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96th out of 120 books
—
100 voters
A Sunless Sea (William Monk #18)
by
Anne Perry
As commander of the River Police, Monk is accustomed to violent death, but the entrails hanging from the mutilated female body found on Limehouse Pier one chilly December morning move him with horror and pity. The victim’s name is Zenia Gadney. Her waterfront neighbors can tell him little—only that the same unknown gentleman had visited her once a month for many years. She...more
Hardcover, Ballantine , 373 pages
Published
August 28th 2012
by Random House
(first published 2012)
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I am a fan of Anne Perry's William and Hester Monk mystery novels. I don't always give five stars to every novel but this one was, not only most interesting in subject matter outside the murder, but the continual development of the characters was a joy.
The plot is about a woman of questionable reputation found murdered and mutilated on Limehouse Pier on the Thames River, London. It is not far into the mystery we learn she was connected to Doctor Lambourn who had committed suicide only months ea...more
The plot is about a woman of questionable reputation found murdered and mutilated on Limehouse Pier on the Thames River, London. It is not far into the mystery we learn she was connected to Doctor Lambourn who had committed suicide only months ea...more
This is another great addition to the William Monk series. It deals with a woman being found murdered and mutilated on Limehouse Pier and the investigation into her death. It gets complicated when it comes to light she was connected to a respected doctor who had been charged by the government to present the facts on the sale of medicinal opium and how guidelines must be established. Unfortunately two months earlier Doctor Lambourn's work had been discredited and in a fit of depression he's kille...more
The grizzly murder of a supposed prostitute has occurred on the docks that William Monk now patrols as a member of the river police. The investigation leads to the wife of a prominent doctor who has been dead for two months. All is not as it seems as Monk enlists Oliver Rathbone, a well known attorney to represent the deceased doctor's wife. She may or may not be guilty, even Rathbone is not sure. As the circle of evidence widens Monk finds he must ask the help of his former superior who he has...more
I have read all of Anne Perry's books in the William Monk and Thomas Pitt series, and I always look forward to a new one. While I enjoyed The Sunless Sea, it seems to lack the intensity of other books in the series. Monk and Hester have become domesticated, leaving Hester with little to do but engage in a bit of snooping while Monk tries to solve the mystery of two deaths, one of them an extremely gruesome murder. Their good friend, the attorney Rathbone, is called upon to defend Dinah, the accu...more
I was soooo looking forward to this book. "Dorchester Terrace" was great and I had high hopes for this one. I was not disappointed. I tried so hard not to race through it, to take it slowly, enjoy the building of the mystery and what Monk would do to solve it. To no avail. I blew through this book in two days and it was exhilarating. I had the right family but not the right person, but I don't care. "The Sunless Sea" was a joy to read if that is a word to use to describe the horrors of opium ad...more
May as well admit my bias in the first sentence - I’m a huge fan of Anne Perry’s William Monk series. Perry is an agile word painter - so perfectly describing the sights and sounds of Victorian London from the dark Limehouse area to the posh West End that one feels transported to a different time and place.
As for her characters, they’re impeccably drawn from the brooding elegantly tailored William Monk who speaks precisely and stands “with both grace and confidence” to the residents of the wate...more
As for her characters, they’re impeccably drawn from the brooding elegantly tailored William Monk who speaks precisely and stands “with both grace and confidence” to the residents of the wate...more
1 like · like · see review
Anne Perry's writing gets better and better with each book. This mystery is a good one with a hook into the insane hypocrisy of Britain's Opium Wars with China in the mid-Victorian era as well as a good mystery with two murders to untangle and evil in high places to detect, especially thought-provoking when it is also found within the choices of the heroes themselves. I was glad to see Runcorn back again after we last saw him in a Christmas novella. In fact, it felt a little like one of her Chri...more
Anne Perry is at her somewhat overwrought and melodramatic best in this latest William Monk novel. Perry is one of those writers that tends toward the romantic in her writing. By that I mean, she tends toward melodrama. However, her books are rescued by their intricate plots and excellent historic detail. In this novel, Monk has arrested a woman for the murder of her husband, but really doesn't believe that she is guilty. She requests that Sir Oliver Rathbone, a renowned attorney, be enlisted to...more
I am a real Anne Perry fan. I've read everything she's written, and I mean every single book, so when my local library put "A Sunless Sea" out on the shelf I grabbed it up and dived right in. With my familiarity of Perry's writing style, I quickly noticed that she's fallen into a bad habit - one that began to show in the two books previous to this one (Acceptable Loss and Dorchester Terrace). She now writes with endless stream of consciousness always ending in a question. There are so many menta...more
I found the title of this latest Anne Perry novel to be quite appropriate: it comes from Kublai Khan, a poem written by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who was a notorious opium eater and according to legend wrote this upon awakening from an opium dream. "In Xanadu did Kublai Khan A stately pleasure dome decree, Where Alph, the sacred river, ran Through caverns measureless to man, Down to a sunless sea."
