Customer Reviews

Defend and Betray (Paragon Softcover Large Print Books)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The plot outline is this: A well-respected army general is murdered during a dinner party at the home of a friend. Soon his wife confesses to the crime, giving jealousy as her motive. Edith, the younger sister of the deceased general, is skeptical of the confession, and approaches her friend Hester for some help. Hester, in turn, enlists the famed attorney Oliver Rathbone and former Inspector William Monk to work on the case.

The first 250 pages are so boring and so empty that one wonders why Perry wrote the book at all. All three of the above-mentioned investigators go out to gather information and interview the witnesses and acquaintances of the principal parties. They find absolutely nothing. It soon becomes clear that the wife is lying about her motive, but everyone is mystified as to what the real motive is. So for 250 pages we get almost nothing except conversations among the three people, exchanging no information because there is no information to exchange, and becoming increasingly pessimistic about their chances to save the wife from being hanged.

A modern reader, on the other hand, has no trouble figuring out the wife's motive long before the people in the book do. So that element of suspense is missing. The only open question in the reader's mind is exactly how are the characters in the book going to find out the motive.

Not only are the first 250 pages excruciatingly boring, but also the book is poorly edited. There are several threads in the story which are confusing, and several times people do things, or omit doing things, for which the motivation is either nonexistent or poorly explained.

One of the subplots is Monk's emotional longing to reconstruct a case which this one reminds him of, but which he can't remember because of a head injury which impaired his memory. That previous case might have been in one of the prior Monk novels that I haven't read, but the entire subplot is just an annoyance and seems out of place in this novel.

So what's good about this novel? The last 100 pages. Once we get to the courtroom, Perry's writing suddenly becomes far more powerful and surehanded. The drama builds, and even though the reader knows all the facts by now, it is highly uncertain how the whole thing will play out during the trial. Rathbone (and therefore Perry) does a masterful job of sequencing the witnesses, the questions, and the testimony. The final ending is moving and satisfying.

Is the truly fine ending worth wading through the 250 pages of dross that precede it? Probably not. This is my fourth Anne Perry novel, and I know she can do much better than this. Read the others.

Anne Perry charmed me with the Thomas and Charlotte Pitt series first. I imagine Thomas to be very much like Mulder from the X-Files. Anyway, I made the mistake of reading one of the later Monk novels out of desperation for more Anne Perry, and just plain lost interest. Then, I found "Face of a Stranger" and started the series in order, and can picture Timothy Dalton as Monk, Hester Latterly as Emma Thompson, and I care so much about these main characters that even when the pace got mired down in Monk's flashbacks, I had the motivation to keep going. It's worth it in this most unusual approach. I highly appreciate Ms. Perry's respect for her readers; there is a definite level of erudition here without becoming pedantic. As a teacher, I recommend these books as great historical fiction, with plenty of insight on the lower classes and the plight of women. Stick around for the exquisite courtroom scene. Oliver Rathbone is a well-balanced, realistic character, and his father Henry is a dear. Callandra Daviot is as important to the Monk novels as Aunt Vespasia is to the Pitt series. To sum up: start at the beginning of each series to get the most out of them. They don't stand alone nearly as well as some series novels.

Although not the book for you if you want one that keeps you guessing about the murderer until the end, Defend and Betray remains captivating because of its focus on Victorian society and the increasingly complicated inner workings of the Carlyon and Furnival families. I figured out why the murderer had killed Thaddeus Carlyon a few hundred pages before the detectives did, but I think this is due to a modern perspective rather than their incompetence.

A few parts of this book drove me crazy. At one point, Monk and Hester have learned an important piece of information that should easily, EASILY lead them to a further conclusion, Victorian society or no Victorian society, and yet it takes some time for them to connect A and B. The middle section of the novel in which Alexandra Carlyon refuses to tell them anything more about the murder grows frustrating, but once Monk and Hester have broken past her silence, the book is spellbinding until the end. I stayed up until midnight finishing it. Even as questions are answered, there are always some left until the final page.

Whether you care about the subplot with Monk and his half-hidden memory of another woman accused of killing her husband depends on if you care about Monk in the first place (I do) and if you resent time being taken away from the main case (I did).

