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Rating: 
Summary: The Biltmore House is Ashworth Hall !
Review: A recent visit to the Biltmore House in Ashville, NC was fresh in my mind as I read this fine Anne Perry novel. Talk about coming alive! If they ever want to make a movie of this novel they need no set- just do the whole thing at the Biltmore House, a marvelous turn-of-the-century mansion built by the Vanderbilt family. If you liked Ashworth Hall you'll love the Biltmore House!
Rating: 
Summary: A Good Read
Review: Confession..I love a good read, even if it isn't the greatest novel ever written..and Anne Perry gives me a book to enjoy. This is one of the "Pitt" series, set in Victorian England..and it concerns the Irish problem..but that isn't the point. All her books address a social problem, and they are all beautifully authentic. But,most important, they are fun to read. Her plots are sometimes too familiar,but who cares as long as she writes well, and gives us characters to care about. Keep writing your two books a year Miss Perry, they are well done and a good read
Rating:
Summary: The Characters are Great and the Story is Good.
Review: Except for the First Charlotte and Thomas Pitt book I read, I have read the books in sequence. Sometimes they were wonderful and sometimes not. This one was wonderful even though I am still not sure who did what to whom in the end. I know more and care more about Thomas, Charlotte, Emily, Jack, Gracie and even Tellman. I look forward to meeting them all again and again.
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Summary: Charlotte and Thomas.....Another murder to solve!
Review: I am always glad when I see another Charlotte and Thomas Pitt mystery waiting for me in the bookstore. I have read all the books in this series, as well as the Monk series, and have thoroughly enjoyed them all. Anne Perry's Victorian mysteries are fascinating. A quick peek under the carpet of this historical period reveals some very nasty habits. I especially liked the part that Gracie played in this adventure. She is growing up to be quite a detective, in addition to expanding her skills as a maid. Keep up the good work Ms. Perry
Rating: 
Summary: Not Anne Perry's Best
Review: I have read many of Anne Perry's books and enjoyed all of them until I read this mess. The characters are boring and the story is also. I got half way through it and decided it wasn't going to improve. I am sorry for readers who bought it and couldn't return it to the library! In a word I would describe it BOOOOORRRRRRIIINNNG!
Rating:
Summary: Another solid whodunit along with historical atmosphere
Review: This is the third Anne Perry novel I have read. They are all well crafted, intelligent cozy mysteries, along with an interesting portrayal of the culture and politics of Victorian England. This particular book revolves around a peace conference for Ireland which is being held at Ashworth Hall, hence the title. Ashworth Hall happens to be the home of the sister-in-law of Inspector (now Superintendent) Pitt, who is the hero of this series of Perry's novels. Moreover, the politician presiding over the conference has been the subject of death threats in the recent past. So Pitt is asked to attend the conference, without revealing his identity, as a security measure to prevent foul play.Unfortunately, Pitt fails. Two murders are committed despite his efforts, terrifying both the guests and the sizable contingent of servants. We then have the usual collection of suspects and motives, and Pitt eventually sorts through all of the information to solve the mystery - with considerable help from his wife Charlotte and their maid Gracie. It's a tightly written mystery, along with a convincing portrayal of Victorian mores and the unending hatreds in Ireland. It doesn't quite rise to the level of true literature, as Elizabeth George's and P. D. James's books often do, but it's a solid, high-quality production.
