Death on Blackheath (Charlotte & Thomas Pitt, #29)

Death on Blackheath by Anne Perry
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The book begins when signs of a scuffle are found outside the home of naval weapons expert Dudley Kynaston and his wife's lady's maid is found to be missing. Normally this wouldn't be a matter for Special Branch but due to the sensitive nature of Kynaston's job Special Branch is called in. Pitt is about to clear Kynaston's household of any wrong doing when a mutilated corpse matching the description of the lady's maid turns up in the gravel pits close to Kynaston's home. But there are several problems first there is no way to prove it's the lady's maid as the corpse is badly disfigured, secondly the corpse has been kept somewhere where it was clean and cold and animals couldn't get to it slowing decomposition. Pitt is left with more questions then answers.

Charlotte and Emily are bored and determined to be of help so they strike up a friendship with Rosalind Kynaston and her sister in law Ailsa. Charlotte observes Ailsa in a clandestine embrace with Edom Talbot.

Pitt begins to suspect that his friend Carlisle played a part in the discovery of the corpses (see Resurrection Row) in order to get Pitt to investigate Kynaston and that only TREASON would drive Carlisle to such extremes.

With Vespasia and Narraway's help Pitt learns that Kynaston's younger brother (now deceased) was accused of raping a young girl when he was in Sweden and that Kynaston owes a debt to Harold Sundstrom in the Swedish navy who helped Kynaston free his younger brother. Pitt also uncovers the fact that Ailsa is the young girls older sister a fact she kept hidden from both the Kynaston brothers and that she is determined to destroy Kynaston out of revenge. She seduced Kynaston and is revealing classified information to Edom Talbot who is betraying his country for money. When Carlisle's clumsy questioning of his finances warns Talbot he is on to them he kills Ailsa allowing Pitt to arrest him for murder instead of treason. He then goes to Kynaston who will now be working for Pitt (as a sort of double agent) under Jack Radley's supervision.

Narraway screws up his courage and ask Vespasia to marry him and she says YES (it's about time).

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