Krishna
This is another one of William Monk Adventures by Anne Perry. We have reviewed other Anne Perry Books in this forum. Find these, if you are interested, using the Anne Perry Tag in this post.
This book has her usual Victorian setting. Here Monk, Hester Latterley and Rathbone figure in the understated triangle of affections, as usual. The story this time begins when Monk is hired by Genevieve Stonefield to find the whereabouts of Angus Stonefield, her brilliant businessman husband, a caring father of his children and as unlike his twin brother Caleb Stonefield as he is alike in appearance, the needle of suspicion points strongly towards Caleb. His wife suspects as much and his uncle, Mr Milo Ravenbrook, also suspects him chiefly as well.
Monk’s investigations reveal Angus to be totally devoted to Caleb, going over to meet him in spite of danger to himself and sometimes personal injuries, as seen when he returns from these meetings.
With Angus missing, Gienvieve is struggling to stay independent of Mr Ravenbrook and without the body to prove Angus dead, she may have to go live with Milo Ravenbrook. His wife Enid Ravenbrook is known to Hester and Lady Callandra as she is helping out
typhoid victims in the slums of England, and almost succumbs to the disease herself.
In the meanwhile, Monk meets the very beautiful and charming Drusilla Wyndham, and she seems to take a personal interest in his case, and more amazingly, in him. Monk is charmed and flattered and finds every excuse to meet and spend time with her. But when she suddenly frames him for assault and almost ruins his entire career, he is shocked and puzzled, as he can find almost no reason why she should do this. It takes all of Hester’s ingenuity to rescue him from this pickle.
In the meanwhile, Monk almost catches up with Caleb once, and before he infuriatingly escapes from the grasp of not just Monk but a whole assorted posse of policemen. But in a brief moment where they were face to face, Caleb admits that he has destroyed Angus and taunts Monk with the statement that he will never find the body of Angus to prove it. Here is an admission from the perpetrator himself, but there is no way to use it in court, even if they managed to catch Caleb.
The story unfolds with the usual personal issues of Monk and Hester and the unfolding surprises of the case Monk is investigating.
The story is told well, and is enjoyable. The minor twists and surprises exist here and some of them take you completely off guard, which is why Anne’s books are popular.
However, the main plot is hackneyed and I for one could guess the major twist about halfway through the book. In addition, unlike other Anne books, all the strands do not come well together, for instance the piece about Druscilla, though interesting, does not gel with the rest of the story.
And yet, the book is good, the tension is retained, especially in the courtroom scenes, and the denouement, though known in advance, is satisfying.
I would give it a 5/10
— Krishna