useful it can be to have a rich conniver on your side as well. As in the previous volume, there is a tendency to tie up many loose ends in a sudden rush in the closing pages, which is a bit like a torrent after a long drought, given the Victorian manners and dialogue that provide the paradigm and expository flow for the work--but perhaps such conclusion is fairly regular in this subgenre, as it tries to resolve not only affairs of crime but affairs of the heart.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

So. Many. Characters. It was hard to keep track of them all and when the killer was finally revealed I didn’t remember who it was and I didn’t care.

[Lindsey Duncan · Rating 3 out of 5]

When the skeletons of two infants are found buried in fashionable Callander Square, it's up to three people to negotiate the labyrinth of social mores, scandal and deceit: Inspector Pitt, his intrepid wife Charlotte, and her redoubtable sister Emily ... who arguably is the real sleuth through much of the first half of the book.

Overall, this is an intriguing and often disturbing study of Victorian high society, but it suffers from the (also Victorian) attributes of being somewhat dry and reserved. There's not as much detection as you would expect, but plenty of mystery in unexpected places. For me, the real puzzle of the book - and the one left to the reader to solve - is the interactions between man and woman, social pretense and reality.

I had some trouble with this book, especially early on. The way the characters were introduced made it difficult for me to tell them apart, and I feel that even near the end of the book, there were a few I had to stop and consciously match up. There's also a distinct lack of tension to start - you don't get the clear sense that the babes were murdered, and so it's more a matter of truth-seeking than anything else. (This element extends a long way into the book, so it's arguable that the mystery isn't that important to the story until much later.)

Also, the book quickly branched into secondary points of view, including suspects ... so it sometimes became difficult to track what each character knew. On the other hand, this element provided most of the tension and the fascinating through-lines of Victorian life. The battle of the sexes has rarely been illustrated with more incisiveness - and viciousness, at times.

Final complaint: I reached the end, and I felt cheated by the conclusion. I felt as if pieces of information had been withheld, or the reader would simply assume something in its place. There were reasons to suspect the killer, but the motive was simply concealed until the very last. Not quite fair play, says I.

But it's quite fitting that the book doesn't end there, and the final conclusion says much about the courage and bravery of Victorian women. Perry truly gets inside the mind of the period. I'm up for another Pitt novel - the enjoyment goes beyond the mystery.

[Jean · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Callander Square” is book two in Anne Perry’s Thomas and Charlotte Pitt series. The book was published in 1980. The book covers Victorian London’s neighborhood’s rich secrets.

Murders don’t take place in fashionable Callander Square, so Inspector Pitt’s wife Charlotte couldn’t resist finding out why one had. The plot revolves around the discovery of two infants bodies buried in the square of a high society neighborhood. The Pitts are on the case. The book is more about Victorian society, how they lived both the servants and the masters, than about solving the mystery.

Perry covers a great deal about women in Victorian England. The author also tosses in some information about proper etiquette in the Victorian time, such as the social rules of calling and leaving cards. Perry also covers what was important to women but not to the men. It is as if there were two separate worlds, the women in the house and outside of the house.

Perry is an excellent writer and she magically transports the reader to see what it was like living in Victorian London. I read this as an audiobook downloaded from Audible. One of my favorite narrators Davina Porter narrated the book.

[Ira · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.4 stars.
The mystery is good, as usual plenty killed in this story.

It was nice to meet Charlotte and Thomas again, they married now and expecting their first child.
As we know Thomas is not a well born and budget rather low for these two. So, no maid and it was fun to see Charlotte learn how to cook and clean the house:)
The good thing is Thomas was fine with Charlotte read newspapers, and he thought Charlotte is adorable when she talked freely what she had in mind:)

However too many POV in this book, sometimes I forgot who the main characters really and that made me not happy and skip the part of the persons I didn't like!

But still an ok read:)

[Jeanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Callander Square is the second in the Thomas and Charlotte Pitt mysteries, set in Victorian London. Inspector Pitt is a police inspector, clearly no better than the servants in the upper class neighborhood in which he works (at least from their perspective). Charlotte was "stubborn, compassionate, and willful" (p. 254). Together, although they do not share their plans as they move through this case, they have access to different worlds and realms of information, allowing them to solve their case.