I love the three main characters in this series, Monk, his wife Hester, and the barrister Oliver Rat...more
I love the three main characters in this series, Monk, his wife Hester, and the barrister Oliver Rat...more
We take a great deal for granted in the 21st c., including the ability to purchase and use over-the-counter drugs without killing ourselves. It doesn't mean they're safe--you can still do serious damage to yourself with aspirin, acetaminophen and a host of other legal drugs, but the dosages are controlled and the contents are labeled.
It wasn't always that way. It wasn't until 1906 that the US passed the Pure Food and Drug Act, and A Sunless Sea deals with a period nearly 50 years earlier in Brit...more
It wasn't always that way. It wasn't until 1906 that the US passed the Pure Food and Drug Act, and A Sunless Sea deals with a period nearly 50 years earlier in Brit...more
Nov 27, 2012
Dorothy
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
historical-mysteries
I have been a fan of Anne Perry's Victorian mysteries for at least twenty years and I've been reading the William Monk series for almost that long. So, by now, Monk and his wife Hester and their friend, the barrister Oliver Rathbone, as well as the coterie of people around them are well-known to me, old friends I might say. This is the 18th entry in the Monk series and I have faithfully read them all.
Familiarity breeds...familiarity, in this case. I know very well the way Perry's plots work, and...more
Familiarity breeds...familiarity, in this case. I know very well the way Perry's plots work, and...more
Another very good book in the Monk series. Monk is still a dark character, but his edges have been smoothed a bit by his love and marriage to Hester. And Hester, now that she has Scuff in her life, is spending more time at home instead of her clinic, but that is how it should be. These characters do have to grow, they cannot stay the same people that we met in the beginning of the series. And I do enjoy the new Monk family dynamics, Scuff has become so important to Monk and Hester.
And as much as...more
And as much as...more
I never cease to be amazed at Ms. Perry's writing, and each new book in either of her Victorian series, or in other books that she writes leaves me somewhat in awe. Not hard to see why she is my favourite author! I love the William Monk series, and this book is by far the best Monk novel I've ever read. And that is saying something because I absolutely love this series the most. In this book Monk and his Hester are again helping their friend Sir Oliver Rathbone who is trying to find justice for...more
Monk and Hester, with their friend Sir Olive and adopted urchin Skiff set out to find who murdered a plain, middle-aged woman with brutality and horror. Of course, to find out why, too. They enter the legal, but tainted world of opium: The Opium Wars, opium addiction and the unregulated production of opium-based over the counter medicines for children and adults to cure every ache and sooth every soul. Except sometimes it killed the one who consumed it.
Perry takes us on a searching of the Britis...more
Perry takes us on a searching of the Britis...more
Perry writes a good tale. There was less of Monk and Hester in this one, and more of Rathbone and a difficult court case, but our old friend, Runcorn, does a great turn.
