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A Sunless Sea: A William Monk Novel (William Monk #18)

3.88 of 5 stars 3.88 · rating details · 783 ratings · 178 reviews

Anne Perry’s spellbinding Victorian mysteries, especially those featuring William Monk, have enthralled readers for a generation. The Plain Dealer calls Monk “a marvelously dark, brooding creation”—and, true to form, this new Perry masterpiece is as deceptively deep and twisty as the Thames.

As commander of the River Police, Monk is accustomed to violent death, but the mu...more

ebook, 384 pages

Published August 28th 2012 by Ballantine Books (first published 2012)

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Mar 19, 2013 June Ahern rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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

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Jan 09, 2013 Gena rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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

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Jan 05, 2013 Linda rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: british, favorite-authors, historical-fiction, mystery

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

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Nov 15, 2012 Diane rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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

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Sep 24, 2012 Donna rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 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 addiction, before it became a restricted drug and some of the lengths people would go to to keep it legal.
Sir Oliver was a much bigger presence in this one and his wrestling with his conscience makes him a much more interesting character. Will he go the way of his late father-in-law? Telling himself it is for the greater good? No personal gain, no blackmail for money or will he be able to resist the using the "information" he has? Very good thread to weave through future books. What of his estranged wife, Margaret? I was so happy for him to find love, or so he thought. Do things change in their situation?
The use of Runcorn in the last several books shows how great Monk's development has been. Experience and love have had a profound affect on him. The plot device of amnesia gives Perry a wide scope to maneuver with what Monk learns about his past and himself, and what he can create anew. Looking at Runcorn through more forgiving eyes lets us appeciate his abilities, especially working in conjunction with Monk. Their shared past can be another path to explore in the future as well.
Not much Hester or Scuff in the one, but it shows the depth of Perry's writing that she has so many well defined characters to pick and choose to feature in each novel, never missing a beat in the quality and integrity of the story.
Series writing of this quality is rare. Whether it is Hester and William or Thomas and Charlotte, characters, storylines, plot, each novel is better than the last. Even peripheral characters add to the story and each others lives. I wait with eager anticipation the next offering, from either one.(less)

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Sep 23, 2012 Gail Cooke rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 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 waterfront with their work weary faces and humble clothing.

The give and take between Monk and his feisty, loving wife reveals so much about their endearing and enduring relationship. Perry includes the characters’ thoughts as they face each situation, which tells us a great deal and renders them fully fleshed human beings. With the 18th Monk tale we grow even fonder of all.

A Sunless Sea gives us an intimation of what is to come with the first page. Monk and his partner, Orme, are out on the river just as the sun is rising when “The peace of his satisfaction was shattered by a scream, which was piercing even above the creak of the oarlocks and the sound of the wash from a passing string of barges breaking on the shore.” They reach Limehouse Pier to find a hysterical woman standing by what appears to be a pile of rags but in reality is a dead woman gruesomely dismembered.

It takes some time but they identify her as Zenia Gadney who was evidently supported by a gentleman who recently stopped coming to see her. The man in question was found to be Dr. Joel Lambourn, a respected physician and researcher who had taken his own life by ingesting a large quantity of opium and slitting his wrists. There was no investigation into his death, which was immediately declared a suicide by government officials. This was the same government that had recently dismissed his report which advocated the accurate labeling of opium products.

What possible connection could there be between these two deaths? It soon becomes obvious to Monk that a key to answering that question may be found in the doctor’s report, but how to see it? As he eventually joins forces with his barrister friend Oliver Rathbone to solve this mystery readers are treated to a fascinating account of what at that time was a vital issue as well as a refresher course on the effects of the Opium War.

For this reader A Sunless Sea is Perry’s best to date, and that’s saying quite a bit!

