The Face of a Stranger

I have read 3 or 4 William Monk books, but didn't pay any attention to order. I have really enjoyed them, so I thought I would start at the first and read them all in order. Now I more clearly understand about Monk's amnesia. It was really fun learning about Monk's 1st meeting with Hester Latterly. Great ending, although I felt very sympathetic to the killer. I love Anne Perry's books. Next, I'll probably read the Thomas Pitt novels in order.

Even though the first few chapters seemed a bit slow for my taste, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The personal problem of William Monk is different from most main characters in other books. The reader is getting to know him as he, too, is getting to know himself. I was surprised at the end of chapter 10 when he remembered something about himself, and for those who have read this book will know why. John Evan and Hester Latterly are other characters I liked, and I'm glad to hear they are in the other books. I didn't care too much for Hester's "flashbacks" from the war, but then at the end I was thankful there was a reason for them. I will definitely read the next book, A Dangerous Mourning, despite some of the bad reviews written about it.

I went through the Pitt series first and picked up the Monk series with some trepidation...after twenty-odd books the Pitts were all beginning to look alike. I was pleasantly surprised by "The Face of a Stranger" and the Monk series remains one of my favorites.Actually, it *is* possible to incur brain injury erasing memory but not touching your skills. We learned in class here at university about that, as they involve two separate areas of the brain. There are folks that can't remember yesterday but can still beautifully play the piano, perform surgery, etc.True, some of Monk's amnesia is a bit selective, but this is a work of fiction and thus does entail inclusion of some possibly not-perfectly-realistic elements.Monk's a great character, if not one easy to like. Flawed and all-too-human, it's also fun to watch his development through later books, so don't give up on him after "Face". Thomas Pitt was a *little* too perfect for my taste, so I rather like the darker character Monk presents. It's also a relief that Monk does not spontaneously recover his memory in a common author's cop-out. Also, Hester Latterly's the perfect foil for him, and their clashes are always amusing to read in each book, right from that first meeting in the countryside.The mystery itself is interesting, and I noted that Ms. Perry once said that she intended for this to be a one-time book and not a series, intending to have Monk be the killer. I'm very glad she decided not to abandon him, even if he needs a good reality check at times. Not the absolute best of the Monk series, but a spirited and promising beginning to a great series.

The mistake Perry made in her Pitt series was developing her characters too quickly--she has had to compensate by introducing a rather large cast of supporting characters. This, the first in her William Monk series, avoids that gaffe by inducing amnesia in her hero--he hardly knows who he is or what he's about. It may be preposterous, but it's also an enjoyable read and an outstanding mystery.The story has Monk attempting to learn the set of circumstances that resulted in his hospitalization and amnesia--he must face the horrifying possibility that he was involved in a vicious crime, and he knows too little of himself to trust that he was incapable of such a deed. He learns through the reactions of others that he was (is?) not a nice man, and the more he learns, the more he doubts himself. The fact that his past does not come flooding back to him after another bump on the head speaks well to Perry's prowess as a writer.Hester Latterly and Oliver Rathbone are the edgy counterparts to Monk's dark personality. Though never friends, these three circle each other with wary respect. Monk himself is an appealing character, the mystery is top-notch, and the Victorian setting is quintessential Perry--she has made it uniquely her own.

William Monk awakens in a Victorian-era London hospital with amnesia. Over the course of this book, he returns to his job as a policeman, hoping that work will help him regain his memory as well as his detecting skills. What's fascinating is that not all he discovers about his life before the accident is flattering--including the fact that he may very well have been responsible for a serious crime. Over the course of Perry's new series--this book being the debut--Monk's past will at various times haunt, delight, and maybe even endanger him, and the people who come to be his allies don't always like him, but their loyalties to one another shine through. As with the Pitt mysteries, Anne Perry's trademark detail and eye-opening descriptions of what Victorian life was really like make this an entertaining way to read away a winter afternoon