A Dangerous Mourning [Hardcover]

Anne Perry (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 20, 1991

Inspector William Monk has his hands full when an aristocrat's daugher is stabbed to death in her own bed. He is instructed to proceed without delay, but finds his efforts hamstrung by the lingering traces of amnesia and the craven ineptitutde of his supervisor, who would love to see him fail. With the help of Hester Latterly, formerly a nurse with Florence Nightingale, Monk gropes warily through the silence and shadows, knowing that with each step he comes closer to the appalling truth....
"A richly textured, masterfully plotted, thoroughly enjoyable story."
THE KIRKUS REVIEWS


From the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Murder in an aristocratic London household pits Inspector William Monk, first encountered in The Face of a Stranger , against the Victorian sense of propriety, a bootlicking superior officer and a family's fierce determination to protect its reputation. Octavia Haslett, widowed daughter of Sir Basil Moidore, is found stabbed to death in her bedroom dressed only in nightclothes; when Monk proves no outsider could have entered the house that night, the family and servants remain sole suspects. As tension mounts in the household and a handsome and disliked footman becomes a scapegoat, Monk covertly arranges to introduce Hester Latterly, who served with Florence Nightingale in the Crimea and has helped Monk before, as a nurse in the Moidore home. Although a grave miscarriage of justice occurs and Monk is dismissed from the police force for a matter of conscience, the strong-willed pair persists in pressing the case to its chilling conclusion. Perry also writes the acclaimed Victorian mysteries featuring Inspector Pitt and his wife.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

An excellent follow-up to The Face of a Stranger (1990), featuring Inspector William Monk.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 330 pages
• Publisher: Fawcett; 1st edition (August 20, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0449905543
• ISBN-13: 978-0449905548
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,001,041 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Anne Perry is the bestselling author of two acclaimed series set in Victorian England: the William Monk novels, including Dark Assassin and The Shifting Tide, and the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt novels, including The Cater Street Hangman, Calandar Square, Buckingham Palace Gardens and Long Spoon Lane. She is also the author of the World War I novels No Graves As Yet, Shoulder the Sky, Angels in the Gloom, At Some Disputed Barricade, and We Shall Not Sleep, as well as six holiday novels, most recently A Christmas Grace. Anne Perry lives in Scotland.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Three Cheers for Inspector Monk, May 23, 2000

By 

drdebs (CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Dangerous Mourning (William Monk Novels) (Mass Market Paperback)

After seeing so many reviews on Amazon.com for the Pitt series by Anne Perry, I am somewhat surprised that there are not more glowing recommendations for the Inspector Monk series. True, Inspector Monk is not as likeable as Pitt and the stories are set in a slightly earlier period. But the stories! The characters! They are simply superb.

In this second book of the series, Perry uses her considerable skills as a writer and her fascination with the secrets people keep to great advantage in getting to the bottom of the death of Octavia Haslett, a young widow. In his efforts Inspector Monk is assisted by Hester Latterly, one of Florence Nightingale's Crimean nurses. We are also introduced to another marvelous character, Oliver Rathbone--a brilliant litigator and trial attorney. As Monk deciphers the meagre clues available to him he realizes that the murderer of Mrs. Haslett lived in her house, and may strike again. All fingers begin to point to a unlikeable footman, but Monk believes he has been framed and refuses to act on the instructions of Runcorn, his supervisor, who wants the case wrapped up due to pressure from the social and political elite who cannot abide the suggestion that one of their own might have committed the murder. Runcorn is certainly the boss no one would want to have, and in his fury he fires Monk who is forced to rely on the recently unemployed and also very outspoken Nurse Latterly to infiltrate Mrs. Haslett's home and find out the secrets within. By the end of the story Monk and Latterly are on different paths--Monk is heading up a private detective agency, and Latterly is serving as a private duty nurse. On to Defend and Betry to see if their new career paths work out!

If you like Inspector and Charlotte Pitt, give Inspector Monk a try. The psychological tautness of these novels is a nice change of pace!

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perry leaves you guessing till the end!, February 23, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: A Dangerous Mourning (William Monk Novels) (Mass Market Paperback)

The second book in Perry's "Inspector Monk" series, "A Dangerous Mourning" is my favorite of her books yet. It's the story of a widowed daughter of a well-to-do family who is found dead on her bed, having been stabbed with a knife. As Monk investigates, he knows he will uncover a multitude of secrets the family has worked so hard at keeping concealed.

This is the fifth book of Anne Perry's I have read, and it is my favorite so far. I have found in reading some of her other books there are long passages that seem to lose me and clutter up the process of solving the mystery. This book was quite different, though, and held my interest from beginning to end. Perry had me guessing until the end.

This is a great read, and I would suggest reading the first book "Face of a Stranger." It will give you background into Monk's and Hester Latterly's lives so that the characters will make more sense. Also "Dangerous Mourning" concludes the previous book and lets you know what happened to the murderer in that story.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I can't believe all of the bad reviews!, May 27, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: A Dangerous Mourning (William Monk Novels) (Mass Market Paperback)

This novel was thrilling from start to finish and it left me guessing until the very end. I do agree that the book had too much information in it that really had nothing to do with the story, but all in all this was a thrilling and entertaining read!