It has some flaws, but overall I found this book page-turning and an interesting take on the secrets, lies, and priorities of upper-class Victorians.

You might think that a confession in the first few chapters of a mystery novel would be a bad idea. Why keep reading? Anne Perry proves she knows best once again in this, the third novel in the William Monk series. Here we read on page after exciting page because we want to know WHY Alexandra Carlyon would murder her husband, Thaddeus.

Fans of Anne Perry know that the author is fascinated with secrets, who keeps them, and why. Because this book focuses on disclosures in Alexandra Carlyon's murder trial, rather than a murder investigation per se, we are able to follow each labrynthine path that the author lays down. Did Alexandra murder her husband because of jealousy? Because she was in love with someone else? Or to protect someone she loved?

This book is gripping and intriguing--a real page-turner. If you like Victorian mysteries and the modern TV series Law and Order you will love this book. Part detective work, part legal work, the case will keep you guessing!

I've only started reading Anne Perry a couple months ago and started with the William Monks books as they seemed a little more recent and accessible. I've always been a lover of Victorian mysteries and this has to be one of the best I have ever read and one of the better books I have read period. Basically the book can be broken into thirds, first third is relatively interesting as it lays out the opening facts in the case, the second half gets extremely frustrating and to some degree boring and the last third will keep you up until 4AM in the morning like it did me because you can't put it down. I think the second third was done on purpose as I think Anne wanted us to be as frustrated as the characters were at the lack of progress in the case. You do start to suspect the motive but it unravels slowly and when it does, all I can say is "Oh my god!" The last third is riveting as you can't wait to see how it all plays out especially in light of Victorian social mores. Don't get me wrong, Anne Perry has a number of annoying quirks in her writing, she loves SAT words like prevaricate and equivocate and uses them every chance she gets, her use of third person omniscient gets a little out of hand and her characters are a little slow to deduce things that you know they should have 100 pages earlier. If you can get past these difficulties and some others, however, Anne Perry creates very strong characters and in this case, a riveting tale.

This was a great mystery novel. I was totally shocked and disgusted by the motive for the murder. I stayed up till about 1 in the morning to finish reading this and then I couldn't sleep because I was so shocked. Needless to say, I did not fare well in school the next day. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a good mystery novel.

General Thaddeus Carlyon lies dead after falling from a staircase at the home of friends, supposedly impaled by accident when he landed on a suit of armor. However, it quickly becomes clear that although the fall could have been an accident, the impalement could not. Someone did that to the general deliberately. Who was it, among those present at that evening's intimate dinner party? Carlyon's sister, widow Edith Sobell, asks her good friend Hester Latterly to find a barrister able and willing to defend the general's widow after Alexandra Carlyon confesses to the crime. Although the Carlyon parents accept the confession and are eager to commit Alexandra quietly to a private asylum (they do not seem to understand that the law is going to hang her), Edith cannot believe her sister-in-law did this. Nor can Hester.

Former police inspector William Monk, now a private investigator, is hired by brilliant barrister Sir Oliver Rathbone to find out the truth as Rathbone tries to prepare a defense for a client who refuses to tell him her real motive. For Alexandra did kill her husband; that much quickly becomes clear. But why? Not for the reason she offers. There is something much deeper and much darker at work, and to Alexandra it is something entirely worth dying for.

At this stage in the Monk series, Hester Latterly continues her work as a privately engaged nurse - this time to a retired military officer with a healing leg fracture, who is now well enough to be bored and who therefore delights in helping her with her friend Edith's strange problem. Hester and William Monk continue to spar as they work together, and their mutual respect grows despite (or perhaps because of) the friction between them. As usual, Perry depicts Victorian society with spot-on accuracy; and the social issues targeted in this book are ones sadly familiar to today's reader, because they have yet to be fully resolved. A super read!