Callander Square was set in Victorian London, well before #metoo, women's liberation, safe abortions, ready access to birth control, and easy identification and treatment of STIs. These were, of course, issues that were swirling to varying degrees in 1980, when Anne Perry published this book. If we needed a reason to appreciate the progress made in the last century, then reading Callander Square would be it – without being heavy-handed in its descriptions. Excepting Pitt, the men are mostly unenlightened, often boorish. Excepting Charlotte, the women are groped, seduced, raped, disparaged as whores, and sent to the country when they violate local norms and values. Reputations are paramount – especially for women. Women are blamed and punished for men's misbehaviors.

Perhaps more than most mysteries, pulling on the ball of yarn that the Pitts find leads to the discovery of more crime.

It seems so often one crime begets another. People do such strange things to cover guilt. We can become so cruel and so selfish when we are afraid. Murder and investigation reveal to us so many things about each other which we would rather not have known. Believe me, I am frightened by it. But I think I would prefer that it should always frighten me. Not to be frightened would mean that I had lost the understanding of it. (p. 227)

While exploring the first deaths arguably led to future crimes, uncovering them also led to several characters to living in more moral ways and to be more genuine in their interactions.

As per typical, I did not read the first of the series before this one. That was not a problem while reading this one. I'd like to read more of this series and other series written by Perry.

[Kathy Davie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Second in the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt mystery series set in Victorian London and revolving around a police inspector and his wife.

My Take
Each of the murders revolves around babies while the instigator is sex. It's an interesting look at the double standards of the times and the expectations of the wives' behaviors as most of the families on the square are torn apart. Expectations and beliefs are torn asunder although, I suspect, several of the women affected end up being much happier. I did rather enjoy Reggie having his complacent little life destroyed, the little prick.

Charlotte quickly proves her worth when she provides Thomas with lots of suggestions on how he might find clues without being direct! She also engages the General's attentions with her interest in the battles and observations made by family in letters to and from the various fronts. He is also impressed by her organizational abilities. Who knew a woman could be so competent!??

It's fascinating tiny clues that finally lead to the whole. As I read, I wonder how they can ever find out the truth with so little to go on, but Perry continues to build with those bits and pieces. As the background builds, it inspires more thoughts and inspiration finally leading to an inevitable "of course".

The Story
While planting a tree, gardeners dig up the bodies of two babies only one of which is deformed. It's difficult to determine how the babies died as there is nothing left but bones still, the police procedures must be followed and so poor Inspector Pitt is thrust up against the self-righteous wall of upper-class entitlement.

In all their blind faith, those who live in the square are surprised at how much Pitt does uncover: the true father of one and why it isn't her husband's; another's indoor proclivities with the parlor maids; the scandalous behavior of one of the daughters of one house and the steps taken to hush it up; and, Charlotte and Emily's discovery of the whereabouts of another occupant of the square.

And it's the fears of those occupants that causes everything to unravel.

The Characters
It's been two years of marriage for Charlotte and Thomas Pitt. An adjustment to be sure but Charlotte has settled in enough that she's keen to help Thomas on this case. The coup of Emily's marrying her lordship and the social stigma of a murder in the family coupled with Charlotte's embarrassingly forthright speech has resigned the Ellisons to Charlotte lowering herself to Pitt's level.

Lady Emily Ashworth has been getting a bit bored with her routine life and when Charlotte requests her help on the case, she's more than happy to lend a hand. Turns out George, Lord Ashworth, is not as oblivious to Emily's activities as she had thought.

General Brandon Balantyne, his wife Augusta, and their children, Brandy and Christina, live on the square. Allan Ross is a family friend, used and abused. Emily finagles a job with the General for Charlotte to help him with his family memoirs of their military activities to make it easier for Charlotte to snoop. Max is the naughty footman with a head for blackmail.

Other neighbors on the square include Dr. Frederick and Sophie Bolsover; Sir Robert Carlton and Lady Euphemia; Reggie Southeron with his long-suffering wife Adelina, and extremely pert niece Chastity, along with the children's governess Jemima Waggoner; Georgiana Duff moved in with her sister Latetia Doran after her daughter, Helena, ran away several years ago; and the cynical Garson and Mrs. Mariah Campbell.

