When her wealthy Scottish employer dies of an overdose of heart medication, Nurse Latterly is charged with murder and locked up in Newgate Prison. To save his friend from the gallows, Inspector Monk works feverishly to identify a cold-blooded killer in the victim's greatly admired-and coolly silent-family.
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"I know I have said this before, but this has been the best William Monk in the series. I absolutely love Hester, a strong heroine, and the majority of the book focused on her. Plus, it sucked me in and kept me going"
— Naomi (4 out of 5 stars)
" A little slow at the start but ended as always with a bit of a twist. "
— Rose, 2/18/2014" A murder mystery set in Victorian England I got sucked into when staying at my mother's. Not really very interesting. "
— Heidi, 2/5/2014" Great story and the best reader on Audible.com "
— Joe, 2/4/2014" Edinburgh family with secrets. Syphilis. Counterfeiting. Murder. Hester lands in the middle and Monk clears her name. "
— Barbara, 2/2/2014" I can now mark five notches on my Anne Perry list of books read of the Inspector Monk series. The real draw in this one is the accusation that Hester Latterly, an ongoing character, has murdered one of her patients. I liked it very much, as I do all of the Monk books, but I did think that the mystery of who was responsible was somewhat predicatable, based on how Perry creates her criminal characters. They're getting easier to spot. Then again, I have about ten more Monk mysteries to go to test out my theory! I continue to especially enjoy the evolving character of Monk, as well as Hester and Oliver Rathbone, lawyer extraordinaire. "
— Allyson, 1/26/2014" Great stuff, but not as great as others for my money, and i think that's because it felt less rooted in mid 19th century. Also, took a long time to get going - and too much wrapped up in the final pages. But the characters are great fun and i always enjoy seeing what they're up to. "
— Martin, 1/18/2014" Well that was a great ending... I did not except. "
— Karps, 1/18/2014" One of Anne Perry's best efforts. Monk and Hester are really in the thick of things this time. "
— Cynthiaj, 12/28/2013" Hester is accused of murdering an elderly female patient she is escorting to London on the train from Edinborough. Good read. Nice view of Scottish society of that period. "
— Kitty, 10/18/2013" Excellent book- the ending makes me want to start reading the next one right away! "
— Mandy, 10/1/2013" Not my favorite of the series so far, but I did like the interactions between Monk and Hester in this book. "
— Meg, 8/28/2013" I really love this series, the narrator is wonderful. "
— Lori, 7/12/2013" An enjoyable read. I liked the pace and the character development. However, I couldn't shake the feeling that it was somewhat formmulaic. Which peaks my couriosity to read more of her books to see if she writes the same stuff and just changes the names, etc. or if she has more breadth. Stay tuned. "
— Noelle, 6/25/2013" Started out a little slow, but fascinating story. Interesting twists and turns. However, how can a family have that many big secrets? Perry has such captivating stories. "
— Angela, 3/12/2013" I liked this better than some of the other Monk books. I enjoyed the development of the Hester/Monk relationship and the conflict that sets up with the Hester/Rathbone relationship. However, I thought the last 15 pages were a bit too contrived. "
— Donna, 12/15/2012" Another terrific Monk & Hester story, with the added intrigue of investigating an aristocratic Scottish family in Edinburgh. "
— Gail, 7/5/2012" I was ready to put this book aside but her depiction of life in 19th century England combined with a good grasp of history led me on. I must say that the book might have receive four or more stars were it not for the ending. Since I do not want to be a spoiler, that is all I will say... "
— Mary, 5/12/2012" Always enjoy Anne Perry. In this one, Hester is charged with the murder of a woman in her care, and Rathbone and Monk come to her aid. "
— Beth, 12/30/2011" It had been too long since I read an Anne Perry book, so I gobbled this one up. Superb writing, as ever, that kept me guessing the whole time. "
— Katrina, 11/26/2011" Monk to Hester's rescue. They are absolutely back and forth at each other and I can't turn away. "
— Lisa, 10/13/2011" Not my favorite except for the development in the Monk/Hester relationship. Skipped to the last chapter so I didn't torture myself with Hester in jail. "
— Mary, 9/16/2011" Interesting as ever. Love the series. "
— Joann, 5/20/2011" Not one of my favorite authors. "
— Rod, 5/9/2010" Anne Perry is back in my good graces. (I'm sure she'll be thrilled to hear). "
— Joanne, 3/11/2010" I had forgotten how much I liked the William Monk series. I've read all of them a while ago and would like to re-read them. This was just as good as reading it the first time around - of course, I had forgotten "who done it"! "
— Liz, 7/25/2009" Started out a little slow, but fascinating story. Interesting twists and turns. However, how can a family have that many big secrets? Perry has such captivating stories. "
— Angela, 7/15/2009" The Monk & Hester relationship is beginning to get wearisome. "
— Daniel, 1/20/2009" Hester is accused of murdering an elderly female patient she is escorting to London on the train from Edinborough. Good read. Nice view of Scottish society of that period. "
— Kitty, 12/17/2008Anne Perry (1938-2023) was an English author of historical detective fiction, mysteries, young-adult fantasy, and young-adult fiction, and holiday novels, with several making the New York Times bestsellers list. Her novels were set in Victorian England, the Ottoman empire, and in Europe during WWI and WWI.
Davina Porter has been enthralling listeners for over twenty-five years with her ability to mine the psychological depths of the characters she reads and bring them convincingly to life. In 2006, she won the prestigious Audie Award for Best Female Narration and in 2004 for Best Inspirational Literature Narration. She has been honored as an AudioFile Golden Voice and has won nineteen AudioFile Earphones Awards. As an actress, she has appeared on stage at the Vineyard Playhouse and the Square One Theater, among others.