Reading order · 32 books · 1979 to 2016 · Set in London
Thomas Pitt Books in Order
Inspector Thomas Pitt, the son of a gamekeeper, investigates murders among the rich and powerful of Victorian London. His wife Charlotte, born into a respectable middle-class family, uses her place in society, and her sister Emily’s titled connections, to find out what the police cannot. In later books Pitt moves to Special Branch.
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Series facts
- Books
- 32
- Published
- 1979 to 2016
- First book
- The Cater Street Hangman
- Latest
- Murder on the Serpentine (2016)
- Setting
- Set in London
The reading order
Every Thomas Pitt book in publication order. Choose a title for its cast and summary.
32 books · Set in London
- 1The Cater Street Hangman1979With Thomas Pitt and Charlotte PittIn 1881, young women are being strangled in the streets around Cater Street in London.Buy on Amazon
- 2Callander Square1980With Thomas Pitt and Charlotte PittThe bodies of two newborn babies are found buried in the garden of Callander Square, one of London’s most elegant addresses.Buy on Amazon
- 3Paragon Walk1981With Thomas Pitt and Charlotte PittA young woman is assaulted and murdered in Paragon Walk, the exclusive street where Charlotte’s sister Emily now lives as Lady Ashworth.Buy on Amazon
- 4Resurrection Row1981With Thomas Pitt and Charlotte PittThe body of a dead lord is found sitting up in a hansom cab, and soon other corpses start appearing out of their graves.Buy on Amazon
- 5Rutland Place1983With Thomas Pitt and Charlotte PittCharlotte’s mother loses a locket holding a compromising picture, setting off a chain of strange events and sudden deaths among the wealthy residents of Rutland Place.Buy on Amazon
- 6Bluegate Fields1984With Thomas Pitt and Charlotte PittThe son of a respectable family is found drowned in a sewer in the slum of Bluegate Fields, and the boy’s tutor is quickly charged.Buy on Amazon
- 7Death in the Devil’s Acre1985With Thomas Pitt and Charlotte PittMen are found murdered and mutilated in the Devil’s Acre, a notorious slum in the shadow of Westminster.Buy on Amazon
- 8Cardington Crescent1987With Thomas Pitt and Charlotte PittEmily’s husband George, Lord Ashworth, is poisoned while staying with relations at Cardington Crescent, and Emily herself falls under suspicion.Buy on Amazon
- 9Silence in Hanover Close1988With Thomas Pitt and Charlotte PittA Foreign Office diplomat was murdered three years earlier in Hanover Close, and the case has never been solved.Buy on Amazon
- 10Bethlehem Road1990With Thomas Pitt and Charlotte PittMembers of Parliament are found tied to the lamp posts on Westminster Bridge with their throats cut.Buy on Amazon
- 11Highgate Rise1991With Thomas Pitt and Charlotte PittA doctor’s wife dies in a fire, and Pitt must work out whether the arsonist meant to kill her husband, while Charlotte retraces the dead woman’s last months.Buy on Amazon
- 12Belgrave Square1992With Thomas Pitt and Charlotte PittA moneylender is found murdered, and a list in his office reveals that he was blackmailing some of the most prominent men in London.Buy on Amazon
- 13Farriers’ Lane1993With Thomas Pitt and Charlotte PittA judge dies suddenly at the theatre, and his death seems linked to an old case: the murder in Farriers’ Lane five years earlier, for which a young man was hanged.Buy on Amazon
- 14The Hyde Park Headsman1994With Thomas Pitt and Charlotte PittNewly promoted to superintendent at Bow Street, Thomas Pitt has to catch a killer who is leaving beheaded bodies in Hyde Park.Buy on Amazon
- 15Traitors Gate1995With Thomas Pitt and Charlotte PittPitt investigates a leak of colonial secrets to Germany and suspects that his old mentor’s death was murder, and then a society beauty is found dead near Traitors Gate.Buy on Amazon
- 16Pentecost Alley1996With Thomas Pitt and Charlotte PittA young woman is murdered in Whitechapel, and the evidence points to the son of a powerful man, who presses Pitt to look elsewhere.Buy on Amazon
- 17Ashworth Hall1997With Thomas Pitt and Charlotte PittEmily’s country house, Ashworth Hall, hosts secret talks between Irish Catholic and Protestant leaders.Buy on Amazon
- 18Brunswick Gardens1998With Thomas Pitt and Charlotte PittA young woman is found murdered at the foot of the stairs in the London home of a clergyman who is struggling with Darwin’s theories.Buy on Amazon
- 19Bedford Square1999With Thomas Pitt and Charlotte PittThe body of a man is found on the doorstep of General Brandon Balantyne’s house in Bedford Square.Buy on Amazon
- 20Half Moon Street2000With Thomas Pitt and Charlotte PittA man is found dead in a punt on the Thames, dressed in a green gown and strewn with flowers, and Pitt’s search leads him into the worlds of theatre and photography.Buy on Amazon
- 21The Whitechapel Conspiracy2001With Thomas Pitt and Charlotte PittThomas Pitt’s evidence helps convict an army officer of murder, but it costs him: he is removed from his post at Bow Street and sent to work undercover for Special Branch among the poor of Spitalfields.Buy on Amazon
- 22Southampton Row2002With Thomas Pitt and Charlotte PittDuring a tense election, a clairvoyant is murdered the morning after a séance, and Pitt is ordered to prevent a political disaster while his own family faces danger.Buy on Amazon
- 23Seven Dials2003With Thomas Pitt and Charlotte PittA junior diplomat’s body is found in a wheelbarrow in a London garden, and suspicion falls on a glamorous woman linked to a cabinet minister.Buy on Amazon
- 24Long Spoon Lane2005With Thomas Pitt and Charlotte PittAnarchist bombings destroy homes in the East End, and Pitt suspects that a police inspector is stoking public fear for his own ends.Buy on Amazon
- 25Buckingham Palace Gardens2008With Thomas Pitt and Charlotte PittA prostitute is found murdered in Buckingham Palace during a party given by the Prince of Wales.Buy on Amazon
