Slaves of Obsession

Anne Perry is an exqusite writer. Her prose is beautiful and she evokes the era of Victorian England in a wonderful and believable way. In the latest book of this series William Monk and his bride Hester are invited to dinner at the home of Donald Alberton, an arms dealer. An unpleasant scene occurs when Lyman Breeland, a passionate supporter of the Union discovers that Alberton has already promised a shipment of guns to Philo Trace, a southerner. Alberton's daughter, Merrit, is in love with Breeland and she argues with him for her father to support the anti-slavery stand. Alberton claims that he has promised the guns to Trace and cannot back out of the deal, despite his personal feelings about the war in America. Breeland and Merrit flee and one of the main characters is brutally murdered. Breeland's watch is found near the murder scene, which puts the suspicion squarely on him. The rest of the book shifts to American Civil War battlefields and then to a courtroom in England. The identity of the murderer is elusive and is twisted with personal and political motives. As always, Perry provides a very good read.

Anne Perry--certainly the "queen of Victoriana"--thrusts her inimitable duo, William and Hester Monk--right in the middle of the American Civil War (it's 1861) in "Slaves of Obsession. And with her usual writing abilities, Perry treats her readers to another exciting episode in this series. Extortion is the subject here, as Monk, former policeman and now working privately, is hired to track down a killer who has fled to America, and, combined with murder early on, this investigation begins to have so many aspects that it cannot be called "simple." Perry is good at this, however, and never seems to lose track of her goal. She is also good at incorporating history into her police procedurals and pulls no punches as she addresses the slavery issue, arms shipments, and medical practices of the time (Remember, Hester was a nurse during the British Crimean War and now renders aid on the Manassas battlefield!). Perry, using her standard powers of description and episode, readily shows the carnage, the butchery of the battlefield in readily graphic depictions. Her descriptions, as usual, are not for the faint at heart. By the book's end, of course, Monk has sorted out the convoluted paths to justice and sensibility. American readers may praise "Slaves of Obsession" as one of her best, owing to the locale; regardless, this book shows a maturity that perhaps was there in, say, "Cater Street Hangman." ...

Having been intrigued by the characters in the Monk series from the first, I'm happy to have just read Slaves of Obsession. I don't always think the plots in this series run smoothly, but I think Perry did a nice job with this one. While there are of course characters going around broadcasting their philosophies (after all, this is Perry), they are different ones than we usually read, and by different people. The elements in the story seem to be well-balanced and the ending makes sense in light of the rest of the story. And how interesting to read about the American civil war from a British perspective! Perry has also done nice work with portraying Monk and Hester's relationship.

This is one of the best William Monk/Hester Monk mysteries yet. I was, I confess, disappointed with "The Twisted Root". I had so looked forward to seeing the relationship between Hester and William after they (finally) married. This is the book that Perry should have written just after "Breach of Promise". And I'm glad to see Oliver Rathbone back again. I'm also glad that Perry doesn't have him simply recover from Hester's marriage to another man, but has him deal with the pain. Perry is extremely good at making her characters human. In these books, the "good guys" and the "bad guys" are not so easy to tell apart. In this story, the man who fights for the right cause is a pompous, vain jerk whom very few can sympathize with, while the man on the wrong side is a very likable person. I won't say any more, lest I spoil the book, but I highly recommend it for fans of this series.

While England remains at peace, across the Atlantic, the first major battle of the Civil War occurs. Agents from the opposing forces try to buy arms from Daniel Alberton. When William and Hester Monk meet Daniel, his wife Judith, and their daughter Merrit, Lyman Breeland demands the arms merchant sell to the Union while Philo Trace wants the weapons to go to the Confederacy. Alberton does not favor one side over the other, but will honor the deal he made with Trace. Merrit loves Lyman, who she sees as a hero. Not long afterward, Alberton and two of his men die and the guns and ammo are missing. Merrit and the Union soldier travel to America with evidence showing that she and her suitor committed the crimes. Judith Alberton asks the Monks to find her daughter and return her to England. As the Monks work on the case, they begin to wonder who are the victims and who are the criminals? Anne Perry always writes a memorable Victorian mystery that leaves her myriad of fans shouting masterpiece. The glimpse of the American Civil War from the British side is as enlightening as much as observing the English justice system at work. SLAVES OF OBSESSION is constructed in such a way so as to the make the mystery seem obvious until the protagonists begin to dig for the truth. The novel turns into a personal coup for the author showing yet again the degree of talent and confidence Ms. Perry has. Harriet Klausner