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The trend that I've noticed with books in this series - somewhat less than exciting first half, much, much better past that point - does not hold true for this one. It was more consistent by a lot, and I did not get bored even once. So now I might be dedicated to reading all 20-however-many.That being said I solved this mystery way sooner than old Monk did, or a part of it anyway, which is weird as Monk is forever being described (mostly by himself, in his own head) as a brilliant detective. I a...
I can't believe it Sir Herbert Stanhope will hang, he was guilty! My first shot at fiction and I'm impressed, Anne Perry has absorbed her readers into mid 19th century London. I could feel the essence of the times, the occasional elaborate description of events sufficient enough to cast the exact image like a projector behind your brain and rare enough not to bore the reader. Who wasn't caught in suspense from not knowing what Monk was going to do next, to thinking Dora parsons was going to thro...
This was a hard book to rate and hard review to write. Anne Perry's books are an odd combination of slow-paced and gripping. There's something about these books that makes me want to just sit back and listen while I'm doing puzzles. And actually, I was enthralled enough with this book that last night I ignored everything else I had to do and just sat up much later than I should have to finish it. I was totally shocked by who the murderer was.There were two clues that were dropped towards the beg...
So compelling at the end I stayed up till midnight to finish it, knowing I would have to wake up at 5:30.
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Narrated by Davina PorterDescription: Prudence Barrymore, a talented nurse who had worked with Florence Nightingale in the Crimea, is found strangled to death in a London hospital. Private inquiry agent William Monk is engaged to investigate this horrific crime. Gradually, Monk assembles the portrait of a remarkable woman. Yet he also discerns the shadow of a tragic evil and a frightening glimmer of his own eclipsed past . . . Whoah! this was a bloated, soap box of an episode. Really not a favo...
I finished the Pitt series and now am reading the Monk series . I started reading it in 2015, so I am a little hazy on the first 3, but these are a little darker than the Pitt 's, but end just as abruptly. The history of the Crimean war and Florence Nightengale is laced through the books because the heroine, Hester was a nurse there, which brings us to this book. Prudence Barrymore was also a Crimean nurse, now working in a hospital, who is murdered there. Most women considered nurses at the tim...
So far, this was not my favorite of the series. It was still good, but it wasn't as compelling as the previous books. Also, I felt a little manipulated on the abortion issue. It seemed to me that the doctor who performed abortions for free was held up as a good person helping desperate women, but the doctor who accepted pay was vilified. Really? That is what's wrong with the issue? This one was a little too message-driven for me, but hopefully these won't turn in to preachy diatribes instead of
Interesting and engaging plot line albeit a bit contrived in parts; Exciting twist at the end however. A great sideline to the compelling murder mystery was the thought-provoking look at hospital politics in the Victorian age and the ethical issues of abortion and women's rights.
I conclude my reading of this book with sadness, because I will be forgetting it slowly, but surely as death. The number of books that I've read quickened this process. This reflects in my reviews too, hence their quality.To resume, this is a book about the death of Prudence Barrymore, a nurse who was dedicated to her cause. She is murdered brutally, and her senior doctor finds himself in the docks.Justice prevails, but perhaps not as you foresaw it. I enjoy the forceful description of the envir...
Anne Perry shows her remarkable skill at crafting a mystery that is spell binding to the end, and at setting that story within a historical context, with rich detail. She also has woven into this story 2 important issues for women, both for those women in 1850 Victorian England, and in varying ways, for women today. Prudence Barrymore wants desperately to be a physician, and is determined to find a way to be accepted into medical school. But like many young women who want to break into fields of...
First of all, as always, this was well written and gripping. Hester and Monk are coming together and it's beautiful.However, the plot is dark and heartbreaking. Rape, abortion, and murder are all prominent in the novel and with it a reminder that justice from the courts of law is cold and can never truly fix what has been done.Recommended 14+ for talk of rape, abortion, and murder.
4.5 stars. Better and better! I really enjoyed the first books in this series but the first halves were quite slow, gathering the information needed to make the cases come together in the second half. This story did not have those pacing issues at all. I was blindsided by this story: I had worked out one or two possible solutions as to whodunnit, but was totally wrong! I did think also that the premise that Prudence had been in love with the accused was far fetched, but given the times, it simpl...
3.5 starsA Sudden, Fearful Death was a strangely mixed bag. Perry breaks with her formula here and begins with a (seemingly) short case that ends early on, and William Monk, Hester Latterly, and Lady Callandra Daviot begin work on another case when the body of a nurse — with whom Hester was in the Crimea — is found at the Royal Free Hospital. The nurse, Prudence Barrymore, is strikingly similar to Hester by all accounts: extremely dedicated, utterly capable, and highly intelligent. I thought Per...
I still like the characters in this book but the plots keep getting darker and nastier. And either Perry is getting more predictable or I've read too many of her books. I figured out what was going on and got really annoyed with how stupid Monk and Hester were being before they finally figure it out too. The book could have been cut in half and would have been a lot better. It's like Perry felt that she couldn't stop at 200+ pages for some reason so she kept beating around the bush for another 2...
This is by far the worst and most disappointing Anne Perry book I've ever read. The majority of it read like a Margaret Sanger tract and the rest was boring and drawn out. The major characters had no progression, Monk's "brilliance" was referenced one too many times with no action detection to back it up, and the "mystery" of the first 50 pages were just a vehicle to introduce the topic of abortion. In past books, Perry has inserted political views, but they've always taken a back seat to the st...
Monk didn’t make any headway on discovering his past. He remains his irascible self, and works with Hester on a case though their bickering continues. Much of the book is in the courtroom, and the subject matter would be relevant today. I won’t say more to avoid spoilers. Perry never disappoints.
It is a shame when a great mystery writer lets political and social adgenda fog a novel.
1.5 - 2 starsNarrated by Davina PorterMy feelings for the William Monk mysteries have always been lukewarm at best, but this book made me seriously reconsider continuing with the series despite my interest in Monk's history. The mystery was convoluted, and Monk seemed as inept as usual. There were questions unanswered such as how Callandra recognized Marian, and inconsistencies such as Monk being jubilant about the content of the letters he had received and acting all smug in front of Runcorn bu...
This book is not part of the Monk series as promoted it is Hester Latterly series. That in itself didn't make this book miss its mark it is dragged out beyond a length where my interest was kept.The basis of evidence against the Stanhope character would never be enough to bring the case to trial. How one jumps from letters of a scorned woman who threatens blackmail being without a doubt evidence for police to arrest to me seems farfetched. There is no direct physical evidence to directly connect...