--Reviewed by Nina M. Osier, author of "Love, Jimmy: A Maine Veteran's Longest Battle"

Hester Latterly has just received dreadful news: her friend Edith Sobell's brother, well-renowned General Carlyon, has just died a very horrible death. He was pushed over a balcony during a dinner party when no one was around, and then had a halberd driven into his chest. Not only that, but his wife has confessed to killing him! Edith believes her sister-in-law may be trying to cover up someone else's crime, maybe her daughter's, but Alexandra is adamant that she killed her own husband. Hester believes that Oliver Rathbone should be hired to defend her - and Monk to discover more about the case. With the three of them working to solve the mystery - and Monk slowly but surely discovering his past - a secret, terrible and black, is unleashed on the Carlyon family, a secret more terrible and buried than anything Monk, Oliver, and Hester could have ever guessed.
__________________________________________

My thoughts -
I would have killed him, too.
I've never felt that way about a murder mystery before, but it's true. You would have. Your mother would have. Almost anyone would have.
Why?
I guess you'll just have to read the book. ;)

Basically, this book made me cry. If I hadn't been so dehydrated from my stupid sunburn, I would have sobbed. I never thought a trial could be so moving.

Character notes -
MONK! How I love that guy. I love everything about him, even his pride and anger. I love him when he's angry, I love him when he's joyful. I feel for him when he's struggling... I just want him to remember!!!

Hester was even more amazing this time around; she had to sometimes lead the way through tough situations and I loved how she did it - her bravery is to be commended!
Oliver Rathbone is likable and necessary to the story, but to be honest he's nothing compared to Monk. I hope he keeps getting better and better with each book!

The side characters are all phenomenal, every last one. The way Anne Perry describes people - not just your typical "full lips" but instead, "sensual mouth" - blows me away. The characters are perfectly drawn up with the very first few words. And again, as in the other two books, the desperation, tension, and humanity between characters is unseen in most literature today. She's like a modern Dostoevsky... And if you know me, you know he is one of my all-time favorites.

Story notes -
This story was harsh. Intense and totally mind-blowing like the others - but more brutal than the first two. And from what I hear, the most brutal of the whole series. The mystery unfolded slowly (once again it was like slowly tasting a delicious desert), and with every new step I was shocked. I had no idea how many small details would be incorporated into the end - and what a huge impact they'd make. And when I read the last twenty pages, all those details came into play, and I couldn't help but clasp my hand over my mouth and cry. So heartbreaking, yet so perfect. Mind-blowing.

Summing it up -
Brutal. Seriously, shocking and saddening but altogether incredible. I'm so sold on this series and I can't wait to pick up book #4 (A Sudden, Fearful Death) - now I just need money to go buy it! ;)

For the parents -
Once again, like the other two books, this book is very much full of older subject matter. However, this time around it is much more than just an intense murder case... The details of this case - while sparing us of circumstantial details - are much more perverted than in the other books, and will not be good for young teens and even some older teens who may be more sensitive. The main part of the mystery involves a very sickening way of life. If you would like to know the details, highlight the white below - but know that this will give away the main mystery: the father/two others were/are performing incest/sodomy on two little boys. Another culprit did it to multiple boys over the years. Two of the wives let them continue doing it because they didn't want to lost money/social standing. Some brief strong language. Recommended 18+.

This series just gets better with each book. Anne Perry writes about
this era with so much detail. You feel as if you are actually there
and experiencing it yourself. In this book Monk is asked by Oliver
Rathbone to try to find out the real reason Alexandra Corlyon has
confessed to murdering her husband. Oliver Rathbone is magnificent in
this book. We also meet his father, Henry. I also enjoyed the
character of Major Tiplady, Hester's current employer. The courtroom drama
at the end of this book is worth waiting for. When young Cassian Corlyon
takes the stand, it is heartbreaking, but very well written.
I am going to read "Sudden, Fearful Death" next and hope it is as
good as this one.

This novel features William Monk, Hester Latterly,and Oliver Rathbone. The mystery lies in the motive, and not the killer. The case looks most hopeless, and it is not until the defense case is almost over before the outcome is known. In this novel, the author takes great pains to humanize Monk's memory lapses. We understand why he is not able to think of Hester as a romantic interest. The key element that is Anne Perry's success is her knowledge of Victorian England. Her use of this historical era is sheer genius. I, therefore, found it odd that she used the word plastic in a description. I would suggest to the reader that the next Anne Perry work would be Sins of the Wolf. Here the relationship between Monk, Rathbone, and Hester is put to the ultimate challenge.