Thursday, March 7, 2019

Triple Jeopardy: A Daniel Pitt novel by Anne Perry


Triple Jeopardy: A Daniel Pitt novel  by Anne Perry
  • ISBN-10: 0525620958 - Hardcover $28
  • Publisher: Ballantine Books (April 9, 2019), 320 pages.
  • Review copy courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley.

The blurb:
Daniel Pitt, along with his parents, Charlotte and Thomas, is delighted that his sister, Jemima, and her family have returned to London from the States for a visit. But the Pitts soon learn of a harrowing incident: In Washington, D.C., one of Jemima’s good friends has been assaulted and her treasured necklace stolen. The perpetrator appears to be a man named Philip Sidney, a British diplomat stationed in America’s capital who, in a cowardly move, has fled to London, claiming diplomatic immunity. But that claim doesn’t cover his other crimes. . . .

When Sidney winds up in court on a separate charge of embezzlement, it falls to Daniel to defend him. Daniel plans to provide only a competent enough defense to avoid a mistrial, allowing the prosecution to put his client away. But when word travels across the pond that an employee of the British embassy in Washington has been found dead, Daniel grows suspicious about Sidney’s alleged crimes and puts on his detective hat to search for evidence in what has blown up into an international affair.

As the embezzlement scandal heats up, Daniel takes his questions to intrepid scientist Miriam fford Croft, who brilliantly uses the most up-to-date technologies to follow an entirely new path of investigation. Daniel and Miriam travel to the Channel Islands to chase a fresh lead, and what began with a stolen necklace turns out to have implications in three far greater crimes—a triple jeopardy, including possible murder.

Review:
I'm an avid reader of Anne Perry's mysteries and was excited to read the latest in her recent series with Daniel Pitt, Thomas Pitt's son.  Thomas Pitt's adventures began as a policeman, then as a private detective, the Inspector in charge of the waterways, and then as the Head of Special Branch.  His son, Daniel. faces mysteries but as a young attorney.

This time Daniel is asked by his sister to look into the assault and robbery of a friend of theirs in Washington DC. Jemima and her policeman husband believe that the man attacked and robbed their friend worked at the British Embassy in DC and was able to escape prosecution through invoking diplomatic immunity and traveling to England.  So, Daniel's been asked to defend the young man for another offense but to possibly bring in the crimes of assault and robbery.  Daniel's a junior lawyer and gets the advice and permission of those senior to him, but their investigation leads Daniel to question his client's guilt. 

As Daniel independently investigates, he grows certain that there is something hidden that guides these accusations.  Jemima and her husband must also balance those that helped them during their early years in America with their own sense of fairness and truth.  How far can Daniel rely on Jemima and her husband? How much of the testimony is true? What is pushing the investigation forward? 

Triple Jeopardy gives us better insight into Daniel's strengths and the lengths to which the Pitt family will fight to pursue justice regardless of the personal cost. Also, it's a fun, engrossing read! Highly recommend it!

About the Author:
Anne Perry is the New York Times bestselling author of two acclaimed series set in Victorian England: the William Monk novels, including Dark Tide Rising and An Echo of Murder, and the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt novels, including Murder on the Serpentine and Treachery at Lancaster Gate. She is also the author of a new series featuring Thomas and Charlotte Pitt’s son, Daniel, including Triple Jeopardy and Twenty-one Days, as well as five World War I novels, sixteen holiday novels, most recently A Christmas Revelation, and a historical novel, The Sheen on the Silk, set in the Ottoman Empire. Anne Perry lives in Los Angeles.