Colonel Anstruther is Pitt's superior at the station.

The Cover
Oh, I like this cover! It's an evening event with ladies dressed in the first style of elegance and the gentlemen in evening dress circulating and chatting in a most elegant room of deep red hangings, mirrors, and gilt. A glittering contrast to the murders on Callander Square

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

The discovery of two tiny corpses buried in the middle of London's toney Callander Square sees Inspector Thomas Pitt sent in to investigate; at first without his knowledge and then with his consent, his high-born wife Charlotte and her elder sister Emily, who's married for aristocratic prestige, help his inquiries by ingratiating themselves among Callander Square's worthies -- or, as it too often proves, unworthies. As the tale proceeds, more and more dirty laundry comes spilling out. It seems the case is going nowhere, though, until Charlotte and Emily (do they have a sister called Anne and a brother called Branwell?) discover a long-ago murder and a very recent one . . .

The bulk of the tale is, alas, devoted to one or other of our three detectives visiting people, having conversations that seem to contain very little information among a great deal of verbiage, and then leaving to have similar conversations with the next person they visit. Also given quite a lot of screentime, as it were, is one of Callander Square's residents, the reprobate banker, Reggie, whose hobby is bedding his parlourmaids; he's unfortunately such a stereotype of the knuckleheaded aristocrat that it's hard to take him seriously as an actual character, and I for one very rapidly tired of his company. By contrast, the three central characters worked quite well, as do General and Lady Augusta Balantyne, two of the seemingly stuffier Callander Square residents who turn out both, in their separate ways, to be quite admirable.

The edition I read has one of those godawful reader guides at the back (here called a Dossier); both in it and in one of the review quotes cited on the cover there's rapturous praise for Perry's evocation of Victorian London. It's actually in this that I felt the novel very grievously fell down. I got very little sense of place from the narrative. There were moments when I felt it suddenly engaged with its environment, as when the two sisters investigate a bedraggled, long-neglected garden, but for the most part I gained no sense at all of where we all were.

I picked Callander Square up at the same time as I did a much later entry in the series, Treason at Lisson Grove, and after finishing this one was disinclined to bother with the other. However, it looks as if in the later book Perry has expanded her scope a fair deal, so I'll certainly give it a try.

This is by no means a bad book. It just seemed to me that its aspirations were woefully limited; there was the sense of a very able author being unwilling to flex her muscles.

[C. (Comment, never msg). · Rating 5 out of 5]

My second historic sojourn with Anne Perry, whose wonderful suite I’m taking in ten years tardy, was also enjoyed at the five-star level. By an odd personal turn, it was hard to begin this sequel to “The Cater Street Hangman” because my dear cat unexpectedly died while that book was going! We miss you very much, Love. I didn’t want to associate Anne with a sad event. After a few uplifting titles: I got back upon the saddle and forged into “Callander Square”.

Exactly like the former, action and activity speed along from scene to scene. This is no mean feat because a plethora of families must be introduced and Anne’s audience needs updating. Where we left off, Charlotte & Thomas wanted to marry. We aren’t witness to his petitioning of her Father nor of their wedding. So we have a little bit of acclimatizing to do at their home, where Charlotte doesn’t mind attending to basic housekeeping and employs one maid to assist her. It seems a solitary maid is sign enough of a humbler station, in the 1800s. Emily’s vain disposition is much improved, as Charlotte’s assistant sleuth.

Not light, Anne presents bold subjects unflinchingly: the discovery of two infants under the grass thoroughfare of a classy neighbourhood. We find the deep-rooted theme again, that this society feared keeping their status and unspotted name; even if avoiding scandal flew in the face of what we today decree is “the right thing”. It was impossible to nail down a culprit because every household, with no exception, questioned the police’s intention to solve an old murder. They all reacted with genuine distress to news of the infants but everyone felt the past should be left to lie. The sub-stories are complex; blended seamlessly between all families by a sharp plotter.

