Funeral In Blue (William Monk)

Rating:
Summary: Funeral in Blue - Yahoo! Yahoo! Perry fan returns.
Review: Buy this book. The purpose of this review is not to tell the plot but rather to assure Perry fans that her "Funeral in Blue" is a fine piece of storytelling.

If you are a William Monk fan, you will enjoy this book especially if you are more interested in puzzles than Perry-philosophy. "Funeral in Blue" has a better balance between storytelling and philosophy than most of the recent Monk novels. If you liked "The Face of a Stranger," you will be relieved to read "Funeral in Blue" because it seemed that the recent Monk novels focused more on the "other" characters than Monk and his wife Hester; this book returns its focus to its namesake.

I rated the book like this: Two stars for Ms. Perry returning her focus to Mr. and Mrs. Monk; two stars for Ms. Perry departing, thank goodness, from her usual sordid murder to a crime less gruesome than is her wont; and two stars for the mystery itself. I know that two plus two plus two is six stars, but this mystery novel rated an additional star.

Because Ms. Perry has become somewhat predictable, I had a pretty good idea who the culprit would be (and I was correct), but I have to admit that she did a good job of trying to make me change my mind several times. Give Ms. Perry an A+ for this addition to her Monk series. Once I picked up "Funeral in Blue," I had to read it all the way through. If you like Perry, this one is worth buying.

Rating:
Summary: Monk investigates the murder of two beautiful women.
Review: I used to be a fan of Anne Perry's novels, especially the Monk series. However, for the last few years, I haven't bothered to read her new books, since they have become rather formulaic. I decided to pick up this one to see if anything has changed.

"Funeral in Blue" is another in the series of William Monk mysteries set in Victorian England. William Monk is a former policeman who is now a private investigator, and Hester Latterly, his wife, is a nurse who is married to Monk. In "Funeral in Blue," two women are murdered in the studio of an artist, Argo Allardyce. One of the women, Elissa Beck, is the wife of Kristian Beck, a respected physician with whom Hester has worked. The other woman is an artist's model. Both women were strangled, although the police have no idea why they were killed or who did it. Hester has a personal interest in this case, since her good friend, Callandra Daviot, secretly loves Dr. Beck and Callandra is anxious that he not be blamed for the homicides.

In an implausible scenario, Monk joins forces with his old enemy, Runcorn, a policeman who is in charge of the homicide investigation. Monk and Runcorn interview everyone who has a connection to the case, and ultimately Dr. Beck is arrested, since his alibi for the night of the murders doesn't hold up. In addition, it turns out that Dr. Beck had a strong motive for wishing his wife dead.

During the course of the investigation, Monk visits Vienna, Austria, to explore the roots of Elissa's relationship with Kristian. Elissa and Kristian had fought in the revolution that took place in that city thirteen years earlier. Complicating matters further, Hester's sister-in-law, Imogen Latterly, had a connection with Elissa Beck that may have a bearing on Elissa's death.

As is usual in Perry's novels, most of the book consists of a series of repetitious interviews in which the investigators try to ferret out who is telling the truth and who is lying. Nothing much happens until the end, when the murderer is finally unmasked. The solution is implausible and it comes completely out of left field.

Unfortunately, Perry does little to explore the relationship of Monk and Hester. The couple spends very little time together and Hester and Monk seem more like good friends than husband and wife. The characters in "Funeral in Blue" are rather bland and the pacing is slow. What Perry does well is describe the atmosphere of Victorian London. The city itself is the best and most lively character in the book. If Perry had imbued her characters with as much life as she does the city of London, "Funeral in Blue" would have been a much more compelling mystery.

Rating:
Summary: a fascinating read
Review: I've just finished reading the latest William & Hester Monk mystery novel, and I must confess that while I enjoyed it very much, if you're looking for the kind of mystery novel that it full of twists and turns, and that will keep you happily guessing till the very end, you might be in for a bit of a disappointment. "Funeral In Blue" is an interesting and absorbing read, but mainly because of the psychological element in the novel. What makes "Funeral In Blue" such compelling reading is NOT the mystery at hand: who could have murdered Elissa Beck, and the artist's model, Sarah Mackeson, but rather the manner in which Perry delves into the characters of the personalities involved in this novel.

