The Shifting Tide (William Monk, 13)

Rating:
Summary: compelling and memorable
Review: Gather your cats/dogs/children and spouse/significant other, and firmly let them know that for the next 3 to 5 hours, YOU ARE NOT TO BE DISTURBED. And then, unplug the 'phone, pour yourself a thimble full of good port, make for your comfy chair and make your comfortable. For Anne Perry has written another gem that you simply cannot miss!! True, where the mystery subplot is concerned, things may be a little lacking; however if you look at the novel as an examination of human nature, at the unexpected strengths and hidden frailities of the characters involved, "The Shifting Tide" then becomes the compelling must read novel that it rightly is, whether or not you are a mystery buff.

William Monk has been hired by shipping magnate Clement Louvain to recover a shipment of ivory tusks stolen from his schooner, the Maude Idris. Normally, Monk would stay away from a case in which he is at such a disadvantage (Monk may know the streets of London very well, but he knows next to nothing about the river, the docks or the wharfs), but money is low and the need dire, so that in spite of his reservations, Monk agrees to take on the case. Louvain wants the stolen shipment found quickly and without the involvement of the River Police -- an especially tricky combination when murder is thrown into the mix, for the thieves had bashed in the head of one of the sailors keeping watch aboard the Maude Idris. Even stranger, Louvain is not at all interested in seeing that the murderer is apprehended and goes so far as to forbid Monk from wasting his time going down that road. Now why would he do this? Surely the murderer was one of the thieves? Monk senses that Louvain is keeping a great many things from him. A suspicion that grows when he learns that Louvain has taken a desperately ill woman (whom he claims is a friend's ex-mistress) to Hester's free clinic. But what neither Monk nor Hester anticipated was the nightmare that would soon unfold, and that would threaten their lives and happiness...

Mystery-wise, "The Shifting Tide" while intorguing was a little touch and go -- not too many cunning plot twists or sinister red herring culprits for Monk to track down. Even the usually tense courtroom scenes where Sir Oliver Rathbone is centerstage is absent; this time a healthy chunk of the novel is devoted to what Hester and her helpers go through as they battle illness, fatigue and their own inner demons. And yet what a suspenseful read "The Shifting Tide" was! The sense of time ticking away and of lives hanging in the balance was always there; and that together with the colourful and vivid characters that the authour created made this a very compelling read indeed. But most of all it was her portrayals of the unexpected inner strengths and nobility that the unlikeliest of characters exhibited, and her portrayal of human frailities, that made "The Shifing Tide" a memorable and worthwhile read.

Rating:
Summary: not who she says she is
Review: I borrowed this book from a friend and hated it. Anne Perry is a terrible writer. I read this book because Anne Perry's real name is Juliet Hulme. Juliet Hulme is one of the main characters in the movie Heavenly Creatures. Its a true story of how Juliet and her lesbian friend kill pauline's mother. They both served time in prison. If this is her attempt at a new life,then she should find another one. She might find solace in writing but someone who murders then writes about murders is sick,sick,sick. Find a new profession Juliet !!!!!!!!!!!

Rating:
Summary: not who she says she is
Review: I borrowed this book from a friend because I recognized her name from news articles. Those articles focused on her given name and the murder she committed in New Zealand with Pauline. They killed Paulines mom. served some time got out,then Juliet Hulme became Anne Perry and writes about killing. Hey Anne you need to find a new profession!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

While the book is pretty good I will not buy any to help line her pockets with money.

Rating:
Summary: In Response to Fanaticism
Review: I greatly enjoyed the book, but I wish to address this person
'R. Strong':

Besides the ludicrously obvious question: Why are you reading
Ms.Perry's books given your attitude (? (can easily guess))

Person such as this frighten me. They so thrive on hatred, judgment, & condemnation-which is obviously a thrill to them.

