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136th out of 283 books
—
224 voters
The Shifting Tide (William Monk #14)
by
Anne Perry
In her new masterpiece featuring private inquiry agent William Monk, New York Times bestselling novelist Anne Perry displays her prodigious writing talent. With insight, compassion, and a portraitist’s genius, Perry illuminates the shifting tide of emotions encompassing Queen Victoria’s London and the people who live there—aristocrats, brothel owners, thieves, Dickensian r...more
Paperback, 368 pages
Published
March 29th 2005
by Ballantine Books
(first published April 1st 2004)
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This is the first William Monk story I have read. I've always read her Charlotte and Thomas Pitt novels before. This one took place along the Thames River in London, in the Victorian Era as all her stories are placed. Monk's wife, Hester, operates a free clinic for ill and injured prostitutes. Monk is hired by a ship owner to find some stolen ivory. In the course of the theft one of his crew was killed. The ship owner doesn't care who killed the man, but Monk does and the only way he'll take the...more
This is the first Anne Perry book I have read. I thought the plot moved too slowly. Too much time devoted to the events at the clinic. Monk just got short shrift and found the ivory too easily. It could be argued that he had bigger fish to fry finding the reason for Hodge's death.
The characters were interesting. I liked the rat catcher and his dog the best but found it a bit unbelievable that he stayed on at the clinic. I loved Scuff, the young wharf rat, as he reminded me of some of Dickens' w...more
The characters were interesting. I liked the rat catcher and his dog the best but found it a bit unbelievable that he stayed on at the clinic. I loved Scuff, the young wharf rat, as he reminded me of some of Dickens' w...more
Either this was better than the last few Monk novels, or I just enjoyed it more because I allowed some extra time to pass after reading the last one. These books have many repetitive elements, and I think it's best to allow some time between them for the heart to grow fonder.
Money is tight, so Monk accepts a job tracing merchandise stolen from a ship on the Thames. He’s out of his element, being unfamiliar with life on the river and at the docks. Meanwhile Hester is struggling to manage her hosp...more
Money is tight, so Monk accepts a job tracing merchandise stolen from a ship on the Thames. He’s out of his element, being unfamiliar with life on the river and at the docks. Meanwhile Hester is struggling to manage her hosp...more
William Monk accepts an assignment from shipping magnate Clement Louvain to investigate the theft of a cargo of African ivory from Louvain’s recently docked schooner, the Maude Idris. Monk is desperate for work, not only to feed himself and his wife, Hester, but to keep open the doors of Hester’s clinic, a last resort for sick and starving street women.
But he wonders: Why didn’t Louvain report the ivory theft directly to the River Police? Why did he warn Monk not to investigate the murder of one...more
But he wonders: Why didn’t Louvain report the ivory theft directly to the River Police? Why did he warn Monk not to investigate the murder of one...more
So many events happen and new people are introduced in this book. Lady Callandra has decided to marry Dr Beck and the two of them are headed to Austria. Sir Oliver Rathbone has discovered his love of Margaret and has asked her to marry him. Monk has taken a case that involves the river and a different class of people. Monk also meets and forms a friendship the Scruff and the River Police. Hester faces grim facts when she discovers that one of the woman under her care died from the Black Death. T...more
I have been “hooked” on Anne Perry novels for a good while now. There are a number of reasons for this addiction. One reason I enjoy these novels as much as I do, is that AP is, to my way of thinking, a master at creating characters with depth to their personalities. This installment in the William Monk series is a prime example of that well-honed skill.
Monk, a former police inspector and currently a private investigator for hire who has fallen on hard times financially, accepts an assignment to...more
Monk, a former police inspector and currently a private investigator for hire who has fallen on hard times financially, accepts an assignment to...more
I just completed listening to this novel. I had a really hard time turning it off when I am not driving or cooking, which is when I listen to audiobooks.
I am always so excited when I decide to "read" or listen to one of the William Monk / Hester novels by Anne Perry.