- 26Treason at Lisson Grove2011With Thomas Pitt and Charlotte PittPitt pursues a suspected terrorist to France, while back in London his superior, Victor Narraway, is removed from office and Charlotte works to clear his name.Buy on Amazon
- 27Dorchester Terrace2012With Thomas Pitt and Charlotte PittNewly promoted Pitt protects a visiting Austrian duke and uncovers a traitor in Special Branch, while an elderly woman’s death may hide a plot that threatens war.Buy on Amazon
- 28Midnight at Marble Arch2013With Thomas Pitt and Charlotte PittThe death of a banker’s wife and an attack on a diplomat’s teenage daughter draw Pitt into a quiet, delicate investigation among the powerful.Buy on Amazon
- 29Death on Blackheath2014With Thomas Pitt and Charlotte PittPitt is sent to look into strange incidents near the home of a naval weapons expert, and then a woman’s body is found nearby.Buy on Amazon
- 30The Angel Court Affair2015With Thomas Pitt and Charlotte PittPitt is assigned to protect a Spanish woman with controversial religious views who is visiting London, but she vanishes from Angel Court.Buy on Amazon
- 31Treachery at Lancaster Gate2016With Thomas Pitt and Charlotte PittAn explosion kills two police officers, and Pitt suspects a personal motive rather than anarchists, in a case that reaches into high society.Buy on Amazon
- 32Murder on the Serpentine2016With Thomas Pitt and Charlotte PittIn 1899, Queen Victoria asks Pitt to investigate the death of her confidant, found in a rowing boat on the Serpentine and ruled an accident.Buy on Amazon
Do you need to read them in order?
The cases can be read alone, but Pitt’s career and the family’s lives move on from book to book, so publication order is best. The Whitechapel Conspiracy marks the move to Special Branch.
Who appears in which book
The series’ main characters, book by book. Lead means the book is told around them; minor covers cameos.
| Book | Thomas Pitt | Charlotte Pitt | Emily Radley | Lady Vespasia Cumming-Gould | Gracie Phipps | Victor Narraway |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 The Cater Street Hangman | LLead | LLead | MMajor | |||
| 2 Callander Square | LLead | LLead | MMajor | |||
| 3 Paragon Walk | LLead | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ||
| 4 Resurrection Row | LLead | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ||
| 5 Rutland Place | LLead | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ||
| 6 Bluegate Fields | LLead | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | |
| 7 Death in the Devil’s Acre | LLead | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | |
| 8 Cardington Crescent | LLead | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | |
| 9 Silence in Hanover Close | LLead | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | |
| 10 Bethlehem Road | LLead | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | |
| 11 Highgate Rise | LLead | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | |
| 12 Belgrave Square | LLead | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | |
| 13 Farriers’ Lane | LLead | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | |
| 14 The Hyde Park Headsman | LLead | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | |
| 15 Traitors Gate | LLead | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | |
| 16 Pentecost Alley | LLead | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | |
| 17 Ashworth Hall | LLead | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | |
| 18 Brunswick Gardens | LLead | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | |
| 19 Bedford Square | LLead | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | |
| 20 Half Moon Street | LLead | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | |
| 21 The Whitechapel Conspiracy | LLead | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | MMajor |
| 22 Southampton Row | LLead | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | MMajor |
| 23 Seven Dials | LLead | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | MMajor |
| 24 Long Spoon Lane | LLead | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | MMajor |
| 25 Buckingham Palace Gardens | LLead | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | MMajor |
| 26 Treason at Lisson Grove | LLead | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | MMajor |
| 27 Dorchester Terrace | LLead | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | MMajor |
| 28 Midnight at Marble Arch | LLead | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | MMajor |
| 29 Death on Blackheath | LLead | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | MMajor |
| 30 The Angel Court Affair | LLead | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | MMajor |
| 31 Treachery at Lancaster Gate | LLead | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | MMajor |
| 32 Murder on the Serpentine | LLead | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | MMajor |
Characters in the Thomas Pitt books
6 characters from Anne Perry’s chart, with the number of Thomas Pitt books each appears in.
| Character | Books | First in this series |
|---|---|---|
| Thomas PittPolice inspector, later head of Special Branch | 32 | The Cater Street Hangman 1979 |
| Charlotte PittThomas’s wife, born Charlotte Ellison | 32 | The Cater Street Hangman 1979 |
| Emily RadleyCharlotte’s sister | 32 | The Cater Street Hangman 1979 |
| Lady Vespasia Cumming-GouldEmily’s great-aunt by marriage, a society grande dame | 30 | Paragon Walk 1981 |
| Gracie PhippsThe Pitts’ maid | 27 | Bluegate Fields 1984 |
| Victor NarrawayHead of Special Branch | 12 | The Whitechapel Conspiracy 2001 |
Crossovers with Anne Perry’s other series
- Daniel Pitt: Thomas Pitt also appears in 6 of its books; Charlotte Pitt also appears in 6 of its books