This story provides us with a good thumbnail history of the Opium Wars, the nasty politics that the "civilized" countries use in dealing with countries less strong, and the lengths to which the offending politicians and their toadies will go to demonize the earnest politicians or government minions if it means a diminution in the...more
This story provides us with a good thumbnail history of the Opium Wars, the nasty politics that the "civilized" countries use in dealing with countries less strong, and the lengths to which the offending politicians and their toadies will go to demonize the earnest politicians or government minions if it means a diminution in the...more
http://www.scribd.com/doc/103524952/A... preview 267/385p
In the final courtroom scene, Dr Winfarthing dramatically coalesces references to the title, decrying accidental opium abuse "the living death of addiction. They're drowning in it! A great ocean of gray, endless half-life" p320. When an author quotes a poem for a book title, should not the passage be included for explanation, not wait till the end, sprinkling hints? Minor quibbles aside, despite overall predictability here, I will continue...more
In the final courtroom scene, Dr Winfarthing dramatically coalesces references to the title, decrying accidental opium abuse "the living death of addiction. They're drowning in it! A great ocean of gray, endless half-life" p320. When an author quotes a poem for a book title, should not the passage be included for explanation, not wait till the end, sprinkling hints? Minor quibbles aside, despite overall predictability here, I will continue...more
There are several things I really like about Anne Perry books. One is that she allows her characters to evolve and a second thing is that she deals with actual issues of the time period of the books. In this book we see Sir Oliver Rathbone dealing with the aftermath of his last case on his personal life, and I get the sense that it will continue to affect him in future books. William Monk is is trying to solve a gruesome murder that eventually ties back to the Opium Wars with China. Ms. Perry ha...more
The 18th Monk novel is as absorbing as all the rest, with Perry once again addressing some major societal ill (this time, the opium trade). Monk and Orme investigate the brutal, bestial murder of a middle-aged woman, finding that all the threads of the case lead, strangely, back to the suicide of a well-respected doctor two months earlier. Familiar characters Monk, Runcorn, Hester, and Sir Oliver are baffled by the connection and work against seemingly impossible odds to avoid condemning the wro...more
Oct 19, 2012
Catherine Bennett
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Shelves:
olympic-reading-challenge-2012,
favorites
William Monk, Commander of the River Police, and Sargent Orme are the first on the scene of a gruesome murder of a woman on the London docks. At first, it appears to be a madman who has a penchant for killing prostitutes, until Monk discovers that the woman had ties with a prestigious doctor who had committed suicide a few months earlier. The doctor’s wife, who is arrested in the murder of the woman requests Sir Oliver Rathbone defend her even though the evidence leaves little doubt of her guilt...more
I received this book free as part of a first reads giveaway.
Before this book, I was not familiar with the writer or the series. This was another example of not having read the first 17 books in a series, but being able to enjoy it without feeling lost. There was enough past history with the characters to make me interested in the previous books, but I didn't feel like I missed anything I had to know from them in order to understand the characters.
The writing was engaging. I was absolutely drawn...more
Before this book, I was not familiar with the writer or the series. This was another example of not having read the first 17 books in a series, but being able to enjoy it without feeling lost. There was enough past history with the characters to make me interested in the previous books, but I didn't feel like I missed anything I had to know from them in order to understand the characters.
The writing was engaging. I was absolutely drawn...more
I liked this book as I like all of the William and Hester Monk books. It was a nice break from the two previous books, which were well written but difficult to read as a parent. The shift takes the reader to the issue of opium, its uses, abuses and shameful roles in the Opium wars against China. I like historical fiction because it frequently tells a truth that no one would otherwise admit to. War is always a bloody, violent and sad action. No side is ever without deaths and injuries. This book...more
I always enjoy the Monk series, perhaps more than the Perry's Pitt novels. Taking place in the mid-Victorian era, Perry exposes the dark underbelly of that polite and repressed society. In A Sunless Sea, she takes on opium addiction. Two seemingly unrelated deaths suddenly come together with some surprizing twists as Monk strives to assist attorney Rathbone in saving the life of an innocent woman and bringing to light new attrocities in the opium trade. Of course, the admirable Hester, Monk's cr...more
Aug 24, 2012
Jammies
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
People who've read to this point in the series
Recommended to Jammies by:
First Reads
Shelves:
mystery
One of the best things about Ms. Perry's William Monk series (and the Thomas Pitt series as well) is that the characters are constantly changing and growing. Even though this is a long-running series, there is nothing predictable about what happens to the characters and how they react. Heartbreaking in some case, heart-lifting in others, but never predictable. Ms. Perry's exploration of the darker elements of Victorian society is central to the mystery, as always, but again the author finds new...more
I am so glad that I picked up this book at my library. What an excellent author and I am now searching for more of Anne Perry's books.
