by Anne Perry
First published 2011
Thomas Pitt races through London streets to meet a secret informant who promises to reveal details of an international conspiracy against Britain. He arrives moments too late. The informant lies dying from knife wounds, his secrets lost forever. The assassin flees, leading Pitt on a desperate chase across the English Channel to the coastal town of St. Malo. Back in London, Pitt's supervisor Victor Narraway faces accusations of stealing government money. With Pitt unreachable in France, Narraway asks Charlotte Pitt for help. She agrees to pose as his sister on a journey to Dublin, where they plan to confront the man who destroyed Narraway's reputation with whispered lies. Charlotte and Narraway don't realize they're walking into a carefully planned trap. Neither does Pitt, still pursuing the killer across France. Behind the scenes, a hidden enemy orchestrates events that could topple more than careers. The British Empire itself hangs in the balance.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, crime, detective, espionage, 19th-century
Vibes: fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: cat-and-mouse, high-stakes, race-against-time
Setting: Dublin, England, France, London, St. Malo
Period: 19th Century, 20th Century
306 pages · Hardcover · Ballantine Books