Death of a Stranger

I always look forward to a new Anne Perry book. Every one is a winner. This one was no exception.The characters and places were so real I was transported back to Victorian times with them.William was torn between finding out about about his past andnot really wanting to know. I thought he was a litte in love with Katrina dispite his love for Hester.Hester was as strong a character as ever, working amongst and helping the prostitutes of London's East End She is determinedto solve the mystery and find the murderer in order to help William.Once again her friend and old suitor Oliver Rathbone came to her aid. This time with a hint of a romance to come with a colleague of Hester's.As usual the plot had a few different story lines all coming together as the story unfolded. This was a real nail biter .I cant say I couldn't put it down because actually it was the audio book I listened to. Thanks again to Anne and also to Terence Hardiman for the wonderful way he bought the characters to life. Cant wait for the next one in the series.

This novel is set in London, England, in the early 1860s. The Civil War is being fought in the United States while life goes on as usual in England. The situation described in the novel was usual for that time period, and is similar to the real circumstances that prevailed in my hometown, at that time a notorious sailing port in the U.S., during the later 19th century - a reformer trying to clean up the town soon discovered that most of the "good citizens" were getting their share of the pie, the prostitutes paid in cash and were a mainstay of the town's economy (see "Port Townsend - An Illustrated History of Shanghaiing, Shipwrecks, Soiled Doves, and Sundry Souls").Hester Monk (who had been a nurse in the Crimea) operates an infirmary in a lower class neighborhood, offering medical services to the ladies of the evening who are suffering from injuries and diseases. Her husband, William Monk, is involved in an investigation of possible financial wrongdoing among the principals of a railroad company. The death of a "respectable" man outside a bordello in the area creates a turmoil and eventually events are drawn together.Circumstances reveal a brutal form of loan sharking. William's investigation brings out information about his past - he was not always a nice person. Past relationships are revealed as the case draws to a conclusion. Overall, an interesting plot, with a good picture of the underside of Victorian London.

I admit when I read the publisher's blurb about this book claiming that William Monk would regain his memory I was very worried that after the suspense of his past being drawn out for twelve books that Anne Perry was suddenly going to play the entire card with a wishy-washy explanation for his sudden regaining of memory.Thankfully, that's not the case. This is quite probably my favorite Monk novel since "The Sins of the Wolf". Great character development, and an intriguing mystery. The details of Monk's mentor and his ruin are worth the anticipation Ms. Perry's built up over the past few books, though in no way does he regain the entire memory of his life.Katrina Harcus is a fascinating character, and while I figured out her actions, her motivation remained a mystery until the courtroom. Rathbone's moved beyond his lovelorn feelings for Hester, which is a great relief, and it was great to see *him* holding all the cards to figure out the mystery before Monk and Hester for once. Margaret Ballinger's a good match for him, and I greatly look forward to seeing more of her in future books.Now, I admit I wavered between sympathy and irritation with Monk's reticence to talk to Hester about the entire affair. It seemed to be made clear in "Slaves of Obsession" that she cared only about the man he was, not who he had been. But then, none of us can truly appreciate losing our entire memory and finding it out piece by piece, and Ms. Perry does an excellent job of suggesting what it might be like for such a man. Another bit of confusion was some dates that don't seem to fit with earlier books, but I can easily overlook that in favor of a very good tale.The mystery of railroad fraud is well-done, with the heat turned up when murder occurs. Characters both new and old are skillfully written, and it's worth reading for the details of Monk's past alone. Here's looking forward to the next entry, where perhaps Monk can finally find some peace about his past. "Death of a Stranger" is a moving book, as much about Monk's fears and longing for redemption as the actual mystery of fraud, and that sort of empathy we develop with her characters is what places Anne Perry a cut above the rest. 5 stars, happily given.

I am a huge fun of Anne Perry and especially William and Hester Monk. What makes this book so special, is that Monk finally breaks the barrier to his amnesia, and remembers his past life. Another reason why this was a page turner for me is that I'm a huge railway fan, and this book is so full of rich detail about 19th century building of railroads in Britain. I have done numerous papers on railways, and Ms. Perry's facts are very well researched, but the reader also gets a glimpse of what the common people had to sacrifice for the good of the Iron Horse. Progress then was opposed as it is so often now because of the loss to the environment, people, floral or fauna. This is a great book, and I can only caution that new readers to William and Hester Monk should not start with this book. I think all of the preceeding novels must be read before this one can be fully appreciated. Thank you Ms. Perry for a wonderul series.

I don't believe Anne Perry could write a bad book if you put a derringer to her head, but William and Hester Monk's latest case "Death of a Stranger" is definitely a series milestone and a solid gold reading experience. After their return from America, William has resumed his private investigative practice while Hester is donating her time and nursing expertise at a clinic in Coldbath Square which her friend Callandra Daviot has established to provide medical care for women of the streets. When a wealthy railroad magnate is found brutally murdered in a squalid brothel in that area, suspicion falls on the women whom Hester is trying to help. Attempting to prove their innocence, she stumbles upon a plot to force gently-bred women into usurious debt and prostitution and resolves with or without Monk's assistance to put a stop to it. Naturally, she needs some help, so she turns to series regular, Sir Oliver Rathbone, with fascinating results. Meanwhile Monk has acquired a new client: Katrina Harcus, a beautiful and enigmatic woman who is concerned that her fiance, a trusted employee of the murdered man, may be involved in some kind of fraud in connection with a new and highly secret railroad project that the company is presently undertaking. When Monk agrees to handle her case and looks over the relevant papers that she has brought him, they evoke tragic echoes from his own past which start to shake him loose from his amnestic fog. Inevitably his and Hester/Rathbone's separate investigations intertwine, and another shocking death pulls the triumvirate deeper and deeper into the terrible implications of old horrors that suddenly threaten to become life-endangering present realities. The final pages of this brilliant piece of Victoriana held me completely spellbound.Anne Perry is utterly addictive. I truly envy readers who encounter her chosen milieu for the first time because they have so many wonderful adventures yet to explore. Fortunately for those of us who absolutely require a regular Pitt/Monk 'fix', Ms. Perry's fertile imagination coupled with a prolific pen keeps devising newer and increasingly intricate, psychologically-fraught investigations for each of her two detective couples to pursue, and the wait between novels is never unbearably long. Her books just keep getting better and better, but "Death of a Stranger" is an especially satisfying and rich reward for our patience.