While juvenile & silly, he/she is also, most importantly detestable, farfar overly interested-nee,consumed with w/ an author's life--immersed in. That is not mentally healthy.
And, the statements made shows a very frightening moral bankruptcy. To so induldge in obvious hatred & selfrighteousness
as well as setting him/her self in judgment, shows this person
as one of those to be feared. he might look to the mote in his own eye, And, get a life, And *w h y* read the books... That is obvious. I've met w/ too many such persons--Fanatics,
devoid of any enlightenment, & sympathetic/moral-imagination
Closed minds, closed hearts.
I have never understood the bizarre interest in the lives of celebrities.

This person would do well to learn something from Perry's books
Therein he/she might learn some simple morality via the charachters Monk,Pitt, Hester, Charlotte, et al in which the author invests plain goodness within the frailty of human nature. he won't,of course He/she knows all, & would be judge,jury, god, & executioner---that he/she is like this should
serve as a warning--to all of us, Ms Perry especially (I trust she has good security).

The very moralizing often compalined of about APs books is much of what I find so appealling. & the charachters are so real that coming to another book is like meeting old friends.
I have learned more of history & etc since discovering Perry's books than I ever did in school or university (given that the teachers were below par and I am intensely dyslexic & have severe ADDH, so never able to read visually) and Ms. Perry has
caused me be more aware of injustice, cruelty, bigotry, & willfull stupidity. I consider both gifts. She has made me think more about a few things I hadn't considered properly.
ABOVE ALL, THE BOOKS ARE EMININTLY ENTERTAINING, INTESNSELY READABLE! (I am enormously grateful that such hateful fanatics cannot control what I read. They can try-& have since my childhood. They never succeded. (I even read (gasp) Mark twain
, Whitman, & Dostoevsky in grade school-horrors). They won't stop me now, though they would.

Much Thanks to the other contributors! You are very informed
and even when I most disagree, I am glad for the input.
I dearly hope books are still around when my little niece
grows up! Not everything should be abolished to computers.

Thank you for letting me share my thoughts on one of my fav. authors.

Rating:
Summary: Best Perry Ever
Review: Investigator William Monk is relieved to be offered a job, even one outside his normal sphere of operation in the large houses of Victorian England, as money is tight and bills must be paid.Clement Louvain, ship owner and importer of spices and ivory, hires Monk to find 14 tusks of ivory which were stolen from his ship when it was moored in the Thames, awaiting a berth at the Docks. Monks'wife Hester runs a shelter and hospital for sick and injured prostitutes with her friend Margaret, stocking it on a shoe string budget, so that when Louvain brings a sick woman to her, claiming that she is the cast-off mistress of a friend and paying Hester a handsome fee for her care, she doesn't hesitate to accept the woman as a patient. Meanwhile Monk manages to find the trail of the stolen ivory with the help of a street urchin, Scuff, and to return it to Louvain. Hester is horrified to find the unmistakeable signs of bubonic plague on the sick woman and realises that she must isolate herself and all the other occupants of the hospital, as much to keep them from infecting the general population as to keep the threat of mass hysteria at bay. She is aided in this task by the rat-catcher, Sutton who directs his friends to stand guard with pit bulls, trained to kill on command. Hester gets word to Monk of their predicament and in turn informs Durban the chief of the river police of the need to track down the source of the plague. Feeling sure that the plague was brought into the country by Louvain on his ship, Monk and Durban contrive to isolate the ship until their case is proven. The author brilliantly conveys the cutting winds and biting cold of the London docks in winter, so much so that I guarantee that you'll not feel warm till the end of the story.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting Read
Review: Other reviewers have gone into details on the actual plot. Comments on some of the pieces that make the book so interesting: the description of life along the docks in England was gritty and riveting. Grimes had us walking the docks with Monk, seeing through his eyes--almost like a televison camera --how people lived and struggled daily to survive. Hester's work with ill prostitutes is also presented in a very realistic manner--there is nothing sugarcoated about the lives Grimes describes.

Monk is presented as one of the more liberated men in literary works: he understands when his wife is working long hours and respects what she's doing. Grimes has delivered a good mystery here along with an interesting wife-husband relationship. A book worth reading.