The Sunless Sea is an engaging story with the dogged and determined William Monk investigating a horrendous murder on the bank of the Thames River in London. the search leads him into the dark and murky of the Opium trade in the 18th and 19th century. this is a cracking good story with accurate and carefully researched characters that you love to hate and also hat...more
The Sunless Sea is an engaging story with the dogged and determined William Monk investigating a horrendous murder on the bank of the Thames River in London. the search leads him into the dark and murky of the Opium trade in the 18th and 19th century. this is a cracking good story with accurate and carefully researched characters that you love to hate and also hat...more
1 like · like · see review
I thoroughly enjoy reading Anne Perry, especially the Monk series. I am always saddened when the book is finished and I must read a book not as interesting. This book centers on the opium trade and the awful consequences of opium addiction and usage. In this story, the English Parliament is contemplating the requirement of labeling on all opium, but the sellers do not want that to happen. The case starts with the brutal murder of a middle-ages woman. Oliver Rathbone sets out to defend the accuse...more
Another great read from Anne Perry.She takes on one of the hot issues of that time period, the unregulated use of opium and Britain's role in introducing it to the Chinese.Medicines are made and sold everywhere with opium as an ingredient but there is no labeling and itis used for everything from toothaches to fussy children and they are dying from inadvertant overdosing. the invention of the hypodermic needlealso has occured and the addiction is quicker and worse with that method,the 'sunless s...more
Commander Monk of the River Police and his Sergeant Orme, hear a scream which leads them to the disemboweled body of a woman. Monk and Orme set about finding out the identity of the woman and try to find her killer. This leads them eventually to the death of a Dr. Lamb ours who was doing government research on the use of opium. The doctor's death was ruled a suicide, but his wife believes he was murdered. Monk gets to work with his barrister friend Sir Oliver Rathbone and his former police partn...more
*I received this book for free from Good Reads First Reads*
Anne Perry did a wonderful job making the dialog of the characters speech and mannerisms correct of that time period. The way she tied in historical markings of the opium usage and the government workings made the story come alive in making you believe that it was all factual. This is my first book that I have read of Anne Perry’s but I now have an interest in reading her other novels especially the William Monk Series. I found myself tr...more
Anne Perry did a wonderful job making the dialog of the characters speech and mannerisms correct of that time period. The way she tied in historical markings of the opium usage and the government workings made the story come alive in making you believe that it was all factual. This is my first book that I have read of Anne Perry’s but I now have an interest in reading her other novels especially the William Monk Series. I found myself tr...more
Another great installment in the Inspector Monk series. I really appreciate how the characters have grown since the first book. Monk, Rathbone, Hester and Runcorn have all had to make life altering decisions in previous books which brings them to "A Sunless Sea". Here they act as a team, trusting one another, to solve a case that has many twists and turns. Anne Perry did a great job on the plot line and leaving me guessing as to what the outcome would be.
While this book can be read as a stand a...more
While this book can be read as a stand a...more
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Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Anne Perry (born Juliet Hulme) is a British historical novelist.
Juliet took the name "Anne Perry", the latter being her stepfather's surname. Her first novel, The Cater Street Hangman, was published under this name in 1979. Her works generally fall into one of several cate...more
More about Anne Perry...
Anne Perry (born Juliet Hulme) is a British historical novelist.
Juliet took the name "Anne Perry", the latter being her stepfather's surname. Her first novel, The Cater Street Hangman, was published under this name in 1979. Her works generally fall into one of several cate...more
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Jan 09, 2013 07:02am