I read many of her Thomas Pitt novels in order. However, I grew weary of that series. It felt as if Thomas was completely inept, unable to really do his job without the help of Charlotte and her friends and family.
In contrast, both...more
I am always so excited when I decide to "read" or listen to one of the William Monk / Hester novels by Anne Perry.
I read many of her Thomas Pitt novels in order. However, I grew weary of that series. It felt as if Thomas was completely inept, unable to really do his job without the help of Charlotte and her friends and family.
In contrast, both...more
Another William Monk & Hester the Crimean nurse mystery set in Victorian London. Perry writes at least one of these a year, and they are melodramatic and sometimes the characters are just too noble for words...but I have to say she still manages to get me totally into the story, no matter how improbable. And her descriptions and historical research are dead on target.
This one's set in the docks on the Thames....it's populated with little barefoot "mudlarks" - children who work the riverbanks...more
This one's set in the docks on the Thames....it's populated with little barefoot "mudlarks" - children who work the riverbanks...more
I always enjoy the Monk books. In this one, Monk is working on the river trying to find some ivory stollen from the shipper, Louvain. One of the crew appears to be murdered. When Monk finally catches up with the thief, the thief swears he didn't kill the man. Meanwhile, Louvain brings a sick woman to Hester's clinic. When this woman dies, Hester discovers she has the black plague. Everyone in the clinic is quarantined. Monk realizes that people on the ship probably had the plague and Monk, Heste...more
This is the third Monk book I've read. I really enjoyed this one she certainly knows her stuff about Victorian England.
This one was set on the River Thames and includes theft, prostitutes, murder and the Black Death. She doesn't choose pleasant topics to write about and her powers of description are excellent.
I love her characters, they're not always pleasant or even likeable but they're certainly strong and she describes them in such detail they come alive.
I not only liked the river setting in...more
This one was set on the River Thames and includes theft, prostitutes, murder and the Black Death. She doesn't choose pleasant topics to write about and her powers of description are excellent.
I love her characters, they're not always pleasant or even likeable but they're certainly strong and she describes them in such detail they come alive.
I not only liked the river setting in...more
All of Anne Perry's books about investigator William Monk, and his brave wife Hester are exciting. This one is especially so, as Hestor's clinic is the scene not only of a murder, but of the terrible appearance of the "Black Death"-the plague that killed millions in the middle ages. In the mid 1800s there is still no cure, except burning everything that is contaminated. Monk is unable to go in to help Hestor and must search for the source of the plague while also finding a murderer, and earning...more
This is the first of Anne Perry's William Monk books for me and I enjoyed it thoroughly - her careful rendition of British dialects makes some of it a bit slow going, but her portrayal of life in England in the mid 1800's and the challenges and quandaries her characters faced is engagingly rendered. The mystery unfolds as the story progresses, and the characters are confronted with far larger issues and mysteries than we realize in the early part of the book . . . so for me it started a bit slow...more
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THE SHIFTING TIDE (Private Investigator-Victorian England) – Ex
Anne Perry – 14th in Monk series
Headline, 2004 – Hardcover (U.K. release)
Thomas Monk is hired by ship owner Clement Louvain to locate and recover stolen ivory tusks. Monk is also committed to find who killed one of the ship’s crewmembers. Unknown to Monk, Louvain brings a very ill woman to Hester’s clinic for abused and ill prostitutes. The consequences of these two events could be deadly for millions.
*** This is an exceptional book....more
Anne Perry – 14th in Monk series
Headline, 2004 – Hardcover (U.K. release)
Thomas Monk is hired by ship owner Clement Louvain to locate and recover stolen ivory tusks. Monk is also committed to find who killed one of the ship’s crewmembers. Unknown to Monk, Louvain brings a very ill woman to Hester’s clinic for abused and ill prostitutes. The consequences of these two events could be deadly for millions.
