Customer Reviews

The Shifting Tide: A William Monk Novel (William Monk Novels)

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

This is an exceptional book. The relationship between Monk and Hester has deepened and Ms. Perry enables the reader to feel that relationship. There is a sense of place that makes part of Victorian London, excellent plotting and wonderful characters including strong secondary characters. But most of all, you feel the threat and courage of the characters when placed in an overwhelming situation. I've been a fan of Ms. Perry since her first book but had to warm up to the Monk series. This book not only convinced me about the series but I believe this is the best book she's written to date.

I thought this was one of the best in what I have always felt was the author's best series. The action in this book is non-stop, and the emotion, which has always been a high point in this series, is palpable. I also feel, like another reviewer, that this was the best portrayal of the Hester/Monk relationship, and I really liked the payoff for the Rathbone character. The way this book tied up loose ends and resolved stories, it could actually be a fitting end for this series, although I certainly hope the author has many more Monk books in her.

Investigator William Monk is relieved to be offered a job, even one outside his normal sphere of operation in the large houses of Victorian England, as money is tight and bills must be paid.Clement Louvain, ship owner and importer of spices and ivory, hires Monk to find 14 tusks of ivory which were stolen from his ship when it was moored in the Thames, awaiting a berth at the Docks. Monks'wife Hester runs a shelter and hospital for sick and injured prostitutes with her friend Margaret, stocking it on a shoe string budget, so that when Louvain brings a sick woman to her, claiming that she is the cast-off mistress of a friend and paying Hester a handsome fee for her care, she doesn't hesitate to accept the woman as a patient. Meanwhile Monk manages to find the trail of the stolen ivory with the help of a street urchin, Scuff, and to return it to Louvain. Hester is horrified to find the unmistakeable signs of bubonic plague on the sick woman and realises that she must isolate herself and all the other occupants of the hospital, as much to keep them from infecting the general population as to keep the threat of mass hysteria at bay. She is aided in this task by the rat-catcher, Sutton who directs his friends to stand guard with pit bulls, trained to kill on command. Hester gets word to Monk of their predicament and in turn informs Durban the chief of the river police of the need to track down the source of the plague. Feeling sure that the plague was brought into the country by Louvain on his ship, Monk and Durban contrive to isolate the ship until their case is proven. The author brilliantly conveys the cutting winds and biting cold of the London docks in winter, so much so that I guarantee that you'll not feel warm till the end of the story.

I have shamelessly enjoyed every single Monk story that Ms. Perry has written. The Monk series has always been my favourite of her two long-running series, but this book is the best Monk story that I've read. The craftsmanship that Ms. Perry puts into each of her books is so very apparent in this one. She shows pure genius in her character and plot development. In this book we see Monk and his Hester working separately on what appears to be too separate catastrophic events, but as the story goes on, it is apparent that both are connected. Hester is fighting the battle of her life against a very real foe of disease in her clinic, and Monk is out on the River trying to solve a theft and trying to piece together what actually happened on the Maude Idris. We see some real growth in some of the regular characters, but we also meet some very strong minor characters in this book - for example - the cold and ruthless Clement Louvain; the very likeable Durban (a member of the infamous River police that Monk really feels an affinity for); and Sutton the Ratter - one of the best characters in the book. This book held me spellbound from beginning to end. The pace in the book is relentless, and when I finished it, it left me feeling strangely empty. I can't wait for another Monk book!

The thrilling mystery story that we have come to expect from Anne Perry takes a new twist in this book. Perhaps inspired by true events in 1898 Vienna, where three persons died of plague, this is not so much a story of crime but of survival.
Unfortunately other qualitites that we have also come to expect from this author, like sound research and verisimilitude, are absent here. There are glaring gaps in logic, occasional sloppy proofing, and, at least as I understand the nature of plague, serious factual mistakes. This is too bad, since the story could have been a fitting installment in the quest of the protagonists for social improvement in mid-19th century London.
As it is, the book gave me the impression that perhaps Anne Perry has currently too many irons in the fire and no longer spends enough time on the kind of careful work that characterized her earlier novels.

When reading about private enquiry agents in Victorian England, one always longs for the subtleties of Sherlock Holmes . . . and one seldom finds them. The opening detection in The Shifting Tide reminded me at times of Sherlock Holmes, and the plot complications actually exceed most Sherlock Holmes stories. I found myself riveted with delight as the story developed well beyond my wildest expectations.

The characters are engrossing as they deal with what is greater than themselves in selfless ways.

Unlike most stories about detection, this one involves the whole family both investigator William Monk and his wife, Hester, who runs a threadbare clinic for injured and sick women of ill repute. That makes the story more engrossing as well.

For those who want to really sink themselves into the Victorian era, this book captures many different perspectives -- foreign shipping, life working on the Thames, rat catching, homeless youngsters, streetwalkers, the river police, the pubs, defending criminals, downstairs in the great houses, upstairs in the salon and the glitterati during their social occasions.

The story alternates between a man's and a woman's perspective which makes it all the more engaging.

The story's main weakness is that the writing style lacks punch, often describing events abstractly rather than drawing the reader into their midst. Story threads disappear for long periods of time, and obvious paths are not pursued until the end for unexplained reasons.

But compared to other books about detection in Victorian England written in recent years, this is a great effort.

I came late to Anne Perry's Monk series - I had read all the Thomas and Charlotte Pitt series first - but am now firmly hooked.
This is a book of change for the characters - several large changes occur that will greatly affect the character's lives beyond this book. There are also several new characters (esp. the personable mudlark Scuff) who hopefully have joined the core cast and will be seen in future books.
Overall this is one of the best books of the Monk series in terms of digging in and revealing more of the inner lives of this series' characters.