Rating:
Summary: an engrossing mystery
Review: Out of necessity, Monk takes up an investigative crime assignment involving the theft of African ivory. Sounds straightforward enough, but there's more to the story, including of course the typical ingredients--murder, cover-up, and false identity. Gripping storylines, sprinkled with good relevent social commentary. Overall, full of action and mystery. Anne Perry's books are always to be recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Shame on R. Strong "lady617" !
Review: R. Strong judges, condemns, and punishes Anne Perry for a crime committed in the past, for which she paid the penalty given by a court of law! That she has been able to find a new life and become successful is praiseworthy. R. Strong:who made you God? how can you refuse to allow someone to start over and redeem herself? Shame on you!

The book itself is prime Perry, solid prose, twists here and there, suspenseful as the dickens (pun intended), fleshing out of several characters...and l haven't the heart to tell you the details for fear of spoiling the fun in reading this novel.

Rating:
Summary: Marvelously Intricate Plot!
Review: When reading about private enquiry agents in Victorian England, one always longs for the subtleties of Sherlock Holmes . . . and one seldom finds them. The opening detection in The Shifting Tide reminded me at times of Sherlock Holmes, and the plot complications actually exceed most Sherlock Holmes stories. I found myself riveted with delight as the story developed well beyond my wildest expectations.

The characters are engrossing as they deal with what is greater than themselves in selfless ways.

Unlike most stories about detection, this one involves the whole family both investigator William Monk and his wife, Hester, who runs a threadbare clinic for injured and sick women of ill repute. That makes the story more engrossing as well.

For those who want to really sink themselves into the Victorian era, this book captures many different perspectives -- foreign shipping, life working on the Thames, rat catching, homeless youngsters, streetwalkers, the river police, the pubs, defending criminals, downstairs in the great houses, upstairs in the salon and the glitterati during their social occasions.

The story alternates between a man's and a woman's perspective which makes it all the more engaging.

The story's main weakness is that the writing style lacks punch, often describing events abstractly rather than drawing the reader into their midst. Story threads disappear for long periods of time, and obvious paths are not pursued until the end for unexplained reasons.

But compared to other books about detection in Victorian England written in recent years, this is a great effort.




Rating:
Summary: A must-read for Anne Perry fans
Review: William Monk usually investigates the crimes of the wealthy that inhabit some of the finest mansions in London. This time out Anne Perry takes Monk to the river and docks that is out of his comfort zone as an investigator. He has bills to pay and is happy to get any kind of work. Clement Louvain wants Monk to investigate the theft of a cargo of ivory from one of Louvain's schooners. .Louvain does not want the theft reported to the River Police. Monk's wife, Hester, runs a clinic for desperately ill women of the street who have no other place to go. Louvain brings an ill woman who came off of one of his ships to Hester. After the woman is found dead, Hester realizes that she had the Black Plague. The plague had wiped out half the population of England two centuries before. If anyone knew, mass panic who ensue; the clinic and its inhabitants would likely be burned down. The clinic must be locked down and no one must be allowed to escape from inside. Monk must answer the question of why Louvain would bring the woman to Hester.

Anne Perry writes both the Thomas Pitt series and the William Monk series. When I am reading one or the other series, it is always my favorite at the time. Anne Perry has an uncanny knack of painting the scenes of her stories so vividly that you are transported back in time. She captures the essence and the flavor of the time period.

This book had at first two seemingly different storylines: the stolen ivory and the plague. I found the scenes with the clinic: the difficulty in raising funds for a clinic for fallen women, the struggle in running it, the characters associated with it, and the dealing with the plague the more intriguing storyline. It was not until the storylines merged into one that I started to enjoy the story involving the shipyards. I think it was all a little too gritty for my taste. The relationship between Monk and Hester has evolved since the early books, and even later ones that involved their courtship. You always knew they were close and had a special bond, but this time you really felt it even though they had very few scenes together. Anyone who has never read the Monk series should go back and read them in order. It would be worth it because Anne Perry is an excellent writer who always has good, suspenseful plots.