Vague, abrupt ending forced me to reread last few pages to see what I had missed.  No doubt Perry thought she was being clear, but nope!  I think I understand what she meant had happened, but I can’t be certain, so she loses a star for it.

Began promisingly, but went on and on not really getting anywhere, until it just ended with an unsatisfactory reveal with absolutely no explanation.
I'll try one more but I may be done. Also was the murder victim solely a plot development for Emily?

I think I enjoyed this book more than any of the books in this series,I just wish the author would not wait until the last couple pages before the end,,I sometimes feel like I have been left hanging without a finish,,but a very good read,,,

I liked the way Anne Perry resolved the conflicts in the novel and tied all the plot strands together in the end. I have a hard time with the attitudes toward women, the poor, and the police; but I understand that the author is being true to her setting. I see that there are 32 books in this series and wonder if I will manage to read them all!!

Emily and George Ashworth were visiting the in-laws when George seemingly had an affair with his cousin's wife. Sometime later, George was discovered dead in his bedroom, killed by poison in his coffee. The gossiping in-laws pointed their fingers at Emily, insinuating that she had murdered her husband in a fit of jealousy. Emily's sister, Charlotte, knew that she never would have done that. Charlotte determined, with the help of her policeman husband, to find out who the murderer really was.

Funny the bits and pieces of the story that come back and how much doesn't when you re-read a book after 30 years or so.

Emily’s husband is killed after what seems like an open affair! Charlotte and Thomas have to be a United front and find the real killer. It’s a very obvious and so unexpected one

Those lecherous prim and proper Victorians. So much more refined that normal people, but with no morals at all.

I would have given this 4 fours if it hadn't been for the abrupt ending. We find out who the murderer is, and then two pages later, bang, we're done. No follow-through on the effects their identity has on the other people involved, or how the other suspects cope with the life-changing impact of having been suspected of murder.

Apparently abrupt endings are pretty standard in Anne Perry's stories, unfortunately.

Aside from that, I enjoy her descriptions of life in Victorian England. This one in particular was the best in the series so far for its portrait of a loving wife with no power of her own trying to cope with a straying husband, and then for the grief and fear she experiences after his death.

I expect I will keep reading the series, and try to adjust my expectations accordingly.

Book #8!
And I keep continue read them.
This series is not always an easy read and can be tedious sometimes.
Also Ms. Perry killed the victims often! Lots of murdered people here.

In this one, she killed someone who was in this series since the 1st book!
I thought he was a permanent character but apparently his expired date has arrived and Ms. Perry created more interesting character to replace him I suppose.
Oh well, I don't like George much but he wasn't bad either, just a shallow guy with a title, sigh.

Everyone compliments this a series for its historical accuracy, very Victorian!
If you love those things, you probably will like this book too.

What I like though, the mystery always good and the relationship between the MC are loving and awesome too.

Then the changing in the series is very interesting to follow.
It has been more than six years since Thomas and Charlotte married and they have two kids now.
Still tight with money but not too poor anymore and have a little maid too to help out with the kids while Charlotte did some little investigated for Thomas.

I love it when I read their little family interaction and how Thomas feel after the ugliness of his work, everything right in the world once he's home.

Yup, tedious alright but overall I still loving it!
24 books to go!

George March, Lord Ashworth and Emily's husband was poisoned and so was the dog he shared his morning coffee with... and Emily was the prime suspect. Her apparent motive was Jealousy for it was implied that George was having an affair with Sybilla March, his cousin William's wife. Then there was yet another murder and still Emily was the only suspect with motive, though there were other close relatives, like Aunt Vespasia and the March grandmother, staying with the Marches except one man who was invited so he can be vetted as the youngest March's prospective groom... only he fell for Emily instead plus Tassie did not really want him. Pitt was the Inspector in charge of the case and Charlotte was called to comfort Emily in her bereavement and also to help find the real murderer thus saving her sister from the hangman's noose or maybe even Bedlam... for Eustace March (head of the March family and Aunt Vespasia's son~in~law) was only too willing to sacrifice Emily to avoid Scandal touching him and his family since Emily was just a March by marriage. I wondered WHY, though? Charlotte had the answer...

Relectura del 8 libro de la saga de Thomas Pitt.
Es verdad que el final me ha dejado un poco insatisfecha, pero la duda, la congoja que te mantiene Anne Perry durante todo el libro merece la pena.
Algunas veces se me hacen repetitivos los libros de esta serie y por ello voy a descansar un tiempo de ellos, pero están tan bien escritos que te atrapan y te mantienen con la intriga hasta el final.