The Angel Court Affair

It is 1898, and the United States has declared war on Spain. An English woman, Sofia Delacruz, who has married a Spaniard is returning.  In hopes of preventing a conflict between Britain and Spain, Thomas Pitt of the Special Branch has been assigned the task of ensuring her safety and that of her acolytes.  However, when she disappears with two of her women assistants Pitt is sure that it was planned.

Barton Hall, Sofia's cousin suggests to Pitt that the threat to her could actually be from Spain rather than here in England.  Sergeant Brundage, Pitt's second-in-command, suggests that it is possible that there is a conspiracy of sorts at work, but how to discover is the question.

Things go from bad to worse when Pitt and Brundage discover the bodies of the two women assistants in a family home of Sofia's, but no Sofia.  Worse is yet to come when Pitt receives a letter from a man claiming to have abducted Sofia, and making demands that Pitt is unsure that he can follow through on.

Victor Narraway, Pitt's former Special Branch boss, and his wife Vespasia agree to travel to Spain to investigate the Spanish side of the case.  They bring Sofia's husband back to England with them in the hopes he can help to save Sofia.  But will Pitt and his team be able to get to her in time?

A good story by author Anne Perry, however I found that she was too wordy in places, which detracted from the story line.  It is almost as if Perry had a certain word count that she had to meet for this book and she was putting in filler.  A disappointment in that case.