Rating: 
Summary: Black Death in the Port of London
Review: Anne Perry's latest historical thriller takes her struggling sleuth to the London docks. Back in the mid 18th century, London was a thriving port with barges, sailing ships and local water traffic all crowding the world's busiest river. The docklands are their own world as detective Monk discovers when he's hired to locate elephant tusks stolen from a recent arrival from Africa. Shipping is a high-risk, high reward business where only the tough survive. And Monk may not be tough enough. This time the hardy Thames watermen are facing a foe far more dangerous than any of them have ever met. When a young prostitute dies of the dreaded black plague, it's Monk's wife, Hester, who is faced with handling the crisis. And she turns out to be more than tough enough.
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: She does it again!
Review: I have read all the Monk and Pitt books as well as the first
installment of her new series about a WW I chaplain. They are all absorbing and I enjoy reading them. HOWEVER, every book I've read always leaves me with some nagging doubts about the plot and its resolution. Just as Dr. Watson takes the place of the reader and asks Sherlock Holmes the questions the reader wants answered, I feel that every book she has written needs one additional chapter to tie up the loose ends. I wonder why her editors have never suggested this to her.
Rating:
Summary: A Wonderfully Written Period Mystery!
Review: I have shamelessly enjoyed every single Monk story that Ms. Perry has written. The Monk series has always been my favourite of her two long-running series, but this book is the best Monk story that I've read. The craftsmanship that Ms. Perry puts into each of her books is so very apparent in this one. She shows pure genius in her character and plot development. In this book we see Monk and his Hester working separately on what appears to be too separate catastrophic events, but as the story goes on, it is apparent that both are connected. Hester is fighting the battle of her life against a very real foe of disease in her clinic, and Monk is out on the River trying to solve a theft and trying to piece together what actually happened on the Maude Idris. We see some real growth in some of the regular characters, but we also meet some very strong minor characters in this book - for example - the cold and ruthless Clement Louvain; the very likeable Durban (a member of the infamous River police that Monk really feels an affinity for); and Sutton the Ratter - one of the best characters in the book. This book held me spellbound from beginning to end. The pace in the book is relentless, and when I finished it, it left me feeling strangely empty. I can't wait for another Monk book!
Rating:
Summary: In Top Form
Review: I thought this was one of the best in what I have always felt was the author's best series. The action in this book is non-stop, and the emotion, which has always been a high point in this series, is palpable. I also feel, like another reviewer, that this was the best portrayal of the Hester/Monk relationship, and I really liked the payoff for the Rathbone character. The way this book tied up loose ends and resolved stories, it could actually be a fitting end for this series, although I certainly hope the author has many more Monk books in her.
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: exciting historical police procedural
Review: It is 1863 in Victorian London and times are lean for private enquiry agent William Monk and his wife Hester who receives no money for working at the clinic in Portpool Lane that provides medical care to sick and injured prostitutes. Louvain, a powerful business man who makes a profit in shipping, hires Monk to recovery a shipment of ivory that was stolen off his shop while it was waiting to dock. One of the crew still on board was murdered and Monk intends to find out who the killer is and bring him to justice even though he won't get any additional fees for it. The ivory must be found within a certain period of time or Louvain won't be unable to pay off a creditor who is also his rival. If that happens he won't be able to bid on a fast clipper ship that he wants to add to his fleet. While Monk makes contacts along the river to find out who received the ivory, Hester is battling a different kind of killer, one that hasn't been seen in Europe since the middle ages. Anne Perry can always be counted on to write an exciting historical police procedural and THE SHIFTING TIDE is obvious proof of this assertion. Hester and Monk battle with more than a serial killer and that brings the focus of the tale as much on the nurse fighting a deadly disease as the hero trying to get an innocent man off death row. There is plenty of action in Ms Perry's latest thriller but it is the two special people who risk their lives for humanity that readers will care about. Harriet Klausner
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