Funeral in Blue

I have read almost all of the William Monk series, and in my opinion, this is one of the very best. Going back into the past of one of the beautiful women who was killed, Dr. Beck's wife, Monk discovers facts that will change Dr. Beck's life forever. The depth of emotion between Monk and Hester is more clearly displayed in this book than in some. Ms. Perry always paints good character pictures, but by the end of the book we know Dr. Beck's wife, as if we had met her, and as with most of us, she was a great person, but flawed. Hester finally makes more of a connection with her brother, Charles, which I liked. Great mystery, heartbreak, and a totally unexpected ending. If you enjoy Ms. Perry's books, don't miss this one.

Buy this book. The purpose of this review is not to tell the plot but rather to assure Perry fans that her "Funeral in Blue" is a fine piece of storytelling. If you are a William Monk fan, you will enjoy this book especially if you are more interested in puzzles than Perry-philosophy. "Funeral in Blue" has a better balance between storytelling and philosophy than most of the recent Monk novels. If you liked "The Face of a Stranger," you will be relieved to read "Funeral in Blue" because it seemed that the recent Monk novels focused more on the "other" characters than Monk and his wife Hester; this book returns its focus to its namesake.I rated the book like this: Two stars for Ms. Perry returning her focus to Mr. and Mrs. Monk; two stars for Ms. Perry departing, thank goodness, from her usual sordid murder to a crime less gruesome than is her wont; and two stars for the mystery itself. I know that two plus two plus two is six stars, but this mystery novel rated an additional star. Because Ms. Perry has become somewhat predictable, I had a pretty good idea who the culprit would be (and I was correct), but I have to admit that she did a good job of trying to make me change my mind several times. Give Ms. Perry an A+ for this addition to her Monk series. Once I picked up "Funeral in Blue," I had to read it all the way through. If you like Perry, this one is worth buying.

I give the five stars for the exploration of the minds and hearts that Ms. Perry writes in Funeral in Blue. It's impressive that after more than a decade of writing these same characters, she always finds something else to bring to the light and explore, and thank God, nothing melodramatic like the things the mediocre writers resort to. We don't find out that Monk is the lost Duke of York, kidnapped at birth to replace a son lost to a Northumbrian fisherman and his wife. :-)The characters skillfully have more brushstrokes painted within the outlines Anne Perry had written in books past, giving us more color and insight into them. I'm glad to see Monk taking up the quest for his past again--he seemed to have dropped the idea after "The Silent Cry", which somewhat annoyed me.Hester and Monk appear to be settling into their relationship with more ease, but they haven't become complacent--there are still flashes of the sharp tongues we know they both possess. They have their roles at home worked out, and they're blessedly atypical, fitting those two perfectly.Let's see. The mystery left me a little bit unsatisfied. I think this was more a character development novel of Perry's, rather than more mystery-oriented such as "Defend and Betray". For the most part, Perry seems to go for one or the other--rarely do we have lots of chracter development packaged tidily with a great mystery. I've learned to accept that, and thus enjoy each Monk book. Predictably, the books since Monk and Hester's marriage have been more character oriented, and "Funeral" was no exception. I expected that, but the ending sort of came out of nowhere...that jarred me a bit. I somewhat expected the murderer to be who it turned out to be, but the ending seemed a bit quick and left me scratching my head in confusion.Anyhow--I expected a character-development novel and got much more than I thought. So I can honestly give this book five stars--I think Ms. Perry looks more to develop her characters than to write the perfect mystery anyhow. Good entry in the series, and that's my two pence!

Talented actor/director David Colacci gives a superbly nuanced reading to the 11th Victorian thriller by tireless Anne Perry. Much to the delight of her band of fans Ms. Perry brings back Hester and William Monk. As many recall, William is a private investigator who has no recall of his life prior to an accident that occurred some six years ago. Hester, William's wife who once toiled along side Florence Nightingale in the Crimean War, is a nurse for Vienna born Dr. Kristian Beck whose wife, Elissa, and a second woman are brutally murdered in an artist's studio. Is the good doctor the killer as many are prone to believe? Or, is Elissa's untimely death tied to her time as a freedom fighter during Austria's mid nineteenth century revolution? The Monks are called upon to solve this mystery by Lady Callandra who can barely conceal her love for Dr. Beck. Once again Ms. Perry excels at her descriptions of period London as well as recalling social inequities that darkened England during those years.

I have always really enjoyed this series, because of the intensity of the stories and the characters. I had, however, seen a bit of slippage in the last few entries, but Funeral is definitely back in the suspenseful and excellent tradition of the earlier books. The key to any Perry book is really not the mystery so much as the cause she tackles and the dynamic interplay between Monk, Hester and whichever supporting players are being accentuated in the book at issue. However, even the mystery here was quite good, although, as one of the editorial reviewers pointed out, the solution does sort of come out of left field. But given the truly strong personal interplay between the characters, who cares. I hope, however, that the absence of Rathbone from this book is not going to be a trend, because I think his character is necessary for all the angst which made this series great to be revisited.

Victorian era private investigator William Monk lost his memory in a London accident six years ago. He remade himself and his wife Hester is very proud of how her beloved has dealt with adversity. Hester studied nursing under Nightingale and assists surgeon Kristian Beck in the operating room. When Kristian's wife and a model are killed in an artist's studio, Hester prevails upon Monk to investigate so that any stigma to her employer's name is removed. Unfortunately, Monk finds no evidence to clear him. Instead he finds many reasons why Kristian would want to kill his wife. The police arrest the doctor but his true friends rally around him and force Monk to dig deeper. Anne Perry has written another fine mystery that captures the essence of Victorian England. Monk is at his best when he searches for the truth even if he is the only outside the police who feels Kristian murdered his spouse. Hester humanizes Monk by showing his compassionate side. Place FUNERAL IN BLUE on your book-shopping list if you want to read an excellent historical mystery by a talented author.Harriet Klausner