Rating: 
Summary: Another Anne Perry 5 Star
Review: OK, I admit I LOVE Anne Perry. It's such a pleasure to read a book that isn't, well, embarrasing. Great plot, excellent character development, interesting dialogue, a wealth of historical detail ....what more could one want? And she accomplishes all of this without vile language, sex orgies, and other disgusting contrivances that are the last refuge of the untalented. Thank you, Ms. Perry! this one was great, and I'm looking forward to your next thriller!
Rating:
Summary: The seamier side of life
Review: This novel is set in London, England, in the early 1860s. The Civil War is being fought in the United States while life goes on as usual in England. The situation described in the novel was usual for that time period, and is similar to the real circumstances that prevailed in my hometown, at that time a notorious sailing port in the U.S., during the later 19th century - a reformer trying to clean up the town soon discovered that most of the "good citizens" were getting their share of the pie, the prostitutes paid in cash and were a mainstay of the town's economy (see "Port Townsend - An Illustrated History of Shanghaiing, Shipwrecks, Soiled Doves, and Sundry Souls").Hester Monk (who had been a nurse in the Crimea) operates an infirmary in a lower class neighborhood, offering medical services to the ladies of the evening who are suffering from injuries and diseases. Her husband, William Monk, is involved in an investigation of possible financial wrongdoing among the principals of a railroad company. The death of a "respectable" man outside a bordello in the area creates a turmoil and eventually events are drawn together. Circumstances reveal a brutal form of loan sharking. William's investigation brings out information about his past - he was not always a nice person. Past relationships are revealed as the case draws to a conclusion. Overall, an interesting plot, with a good picture of the underside of Victorian London.
| 
