Callander Square by Anne Perry

 The Book

    When the bodies of two babies are found buried in Callander Square by two gardeners, Inspector Thomas Pitt is called in to investigate. This book find Pitt some two years into his marriage to Charlotte. It is our first real glimpse into one of the two major protagonists to the series. In the previous book, we saw the investigation from Charlotte's point of view. In this book, the fact that Charlotte is expecting their first child, worries Pitt. When he finally breaks down and tells Charlotte, she tries to comfort him as well as she can. But, being unable to shake the emotions, Charlotte enlists the help of her sister Lady Emily Ashworth. Together Emily and Charlotte worm their way into the inner circle of the Callander Square, where they hope to unravel they mystery. 

    Callander Square itself boasts a large compliment of case specific characters, which are best defined by households. Of which there are 7 the Ballantynes, Bolsovers, Campbells, Carltons, Doran/Duff, Ross and Southeron. A square, in this setting, has 8 houses in it. One of the 8 is not occupied. This is a Victorian version of a cul-du-sac, and has all the Desperate Housewives vibes one could ever hope for. The households are, The Ballantynes, of which Emily's husband, Lord Ashworth has an aquaintance. This gives first Emily and then Charlotte the pretext they need in order to investigate the murders. Lady Augusta is a formidable woman who takes charge of the situation when she finds out her daughter is a bored young thing, having an affair with one of the footmen but is oblivious to the sins of her son.

    Brandy, Lord Ashworth's friend, has been conducting an affair with Lady Euphemia the much younger wife of  Sir Robert Carlton another Callander Square resident. Carlton is a government employee, the fact of the affair would ruin his career. 

    Emily finds this out when she scrapes up an aquaitance with Sophie Bolsover, the wife of Dr. Fredrick Bolsover. Sophie is the biggest source of gossip in the square. From her Emily also finds out that not all is well in the Southerton household. Reggie, the man of the house, is a notorious predator of the parlor maids. One of which died from having an abortion. His wife feigns ignorance, until nearly the end of the book, but is very equitable to the servants in her household. She blames Reggie for his immoral ways, and hopes her daughters and niece get a better man than him in their marriages. Jemima is their governess, and Charlotte becomes friends with her. When Jemima becomes too afraid to stay in Callander Square, Thomas and Charlotte give her refuge. She has a crush on Brandy Ballantyne. 

    Alan Ross has an all male household and therefore not under serious suspcion. He was in love with Helena Doran, who had a crush on General Ballantyne, but she ran away from home two years earlier and broke his heart. 

    Helena's mother and aunt remain in the square, but do not frequently interact with the other residents. 

    As Emily, Charlotte and Pitt work their way through the square, more crime ensues starting with blackmail and escalating as lives become unraveled to more homicides, both past and present.

My Thoughts

    The denouement comes in the form a letter confessing the essential elements of the crimes and how the murder has dealt with things. Here we see Perry wrangling with several competing moral ideas, and continuing a theme of many mystery series, what is the meaning of justice and can it be accomplished in the imperfect world in which the characters inhabit. 

    In this book, we see Pitt wrestle with a few inner demons. He loves his wife, and wishes to provide her with things that are clearly out his budget. Charlotte does not complain. His desire for more money, however, does not see Pitt contemplating a career change, nor does he cut corners.

    He is worried about Charlotte and Emily's adventuring, but puts up no real road blocks. All in all, Pitt is an intelligent, likable character, but Perry does not seem to understand him yet. 

    This book shows a great leap in Perry's ability to form characters, and the case specific characters are all complicated people. 

How Much My Library Card Saved Me

    This is yet another in the Ballantine Books Trade Paperback series my library owns. The price on the cover says $16.00, and it has the same date of entry as the previous book of April 6, 2018. This books is lightly used. 

This Book                    $16.00

This Summer               $68.99