Daniel Pitt
historical mystery
Series · historical mystery
Charlotte and Thomas Pitt
The Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series by Anne Perry has 32 books and is best read in publication order, starting with The Cater Street Hangman (1979).
- Books
- 32 books
- First published
- 1979
- Status
- completed
- Last checked
Start here: The Cater Street Hangman (1979) — then read straight through in publication order.
Reading order
The order the books were released — the default way to read the series.
- Book 1:
The Cater Street Hangman
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Cater Street Hangman - Book 2:
Callander Square
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Callander Square - Book 3:
Paragon Walk
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Paragon Walk - Book 4:
Resurrection Row
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Resurrection Row - Book 5:
Rutland Place
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Rutland Place - Book 6:
Bluegate Fields
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Bluegate Fields - Book 7:
Death in the Devil's Acre
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Death in the Devil's Acre - Book 8:
Cardington Crescent
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Cardington Crescent - Book 9:
Silence in Hanover Close
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Silence in Hanover Close - Book 10:
Bethlehem Road
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Bethlehem Road - Book 11:
Highgate Rise
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Highgate Rise - Book 12:
Belgrave Square
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Belgrave Square - Book 13:
Farrier's Lane
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Farrier's Lane - Book 14:
The Hyde Park Headsman
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Hyde Park Headsman - Book 15:
Traitors Gate
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Traitors Gate - Book 16:
Pentecost Alley
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Pentecost Alley - Book 17:
Ashworth Hall
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Ashworth Hall - Book 18:
Brunswick Gardens
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Brunswick Gardens - Book 19:
Bedford Square
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Bedford Square - Book 20:
Half Moon Street
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Half Moon Street - Book 21:
The Whitechapel Conspiracy
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Whitechapel Conspiracy - Book 22:
Southampton Row
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Southampton Row - Book 23:
Seven Dials
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Seven Dials - Book 24:
Long Spoon Lane
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Long Spoon Lane - Book 25:
Buckingham Palace Gardens
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Buckingham Palace Gardens - Book 26:
Betrayal at Lisson Grove
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Betrayal at Lisson Grove - Book 27:
Dorchester Terrace
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Dorchester Terrace - Book 28:
Midnight at Marble Arch
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Midnight at Marble Arch - Book 29:
Death on Blackheath
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Death on Blackheath - Book 30:
The Angel Court Affair
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Angel Court Affair - Book 31:
Treachery at Lancaster Gate
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Treachery at Lancaster Gate - Book 32:
Murder on the Serpentine
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Murder on the Serpentine
About the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series
Thomas Pitt is a Metropolitan Police inspector of unusually good education for his working-class rank, which lets Anne Perry send him convincingly into the drawing rooms of Victorian high society whenever a murder implicates the respectable classes rather than the criminal ones. He marries Charlotte, a gentry-born woman who married beneath her station for love and who investigates alongside him -- through her own social access, her sister Emily's even higher connections, and her elderly relative's old-fashioned nosiness -- in a genuine partnership rather than a bystander role. Across 32 novels the couple's cases circle the same target again and again: the gap between Victorian respectability and Victorian cruelty, in murders that trace back to inheritance, sexual hypocrisy, political corruption and social ambition among people with everything to lose from exposure.
The series tracks Pitt's career rise in something close to real time, from a working inspector through an unwanted stint heading Special Branch to, eventually, running it, with Charlotte's social maneuvering becoming an increasingly deliberate professional asset rather than an improvised one. Later books move outward into wider Establishment conspiracy and royal-adjacent scandal as Pitt's rank rises, while never losing the drawing-room-murder structure that opened the series. It's the direct predecessor, in tone and setting, to Perry's Daniel Pitt series, which continues the story through the couple's son a generation later.
How to read this series
Publication order, from The Cater Street Hangman (1979), is strongly recommended -- Pitt's rank, his marriage, his children, and the Special Branch career shift that reshapes the series' later structure all develop continuously, and several plots reference cases from many books earlier. New readers sometimes start with The Cater Street Hangman purely to meet Charlotte and Thomas as they first fall for each other, since the earliest books are lighter in tone than the espionage-inflected later run. Once you finish the series, Perry's Daniel Pitt novels continue the story with the couple's grown son as the lead, a generation on; read the Pitt novels first if you want his parents' full history before starting there.
Frequently asked questions
How many Charlotte and Thomas Pitt books are there?
There are 32 novels, from The Cater Street Hangman (1979) to Murder on the Serpentine (2017).
What order should I read the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt books in?
Publication order, starting with The Cater Street Hangman. Pitt's career, the couple's marriage and children, and his later move into Special Branch all build continuously across the series.
Is the Daniel Pitt series a sequel to Charlotte and Thomas Pitt?
Yes. Daniel Pitt is Thomas and Charlotte's son, and his own series picks up his story as a young barrister a generation after his parents' novels end.
Do I need to read Charlotte and Thomas Pitt before starting Daniel Pitt?
No, Daniel Pitt's books work as standalone mysteries, but reading his parents' series first fills in family history that the later books reference.
Is there a new Charlotte and Thomas Pitt book coming?
No. Murder on the Serpentine (2017) is the final novel in the series; Anne Perry moved on to the Daniel Pitt novels afterward and died in April 2023.
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Reading order last verified .