This is the last of the William and Hester Monk books. I’m sad there will be no more as I’ve enjoyed their cases, their adventures, the people they encounter and the mysteries involved.

Sir Oliver Rathbone asks Monk to help a client (Exeter) take the ransom money to Jacob’s Island to exchange for his wife (Kate Exeter). It was supposed to be easy but there were complications and everything fell apart and Kate was killed. It appears there must have been a mole on Monk’s team. So Monk struggles with that and trying to learn more about his men. He does end up learning more about his faithful Sergeant Hooper, however, none of the men are moles. The plot thickens and there are possible suspects. The real killer is sly, devious and rotten to the core.

I liked the character of Celia Darwin, who is Kate’s cousin and friend. Glad that Hooper found someone like her. ( )

This book feels a bit tired when compared to some in the earlier part of the Monk series. The relaying of thoughts and motivations for each character became quite repetitive, and the characters felt a bit stale. The story moved at a sluggish pace. I'm thinking it's time for the author to focus on the next generation of this family. ( )

I really enjoyed this book. It was a page turner for me.
Ree ( )

Please see all of my reviews on my blog at https://www.robinlovesreading.com.

Thames River policeman Harry Monk isn’t quite sure why businessman Harry Exeter doesn’t want help in finding his kidnapped wife, Kate. Even more suspicious, he only wants help navigating where she might be located. Imagine the shock of everyone when they find Kate brutally murdered.

Things went from bad to worse when during the ransom exchange, Monk and five of his men are attacked. Monk can only draw one conclusion: there is a traitor among his men. Monk has to work hard chasing down leads, some even provided by Kate’s cousin, Celia. Monk has the awful task of investigating his own men, men he was sure he knew through and through. Unfortunately Monk continually runs into dead ends.

Monk takes this case quite personally, remembering a horrid time when his own wife Hester had been kidnapped. So, between his painful history, and doubting one of his men, Monk remains quite conflicted during the investigation.

I have read a few Anne Perry novels over the years and am quite pleased that I had the opportunity to read this one. Dark Tide Rising is Book #24 in the William Monk series. I haven’t had the opportunity to read any others of the series, and this did very well as a standalone. I felt as if I was able to get to know several of the characters fairly well. As a new reader of this series, I appreciated the fact that I was able to learn how William and Hester adopted Will, or Scruff, providing wonderful insight as to Monk as a father.

This is an excellent, fast-paced multi-level mystery. I really enjoyed the romantic elements thrown in, as well as the effectively descriptive language throughout. One of the detectives, Hooper, had quite a story of his own which was quite compelling.

Many thanks to Ballantine Books and to NetGalley for this ARC to review. This is my honest opinion. ( )

Dark Tide Rising is really Monk's book, with Hester making only a cameo appearance. Monk is pulled into the search for a wealthy man's kidnapped wife by Oliver Rathbone. The mission takes Monk and his team deep into one of the most dangerous places on the Thames, and chaos ensues. Monk, always a little wary of everyone because of his memory loss, must wonder how much a person really knows his fellows.

The story was full of the usual twists that I've come to expect from Anne Perry and is a worthy addition to the Inspector Monk series.

I received a copy from LibraryThings Early Reviewers. ( )