Death of a Stranger (2002)

My other choice from the first pages that LilyKlip added to the BookXerpting she organised. It looks like an interesting read.

I think Anne Perry is writing too many books and not spending enough time on the hard work of editing and proof-reading. I found at least 3 places where what was said on an earlier page was contradicted by something a few pages later. While that didn't completely spoil the book for me I think I will not be reading anymore of Perry's books unless they come highly recommended from someone whose judgment I trust.

In this book Hester Monk is providing free medical help to prostitutes while William Monk is a private investigator. Hester is used to seeing women roughed up but three women come in together, all needing help, which she willingly gives without asking questions. The next morning when the beat policeman tells her that a "toff" has been found dead in a brothel she has to tell him what she knows about these women. At home William is approached by a well-dressed lady who wants him to investigate if her fiance, a partner in a railway company, is a participant in a fraud. William, who had an accident seven years before and cannot remember many details of his life before that time, is startled to find his signature on one of the pieces of paper she has brought him. This investigation forces him to delve back into his own past as well as try to answer the lady's question. Meanwhile Hester has more work because the police crackdown in the area is driving customers away and the prostitutes are unable to pay their debts so they are being badly hurt. She discovers that some of these "ladies of the night" were once respectable governesses and servants who have had to go into prostitution to repay the usorious debts they have acquired. She believes that the "toff", who has been identified as Nolan Baltimore, had something to do with this usury. Nolan Baltimore was also the senior partner in the railway firm William is investigating. The threads of their separate investigations start to come together and meanwhile William is questioning if he is really the man he seems to be now or if he was involved in a similar fraudulent scheme 16 years before.

There's lots of detail about life in London and areas outside of London in Victorian times which is very interesting. But I can't help but feel that some of the details are a little far-fetched. Would rabbits really not be able to build warrens in hills that had a granite base? It seems to me that there would be sufficient soil cover for them to dig holes. So, as I said previously, I'm going to give Anne Perry's books a miss from now on. ( )

This novel had many plots and subplots involving Monk, Hester, and Monk's past. Each book brings Monk closer to the truth of his life before his accident. Hester, as usual, is fighting the morals battles of women and the poor. She reasons that prostitution is bad, but that women have few avenues open for earning wages. Monk investigates fraud in land deals and the operations of the railroad. Anne Perry writes in the detailed style of Elizabeth George, but provides less psychological analysis than George. I enjoy reading both authors, and may venture into Perry's Thomas Pitt series. ( )

Interesting mystery with Hester and Monk involved in the crime in different aspects and not realizing it. Hester unbelieveably manages to take over a brothel's establishment and turn it into her clinic after being evicted from her own place. Meanwhile Monk's latest case has him re-examining his past and what happened to him to cause him to lose his memory. It was kind of repetitious and could have used some editing. ( )

William Monk is new to me, this is the first Anne Perry book I've read. There were several mysteries in this, and it is the first mystery novel I've read where it wasn't actually the detective who solved anything, but his friends instead. A novel idea. Monk is struggling with partial memory loss and angst over what type of man he may have been in his past. His loyal and brave wife, Hester, has her own problems to deal with, but is a rock for him. The author bit off quite a chunk of writing, making four main characters in the book, and she did well, I look forward to reading more of the lawyer, Rathbone, and Hester's helper Margaret. I became a bit tired of hearing about the plight of prostitutes unable to ply their trade and of Monk's mental anguish of whether or not to share his problems with his wife. Other than that, I found the characters to be well rounded and interesting and the setting well done. I will definitely try more Perry's books. ( )