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28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
compelling and memorable, June 10, 2004
Gather your cats/dogs/children and spouse/significant other, and firmly let them know that for the next 3 to 5 hours, YOU ARE NOT TO BE DISTURBED. And then, unplug the 'phone, pour yourself a thimble full of good port, make for your comfy chair and make your comfortable. For Anne Perry has written another gem that you simply cannot miss!! True, where the mystery subplot is concerned, things may be a little lacking; however if you look at the novel as an examination of human nature, at the unexpected strengths and hidden frailities of the characters involved, "The Shifting Tide" then becomes the compelling must read novel that it rightly is, whether or not you are a mystery buff. William Monk has been hired by shipping magnate Clement Louvain to recover a shipment of ivory tusks stolen from his schooner, the Maude Idris. Normally, Monk would stay away from a case in which he is at such a disadvantage (Monk may know the streets of London very well, but he knows next to nothing about the river, the docks or the wharfs), but money is low and the need dire, so that in spite of his reservations, Monk agrees to take on the case. Louvain wants the stolen shipment found quickly and without the involvement of the River Police -- an especially tricky combination when murder is thrown into the mix, for the thieves had bashed in the head of one of the sailors keeping watch aboard the Maude Idris. Even stranger, Louvain is not at all interested in seeing that the murderer is apprehended and goes so far as to forbid Monk from wasting his time going down that road. Now why would he do this? Surely the murderer was one of the thieves? Monk senses that Louvain is keeping a great many things from him. A suspicion that grows when he learns that Louvain has taken a desperately ill woman (whom he claims is a friend's ex-mistress) to Hester's free clinic. But what neither Monk nor Hester anticipated was the nightmare that would soon unfold, and that would threaten their lives and happiness... Mystery-wise, "The Shifting Tide" while intorguing was a little touch and go -- not too many cunning plot twists or sinister red herring culprits for Monk to track down. Even the usually tense courtroom scenes where Sir Oliver Rathbone is centerstage is absent; this time a healthy chunk of the novel is devoted to what Hester and her helpers go through as they battle illness, fatigue and their own inner demons. And yet what a suspenseful read "The Shifting Tide" was! The sense of time ticking away and of lives hanging in the balance was always there; and that together with the colourful and vivid characters that the authour created made this a very compelling read indeed. But most of all it was her portrayals of the unexpected inner strengths and nobility that the unlikeliest of characters exhibited, and her portrayal of human frailities, that made "The Shifing Tide" a memorable and worthwhile read.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Perry's best yet, September 27, 2006
This review is from: The Shifting Tide: A William Monk Novel (William Monk Novels) (Mass Market Paperback)
I found Anne Perry almost 20 years ago (to the best of my memory), when her Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series was just beginning and the Monk series didn't exist yet. I have read them all, thoroughly enjoyed them all, but let's face it -- after more than 30 books set in roughly the same time period, some of them tend to feel a bit repetitive (to the point that I get confused when I go to buy the latest paperbacks).
Not so "The Shifting Tide." I don't care what other reviewers here have said about unbelievable characters and historical inaccuracies; this is FICTION, and brilliantly drawn. You see the sights, feel the emotions, believe in the characters. In addition, you experience the concerns and perspectives of an entirely different era as if you were there (when was the last time you seriously tried to envision a plague epidemic?). Finally, the sweet parts are genuinely sweet, but when it's time to visit the dark side, it's a dark and nasty vision that sticks in your head after you close the book.
In my opinion, this is by far Perry's best novel yet. I LOVED it and can't wait to see what she comes up with next.
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A must-read for Anne Perry fans, May 22, 2004
William Monk usually investigates the crimes of the wealthy that inhabit some of the finest mansions in London. This time out Anne Perry takes Monk to the river and docks that is out of his comfort zone as an investigator. He has bills to pay and is happy to get any kind of work. Clement Louvain wants Monk to investigate the theft of a cargo of ivory from one of Louvain's schooners. .Louvain does not want the theft reported to the River Police. Monk's wife, Hester, runs a clinic for desperately ill women of the street who have no other place to go. Louvain brings an ill woman who came off of one of his ships to Hester. After the woman is found dead, Hester realizes that she had the Black Plague. The plague had wiped out half the population of England two centuries before. If anyone knew, mass panic who ensue; the clinic and its inhabitants would likely be burned down. The clinic must be locked down and no one must be allowed to escape from inside. Monk must answer the question of why Louvain would bring the woman to Hester. Anne Perry writes both the Thomas Pitt series and the William Monk series. When I am reading one or the other series, it is always my favorite at the time. Anne Perry has an uncanny knack of painting the scenes of her stories so vividly that you are transported back in time. She captures the essence and the flavor of the time period. This book had at first two seemingly different storylines: the stolen ivory and the plague. I found the scenes with the clinic: the difficulty in raising funds for a clinic for fallen women, the struggle in running it, the characters associated with it, and the dealing with the plague the more intriguing storyline. It was not until the storylines merged into one that I started to enjoy the story involving the shipyards. I think it was all a little too gritty for my taste. The relationship between Monk and Hester has evolved since the early books, and even later ones that involved their courtship. You always knew they were close and had a special bond, but this time you really felt it even though they had very few scenes together. Anyone who has never read the Monk series should go back and read them in order. It would be worth it because Anne Perry is an excellent writer who always has good, suspenseful plots.
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