Rating:
Summary: Another solid whodunit along with historical atmosphere
Review: This is the third Anne Perry novel I have read. They are all well crafted, intelligent cozy mysteries, along with an interesting portrayal of the culture and politics of Victorian England. This particular book revolves around a peace conference for Ireland which is being held at Ashworth Hall, hence the title. Ashworth Hall happens to be the home of the sister-in-law of Inspector (now Superintendent) Pitt, who is the hero of this series of Perry's novels. Moreover, the politician presiding over the conference has been the subject of death threats in the recent past. So Pitt is asked to attend the conference, without revealing his identity, as a security measure to prevent foul play. Unfortunately, Pitt fails. Two murders are committed despite his efforts, terrifying both the guests and the sizable contingent of servants. We then have the usual collection of suspects and motives, and Pitt eventually sorts through all of the information to solve the mystery - with considerable help from his wife Charlotte and their maid Gracie. It's a tightly written mystery, along with a convincing portrayal of Victorian mores and the unending hatreds in Ireland. It doesn't quite rise to the level of true literature, as Elizabeth George's and P. D. James's books often do, but it's a solid, high-quality production.
Rating: 
Summary: The Pitts and the Irish Problem-one of Perry's lesser books
Review: _Ashworth Hall_ is another of Anne Perry's long-running series of mysteries featuring Charlotte and Thomas Pitt. In this one, Perry deals with the "Irish Problem". The novel deals with a conference between two leading Catholics and two leading Protestants, in England at the title Hall, Charlotte's sister Emily's country home. A death threat aimed at the English diplomat heading the conference leads the government to send Pitt to the weekend meeting, incognito, with the excuse that Emily has simply invited her sister. Pitt fails utterly, as the diplomat is murdered, and in the course of the investigation, another man is also murdered. Pitt, Charlotte, and their longtime servant Gracie unravel the strings of the various murders, uncovering long-festering strands of the Irish Problem (especially as Gracie has a brief romance with an Irish Catholic), as well as typically sordid family details. This all plays out with the famous Parnell/O'Shea divorce case in the background, which case in fact lead to Parnell's discrediting as a serious factor, and thus possibly put off any "solution" to the "problem" for at least decades, if not, dare I say, sadly, for much longer still I found this pretty unsatisfying. Much was very predictable. Perry's habit of telling, at endless length, what is motivating her characters, and what her characters are feeling, rather than showing, is really getting on my nerves. Also her constant repetition of the same themes of rich men committing callous adultery, their wives taking it more or less stoically, until something precipitates violence, realistic as it may be, is getting very stale. I guessed two of the villains pretty much right off: granted that Perry did pull one additional twist which surprised me. But all in all, this is one of the weakest of Perry's Charlotte and Thomas Pitt books. (Note that many of the earlier books are very enjoyable.)
Rating:
Summary: The Pitts and the Irish Problem-one of Perry's lesser books
Review: _Ashworth Hall_ is another of Anne Perry's long-running series of mysteries featuring Charlotte and Thomas Pitt. In this one, Perry deals with the "Irish Problem". The novel deals with a conference between two leading Catholics and two leading Protestants, in England at the title Hall, Charlotte's sister Emily's country home. A death threat aimed at the English diplomat heading the conference leads the government to send Pitt to the weekend meeting, incognito, with the excuse that Emily has simply invited her sister. Pitt fails utterly, as the diplomat is murdered, and in the course of the investigation, another man is also murdered. Pitt, Charlotte, and their longtime servant Gracie unravel the strings of the various murders, uncovering long-festering strands of the Irish Problem (especially as Gracie has a brief romance with an Irish Catholic), as well as typically sordid family details. This all plays out with the famous Parnell/O'Shea divorce case in the background, which case in fact lead to Parnell's discrediting as a serious factor, and thus possibly put off any "solution" to the "problem" for at least decades, if not, dare I say, sadly, for much longer still I found this pretty unsatisfying. Much was very predictable. Perry's habit of telling, at endless length, what is motivating her characters, and what her characters are feeling, rather than showing, is really getting on my nerves. Also her constant repetition of the same themes of rich men committing callous adultery, their wives taking it more or less stoically, until something precipitates violence, realistic as it may be, is getting very stale. I guessed two of the villains pretty much right off: granted that Perry did pull one additional twist which surprised me. But all in all, this is one of the weakest of Perry's Charlotte and Thomas Pitt books. (Note that many of the earlier books are very enjoyable.)
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