Published
by Headline, 6 February 2006. ISBN: 978-0-7553-2058-5 (HB) This is the fifteenth tale about William
Monk in Victorian London, and it is a fascinating one. The deaths of a couple who fall into the
Thames from Waterloo Bridge within sight of a team of river police led by
Inspector Monk are seen as suicide, but Monk is not so sure. He finds himself investigating a case with
connections to an earlier suicide - that of the woman’s father.
The story is set during a bitterly cold
winter in 1864 and the effects of that cold are almost physical manifestations
to the reader, such is the skill of Anne Perry’s writing.
The tale involves other aspects of Monk’s new work for the River police as
well as the development of the concerns of his wife, Hester. The digging of huge sewers under London to
prevent the recurrence of the ’Great Stink’ when even the Houses of Parliament
suffered the appalling odour from the river becomes part of Monk’s
investigation. Again, Anne Perry makes
her reader really feel the horrors of that digging underground in cold and
dangerous circumstances. This tale is
firmly positioned in the world of the poor with contrasts to the affluent
worlds above clearly shown.
I enjoyed the superb presentation of the
Victorian world and the continuation of the story of the Monks. Although this book certainly benefits from
knowledge of the previous books it is so written that a newcomer to the series
would also enjoy it. --------- Reviewer: Jennifer S. Palmer
Anne Perry (1938-2023) was born in Blackheath, London, England in October
1938. Anne had various jobs but there
was never anything she seriously wished to do except write. Her publishing career began
with The Cater Street Hangman .
Published in 1979, this was the first book in the series to feature the
Victorian policeman Thomas Pitt and his well-born wife Charlotte. It was filmed
and broadcast on ITV featuring a young Keely Hawes. Anne
started a second series of detective novels with The Face of a Stranger . These are set about 35 years before and
feature the private detective William Monk and volatile nurse Hester Latterly.
She has also published a successful series based around World War One and the
Reavley family.
http://www.anneperry.co.uk
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