Briefly the novel opens with the grisly discovery of the bodies of two women in artist, Argo Allardyce's studio. The dead women turn out to be Sarah Mackeson, Allardyce's model, and Eliisa Beck, the wife of Dr. Kristian Beck (a friend of Hester's) and the daughter of rising political and barrister, Fuller Pendreigh. The nature of the crime causes the police to focus their investigations on Allardyce (who had been commissioned to paint Eliisa's portrait and who happened to be in love with her) and Kristian. Allardyce, it turns out has an iron cast alibi; however Kristian's alibi proves to be shaky at best. And then Monk, together with the detective in charge of the case, discover that Elissa was a hopeless and addicted gambler, and who was near ruining Kristian with her enormous debts. Krisitan is arrested for the murders of both his wife and Sarah Mackeson, however neither Monk nor Hester believe that Kristian could have committed so heinous a crime. Neither does Elissa's father, who commissions Monk to investigate the murders more thoroughly while he undertakes to defend Krisitan in court. Monk's investigations takes him from the gambling slums of London, to Vienna, where Kristian and Elissa first met during the 1848 revolution, where they became comrades in arms, and where they fell in love with each other. For this case seems to hinge on the characters of both Eliisa and Kristian, both one time fiery revolutionaries, all set to change society and the world, and how they have changed since -- for while Kristian seems to have given his life to helping the sick and the poor, Eliisa seems to have exchanged the heady danger of revolution for that of gambling. What had caused Eliisa to fall into such an abyss? Could her murder be linked to her gambling debts? Could Kristian have killed both his wife and the model, Sarah? An added complication for the Monks arises when they realise that Imogen, Hester's sister-in-law, was a gambling cohort of Eliisa's and who may know more of the murder than she is letting on. For Monk and Hester the stakes have never seemed higher as they battle to help a friend, and protect Imogen from discovery and ruin.

As is usual with most Anne Perry novels, "Funeral In Blue" is an excellently written and crafted mystery novel. The characters are deftly and thoughtfully portrayed, as is her look at the 1848 uprising. The mystery itself gets resolved suddenly, and there is a gigantic element of coincidence in the resolution of the murders, that gives an air of reality to the whole thing, but which could prove frustrating to all armchair detectives out there. What this mystery novel hinges on however is the riddle that was Elissa Beck. And that is what makes this novel such an absorbing read.

Rating:
Summary: Very readable
Review: Simply put. Likeable and interesting characters. Great period of time. Wouldn't call this a high-octane read, but enjoyable. Liked it enough to look into other Anne Perry novels.

Rating:
Summary: A SUPERBLY NUANCED READING
Review: Talented actor/director David Colacci gives a superbly nuanced reading to the 11th Victorian thriller by tireless Anne Perry. Much to the delight of her band of fans Ms. Perry brings back Hester and William Monk.

As many recall, William is a private investigator who has no recall of his life prior to an accident that occurred some six years ago. Hester, William's wife who once toiled along side Florence Nightingale in the Crimean War, is a nurse for Vienna born Dr. Kristian Beck whose wife, Elissa, and a second woman are brutally murdered in an artist's studio. Is the good doctor the killer as many are prone to believe? Or, is Elissa's untimely death tied to her time as a freedom fighter during Austria's mid nineteenth century revolution?

The Monks are called upon to solve this mystery by Lady Callandra who can barely conceal her love for Dr. Beck.

Once again Ms. Perry excels at her descriptions of period London as well as recalling social inequities that darkened England during those years.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent mystery
Review: Victorian era private investigator William Monk lost his memory in a London accident six years ago. He remade himself and his wife Hester is very proud of how her beloved has dealt with adversity. Hester studied nursing under Nightingale and assists surgeon Kristian Beck in the operating room.

When Kristian's wife and a model are killed in an artist's studio, Hester prevails upon Monk to investigate so that any stigma to her employer's name is removed. Unfortunately, Monk finds no evidence to clear him. Instead he finds many reasons why Kristian would want to kill his wife. The police arrest the doctor but his true friends rally around him and force Monk to dig deeper.

Anne Perry has written another fine mystery that captures the essence of Victorian England. Monk is at his best when he searches for the truth even if he is the only outside the police who feels Kristian murdered his spouse. Hester humanizes Monk by showing his compassionate side. Place FUNERAL IN BLUE on your book-shopping list if you want to read an excellent historical mystery by a talented author.

Harriet Klausner