[Rahma.Mrk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dans un quartier chic "Callander Square"
Le jardiner enfonça sa palle là où il pensait exhumer le cadavre d'un animal mort
Alors il decouvet un nouveau-né
Et l'enquete commance ;
On suive les démarches de l'inspecteur pitt avec l'assitance de sa femme Charlotte et sa soeur Emily.
On va decouvet les grandes secrets de la classe sociales nobles.

J'aime le roman precdant mieux.
www.goodreads.com/review/edit/24077871

1/janv/20🌸

[Dasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 estrellas

Y seguimos a ver si conseguimos ponernos al día para la lectura conjunta…
Este segundo libro me gustó menos que el primero. Sí, pero aún así son casi cuatro estrellas por lo que es evidente que lo devoré y voy a seguir con la serie.
Creo que me decepcionó un poco el salto temporal que hay al principio. No es demasiado grande pero lo suficiente como para que nos perdiéramos algo que tenía ganas de ver cómo iba a escribir la autora.
En el libro anterior tuve la sensación de estar siguiendo el proceso de investigación del propio Pitt pero de una manera muy orgánica. En cambio, este libro parecía más centrado en los personajes. Por lo que hay muchas presentaciones de personajes. Al principio, las descripciones hipersexualizadas de todos los personajes femeninos a los que íbamos conociendo me llegaron a molestar muchísimo. Menos mal que parece que se tranquiliza la cosa conforme avanzamos en la historia. Espero que no sea algo de la serie entera, la verdad. Porque me echaría mucho para atrás.

[Teri-K · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really don't care for this particular book, which is a pity because I like the first one a lot. Unfortunately there's very little Charlotte and Pitt here, the mystery is hardly pressing, the characters are hard to keep straight, (Campbell or Carlton?) and the solution is nasty. The whole thing could be called "Titled People Behaving Badly". It's full of gossip, affairs with married people or servants and people lying to people... absolutely not my kind of book.

I'd forgotten how much I dislike this. If I remember, none of the rest of the series is really up to the standards of Cater Street; I prefer her Monk series. Also, the first book about the Pitt's son Daniel was good. I'm not sure I'll bother rereading any more of these.

[Rubi · Rating 4 out of 5]

"He believed that the longer you hid from the truth the less able you were to cope with it when it finally broke through all the barriers, like a dammed river, and carried away the careful structure of your life with it."

I knew Anne Perry could do it more much better than in the first book!

This plot is fantastic. I have been "suffering" all book not knowing who was the murderer! But... such a great ending! :D

And...this is not a normal crime fiction novel. Pitt is not like Poirot or Sherlock Holmes. Pitt has Charlotte and Emily!! In this book they also act like detectives and it is so cool!

"If there was anything more oppressive than stupid people, it was those who felt they knew everything- and disliked everything."

[Geno · Rating 4 out of 5]

El segundo intrigante caso de los Pitt que junto con sus vidas personales hacen la novela de lo más entretenida.

[Ann Lou · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two bodies of dead babies are uncovered in Callander Square. Were they stillborn or were they killed?

What I like: Charlotte and Thomas Pitt. Emily is also surprising in this one. Whodunit is also keeping turning the pages.

What I don't like: There are so many characters in the square that at the beginning they all blurred. And I had to ask myself who is who again? It was getting tedious. And all those secrets is like a soap opera. It picked up by 60 percent mark and got slow again. That ending was very abrupt. I was like... that's it? But I need to give allowances because this was written 40 years ago.

I like Charlotte and Thomas, though. So maybe I will just pick some books in this series. Will see.

[Gina Boyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yeah, I got an Audible subscription just so I could listen to this, and yes, I listened to it all day today while I went about my life, and yes, I just got the third book. Even though I’ve read them before. Because they’re good stories and great audio books. Sue me.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Victorian London sucked. But these mysteries are good.