*** This is an exceptional book....more
Anne Perry sets this book in Victorian England, as she does with most of her mystery novels. It certainly gives one an appreciation for the comforts of living today instead of during that time period. Hester is a nurse who worked with Florence Nightingale, and medicine is so different now when compared with what she has to work with. Monk is a private investigator. These books are in a series, so the lives of the characters move along from one book to another.
The book is well worth the time spent in reading if only to discover the rat catcher and his dog, the mudlark, the medical crow, and the dock police. Perry knows how to draw characters who lure the reader. One is repeatedly enthralled by them and then even moved to research the social issues inspired by their presence in the novel. It is that social subtext which raises Perry's work above many others, making this novel worth reading.
Maybe I picked the wrong book. This author came highly recommended by several sources. For a mystery, it was rather bland and slow to start. However, the scene description and characters were excellent. But there wasn't anything gripping to keep me from putting the book down at the end of a chapter. I'll try another title, or a different series from this author, but this title was a disappointment.
Another well written tale from Anne Perry in the William and Hester Monk series. Although written in the 1860's these books tackle modern issues with startling honesty. Her strength is her character development and her sensitivity for the times. This story introduces Monk to the river world where he finds it a world unto itself. Rathbone and Margaret's relationship progresses nicely.
I really liked this story in the evolution of William/Hester Monk. Anne Perry is taking them in a different direction and I love it...the new characters are great as well. This particular story was very emotionally charged and gave more depth to the ensemble cast. I am happy that Callandra and Sir Oliver are finding happiness too. I look forward to reading the next installment.
It had been awhile since I'd read from this series but I easily fell into Anne Perry's writing style and the characters. I did however, find this story to drag a little and was a little confusing trying to sort out what it was Monk was trying to accomplish. It all worked out in the end and I still enjoyed it very much.
I'm catching up with this Anne Perry series. William Monk is no longer a Metropolitan policeman, and is pursuing private investigations on the Thames. His new case intersects with his wife, Hester's, clinic for street women in a terrifying manner. Lots of good action as well as insights into Victorian London.
The first half of the book is pretty slow but stick with it, the second half is some of Anne Perry's most suspenseful work. It wasn't until I finished that I realized there was no mention of Monk's amnesia, nor was there a great courtroom scene as I've come to expect with this series.
This was by far my favorite William Monk novel. I found that the story was engaging, not as predictable as some of Anne Perry's books I have read. I found I learned a lot of the history about the plague. Best of all, the ending did not come to an abrupt ending, a refreshing change.
The 2nd Anne Perry novel that I read. I have always loved Hester and admired Monk, but I find myself skipping pages just to see how it ended. I'm not a fan of 17th century setting, either. Maybe the book was not just the right read for me. Did not even made my heart skip a beat.
I LOVED the first 5 books of this series. Reading this one meant I skipped to number 14 or 15. I missed so much in the middle that the characters have changed and I don't like them as well now. Catching up is difficult. It's hard to find these on tape or MP3.
i struggled to finish this one but its good i did as about halfway through there are new plot devices and the story heats up. Still much of the book is about a subject i find boring so I would not recommend it that highly unless you are interested in the shipping trade during Victorian times.
As a member of the river police, William Monk is called upon to find a stolen cargo of ivory from a schooner. Hester operates a woman's shelter and meets a woman who may hold the key to the mystery as well as to multiple deaths aboard the schooner.
Wow, wow, wow! I thought I knew how much an Anne Perry book could grab me and suck me in, but this took it up a couple of notches. Excellent book, and I am glad that I waited to read it until I knew there was another one in the series!
This is a William Monk mystery by this British author. This is not one of her better mysterys in this series. The mystery of the stolen irony is discover in the middle of the bookand the rest of the book tells of the Black Plaque
Liked it when Monk was in the police force, but find his struggle to keep going as a Private Investigator quite entertaining. This time he is really out of death and has to rely on others far more than he likes
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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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