The Twisted Root (Hardcover)

by Anne Perry (Author) "THE YOUNG MAN stood in the doorway, his face pale, his fingers clenched on his hat, twisting it around and around..." (more)
Key Phrases: judge banged, judge leaned, police surgeon, Cleo Anderson, Miriam Gardiner, Lucius Stourbridge (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
William Monk, the unquestionably handsome, somewhat vain, but genuinely tenderhearted "agent of enquiry" is back on the streets of Victorian London, investigating his 10th case, a missing woman. Miriam Gardiner was due to be betrothed to a much younger man, a well-to-do gentleman named Lucius Stourbridge. But during a family croquet party, the bride-to-be vanished, apparently fleeing in a coach driven by a family servant named Treadwell. Monk would normally be reluctant to get involved in a simple case of pre-wedding jitters, but his own recent marriage to the headstrong nurse Hester Latterly gives him a newfound empathy for the heartbroken Lucius. Of course, as always in Perry's historical mysteries, all is not quite as it seems. Treadwell is found murdered, and the missing Miriam becomes the number-one suspect. Monk is convinced that she "could and would do no intentional evil," even as Hester connects her to another illicit crime. Eventually unearthed by London's finest, Miriam is arrested and charged with murder, and it's up to barrister Oliver Rathbone to absolve her in court (with a little help from his good friends William and Hester Monk).

With a plot twist around every corner, Anne Perry knows just how to keep us in suspense, right up to the exceedingly dramatic finale. The Twisted Root is a luminous whodunit from the queen of Victorian mystery. --Naomi Gesinger

From Publishers Weekly
In this 10th entry in the popular series featuring prickly English investigator William Monk and his equally prickly bride, nurse Hester Latterly (A Breach of Promise, etc.), Perry mulls over the moral justification of criminal acts. Just back from his honeymoon in the summer of 1860, Monk tries to locate Mrs. Miriam Gardiner, a comely widow who inexplicably fled in a coach from her wealthy young fianc?'s home. Monk's search takes him to Hampstead Heath, where the coachman's body is foundAmurdered, he deduces, by a single blow to the head. Could Miriam have struck that deadly blow as she fled, and if so, why? Cornered at last, Miriam refuses to explain her behavior or implicate the coachman's murderer, even though Monk suspects she's the victim of some atrocity. Meanwhile, Hester gears up to defend Cleo Anderson, a saintly nurse who admits to filching hospital supplies to treat impoverished war veterans. Plot mechanics grind away as Perry strains to connect the two crimes, resolving matters with an ending that reads like Henry Fielding without the laughs. Fans of earlier Monk and Latterly mysteries may enjoy Perry's sometimes overwrought depiction of the two-career couple negotiating who cooks supper, but the many other anachronisms just don't wash (says Hester's colleague: "you want to have nurses visit the poor in their homes? You are fifty years before your time"). Despite the characters' tendency to sermonize self-righteously, Perry's theme is the hazy nature of guiltAa topic sure to intrigue those who've followed her career. For thrills, however, readers should turn to other books in the series. Mystery Guild selection; Random House audio. (Oct.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books; 1st edition (October 5, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345433254
• ISBN-13: 978-0345433251
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,315,779 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

• This is item 10 in The William Monk Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Monk and Wife Struggle With Wedded Bliss and Solve a Mystery, March 10, 2000

By	Mary J Scott (United States) - See all my reviews

I have been a fan of Anne Perry's detectives [and formerly one wife -- now two wives] for many years. The plot of this novel is intriguing and complex as is customary in Perry's works, and, in addition, we get to see the jockeying for position in their newly-combined home between the amnesiac investigator William Monk and the opinionated nurse Hester Latterly Monk. These scenes are fascinating and show that Perry not only knows her Victorians but is also knowledgeable about the human heart, regardless of time. All in all, this was an excellent read. From the moment a young woman mysteriously disappears from a croquet game at one of Britian's grand country estates in the company of one of the family's male servants, there is seldom a dull moment.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book. May the author provide us with many more.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Anne Perry needs to take a break, January 20, 2001

By	Dbmsewer "Dbmsewer" (Springfield, VA United States) - See all my reviews

I'm a long-time fan of Anne Perry and I especially like the Monk series, but I think it's time Ms. Perry puts away her computer and takes a bit of a vacation. Her writing has become tedious and formulaic. I knew who did it halfway through the book and the ending was predictable, mainly because any regular reader has seen it all before. She was once an excellent writer but I kept feeling that she's become lazy and doesn't care much about her art. The same adjectives appear on just about every page - She uses the words "tragedy," "courage," and "intelligence," so often they lose all meaning. Every heroine "fights against injustice" or some other over-used description. Every character is described in the same repetitive manner and the vocabulary not only doesn't vary among her novels, it doesn't vary among her characters. I barely recognized this version of Oliver Rathbone. The Rathbone of previous works would never give up on a client, must less resign himself to their guilt. The evidence that Robb used to make an arrest was laughable at best. And Perry's repeated descriptions of a chronically foot-sore Monk were annoying. I've always loved Anne Perry's work. I just wonder where one of my favorite authors has gone.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars EXCELLENT! SHOCKING! I want to read it again!, November 7, 1999

By A Customer

After the surpising twist to the end of A Breach of Promise, I thought Anne Perry had used up all her shock value. I was very mistaken! Bravo Ms. Perry you are an excellent writer and never cease to amaze me with your plots! I can't wait to be surprised by Half Moon Street! Excellent!