[Bev · Rating 3 out of 5]

When a couple of gardeners beginning digging to add another plan to the garden in the exclusive Callander Square, they discover the tiny remains of two infants. Inspector Thomas Pitt is called upon to discreetly investigate and finds himself running into roadblocks among the socially superior residents of the square. Even their servants are reluctant to given any help to the police and no one will admit knowledge of any unwanted pregnancies. His sister-in-law, Lady Emily Ashworth, finding herself a trifle bored with the standard rounds of social calls, decides that she can put her rank to work and help Charlotte's policeman out. She very cleverly elicits gossip and rumors--illicit relations between the well-born and their servants and extracurricular activities among the gentry as well. Soon she and Charlotte devise a way for Charlotte to go undercover in one of the houses on the square--providing organizational assistance to General Balantyne who is writing a family history. Between the bits and pieces discovered by Charlotte and Emily and his own investigations, Pitt soon puts together a trail that leads to blackmail and ultimately to the killer, but not before there are more deaths.

This is my second re-visitation to the world of Thomas & Charlotte Pitt. I may not have been baffled by the first one (having remembered all the details--even twenty years later), but I have to give Perry credit for keeping the criminal hidden this time. Apparently this one didn't imprint itself upon my memory quite as solidly--and, truthfully, I didn't find the story quite as compelling as that in The Cater Street Hangman. Not that it isn't a good one--it is still very entertaining, but it didn't quite meet the promise of the first.

We do see a bit more of Pitt in action and I think his appearances are balanced nicely with the efforts of Charlotte and Emily. I don't feel like we get quite the insight into the other characters what we did in book one--perhaps because there are more of them. We learn quite a bit about the Balantynes--probably because both Charlotte and Emily spend a great deal of their time in that household. But we learn much less about the others. Only Reggie Southerton receives as much attention.

Overall, an entertaining mystery and I was glad to revisit it after all these years. ★★★ and 1/2.

First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting portions of review. Thanks.

[˜”*°•.˜”*°• Sheri •°*”˜.•°*”˜ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two dead infants are discovered buried in a public garden in the affluent section of residences. Inspector Pitt is assigned to the matter and discovers that numerous secrets and scandals abound. Charlotte Pitt is persuaded by her sister to help with the investigation.

This story is written in the Victorian era when the behavioral and legal rules governing men and women of “class” are sharply distinguishable from the lower, serving “class”. In this period, wives of the elite were only successful to the extent that their husbands were successful, and if you were of the working class, then that was most probably your lot for life. The woman’s main job was to run their household and to not bother the husband with the details.

The story is good but takes a while to get there. This book isn’t for the action-oriented person.

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Callander Square is book two of the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series by Anne Perry. At Callander Square in London one cold London morning when a body found by gardeners planting a tree. On further investigation, there was another baby body under the first. At first, Inspector Thomas Pitt thought one of the young servant girl seduced by her boss, gave birth by herself and the baby dies. However, during Inspector Thomas Pitt investigation it was found out they were murder. The readers of Callander Square will follow the twist and turns in Inspector Thomas Pitt investigation to find answers.

I enjoy reading Callander Square, and the plot engaged me from the beginning. I love the portrayal of the characters in Callander Square and the way Anne Perry is slowly allowing me to learn more about the main characters and the way they interact with the plot. Callander Square is well written and researched by Anne Perry. The description of the settings allowed me to be transported back to Victorian England.

The readers of Callander Square will learn about syphilis and how it affects the suffer and everyone around them. Also, the readers of Callander Square will learn about law enforcement procedures in Victorian London.

I recommend this book.

[Les · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second book in an apparently VERY long series. I haven't read the first one so perhaps I was a little behind the 8 ball. This is an interesting mystery set in a upper class London Square. Policeman Thomas Pitt is married to a former society gal Charlotte and she and her sister Emily aid him in his investigation of two buried infants.

In Victorian London snobbery has the police using the Tradesman entrance and politely questioning his 'betters'. There are a lot of characters and a lot of secrets to dig through to gte to the truth of the matter.

There is an interesting class factor throughout the book.

So why four stars? Because I finished it on Tuesday night and on Wednesday I couldn't recall who done it. So last night I reread the last chapter and while I immediately recalled the why I still forgot the who. Sure maybe it's me.

I bought books 1,4,5,6 so more to come.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 STARS

I enjoyed the second installment more than the first. I was saddened to see two years passed between the books, and significant life events were completely glossed over. Happily, there is more focus on murder mystery and less on society. I adore Emily and Charolette's relationship. Still longing for more Thomas Pitt, as he seems the most fascinating character. I'm interested to see how the series progresses.