- Gail Cooke(less)

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Sep 21, 2012 Marci rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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

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Sep 18, 2012 Larraine rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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

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Dec 08, 2012 Carol rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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

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Sep 05, 2012 Ricki rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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

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Oct 09, 2012 Darlene rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, mystery-and-suspense

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

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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 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 before I was halfway through this book, I had solved the mystery of who the murderer was, although I wasn't completely clear on the motive. But I read these books not so much for the mystery anymore, as for the depictions of the social milieu and Perry's exploration of the dark underbelly lying just beneath the surface of the strictly ordered world of Victorian society.

This story takes place in the 1860s and at the heart of it is opium. In the mid-nineteenth century, opium had proved to be a godsend for relief of pain and yet it wielded a two-edged sword. That sword might cut the pain, but at the same time, if the drug was not properly used, it could open a wound of addiction that might never be healed.

The path to addiction has been made easier, by this time, by the invention of the hollow needle attached to a syringe that can deliver the pure opium directly to the bloodstream. Addiction has become a profit-making enterprise for certain entrepreneurs without morals, some of them in high government positions.

A medical researcher has been gathering information about opium and its distribution. Victorian England has no laws restricting that distribution and this has caused uncounted misery as the drug can be easily purchased almost anywhere and then given to relieve pain, even in children. The problem - one of the problems - is that there is no guidance as to how much to give, and many children, in particular, have died as a result of being overdosed. There is a move afoot to pass a law in Parliament that will regulate the distribution of opium and this is opposed by powerful forces.

As the researcher gathers his data, he stumbles upon a discovery regarding the use of needles to inject opium and to intentionally cause addiction. He submits his report and the government official who receives it rejects it as flawed. Then the researcher is found in a park with his wrists slit, having bled to death. The verdict is suicide, but his wife doesn't believe it.

Two months later, on the river Thames, William Monk, commander of the River Police, and his assistant discover a dead body on Limehouse Pier. It is a woman who has been horribly mutilated. The investigation turns up a link between the dead woman and the dead researcher. Are their deaths also connected? Was the "suicide" of the researcher also a murder? And is the wife responsible?

It begins to appear that she is responsible at least for the death of the woman and Monk arrests her. On the way to jail, she asks him to contact Oliver Rathbone for her to direct her defense. Of course, the diligent Monk does so. Rathbone takes the case and we're off to the races!

I didn't find this to be one of Perry's stronger efforts, although all the information about the rise of the use of opium in the society was fascinating, and Monk, Hester, and Rathbone, as always are very sympathetic characters. Even at less than her best, Perry is still a satisfying read. (less)

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Nov 27, 2012 Azb7145 rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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

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Sep 13, 2012 Shirley Schwartz rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: my-5-star-reads

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

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Sep 13, 2012 Val Sanford rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: british-mystery, mystery, victorian-mystery, women-sleuths

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

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Oct 12, 2012 Shari rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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

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Dec 28, 2012 Anne Toronto1 rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: suspense, xrate

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

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Sep 22, 2012 kaoyler rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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

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Nov 27, 2012 Phoebe rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adult, british, mystery, victorian-england

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

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Oct 19, 2012 Catherine Bennett rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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

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Sep 05, 2012 Cheryl rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 60-books-for-2012, first-reads, historical-fiction

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

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Oct 24, 2012 Renee rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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

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Sep 21, 2012 Carla Hostetter rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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

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Aug 24, 2012 Jammies rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition 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

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Sep 09, 2012 Pete Loveday rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favourite

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

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Sep 09, 2012 Debbie Maskus rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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

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Sep 04, 2012 Patricia rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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

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Oct 02, 2012 Beverly rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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

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Oct 05, 2012 Nicole Trott rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: first-reads

*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

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Feb 06, 2013 Stacey rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery

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

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About Anne Perry

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

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Books by Anne Perry

The Face of a Stranger (William Monk, #1)

Callander Square (Charlotte & Thomas Pitt #2)

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A Sunless Sea: A William Monk Novel (William Monk #18)

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