Rating: 
Summary: Good Victorian Novel, Mediocre Mystery
Review: This is the first "Monk" mystery-novel I've read, and if I return to them it will be as novels. The psychological introspection of the two main characters is harrowing. The confining social atmosphere is terrifically realized, although Monk and Rathbone are perhaps too modern in their PC attitudes. The author so convincingly evokes Victorian conventional morality that neither I nor the blinkered protagonists ever guessed the surprise that is so appropriately at the core of this novel. In an artfully constructed plot, the "real" mystery arrives late in a rather tedious trial, when least expected. This is a memorable novel of interior mystery rather than action. I would have understood the characters' romancing more if I had started earlier in the series. If there's a flaw in the book, it may be an excess of feeling, of emotional flagellation--particularly in comparison to Bruce Alexander's similar Sir John Fielding series--and what seems a criminal dearth of legal preparation on the part of Rathbone (or is that typical of Vic. lawyers, Ms. Perry?). The agonizing sleuthing actually wins too easily, then romance triumphs, and the book ends with no satisfyingly clever resolution. Maybe Perry couldn't figure out proof of the villain's legal culpability? (Did anyone else think the architecture of Melville was modelled on Frank Lloyd Wright's? I actually thought Perry might have Melville escape to America and somehow, ah, influence his mother!)
Rating: 
Summary: MORE TWISTS AND TURNS THAN A ROLLERCOASTER!!
Review: This book "grabbed" me from the first page. I honestly felt as though I was there with the main characters, participating in their experiences and world. As I'd suspected, my INITIAL guess regarding the reason pretty young Zilla's supposed fiance "backed out" was totally "off-base," and made complete sense when it was ultimately divulged. The writing style is lively, EVERYTHING falls neatly into place, and thus I UNHESITATINGLY classify this novel as a COMPELLING "read." I had trouble putting it down once I got "into" it, and found the details related to life and customs during that period to be enlightening, particularly since I'm not a "well-versed" history buff, per se. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading works of general fiction which are neither exceedingly lengthy nor go into painstaking detail.
Rating:
Summary: GREAT BOOK POORLY READ
Review: Simon Jones' reading was disappointing and irritating. It was choppy and brusk, nearly without any emotion or 'feeling'. His voices tended to be the same- nasal and abrupt for men, breathy for women, so it was difficult to tell the characters apart. His unfortunate treatment was very distracting for what is one of Ms Perry's best books and will discourage me from purchasing any more read by him. If you enjoy Anne Perry and wish to listen to her works on tape, I would recommend David McCallum's performances of her Pitt books- they are excellently done. Bottom line: read the book or try the unabridged by a different reader.
Rating:
Summary: A most thrilling and emotional novel for the mystery fan
Review: This book is a must read for those who love unexpected outcomes of the book!! I was assigned to read this for school, but I thoroughly enjoyed it to its fullest! The setting and language used make it a whole different society from today's world. It is an escape from our world, and sets the reader in a world of courtesy, rumors, elegant charm, riches, and scandal, which describe the Victorian England setting. Perry portrays her thoughts and ideas through masterful writing skills which draw the reader right into to the novel, just as if the reader was part of the gallery for Mellville's trial. It is hard to put down, and each chapter does not focus on one character, but portrays the lives of different characters with different occupations and lifestyles. It is also a book that makes you think of the tactics that each character might try next, in order to succeed. So relax, fix yourself a cup of tea, and enjoy your reading time as you travel far back into Victorian England for a story that is riveting and stirring to the emotions, while giving you a good feeling for the 'good guy'!
Rating:
Summary: good book, poor reader
Review: Perry again delivers a book full of evocative Victorian details. She manages to give a feeling of what life was like in such a different time period -- but she's done it before, and better, in some of her earlier books. This time she's on a feminist soapbox about the treatment of talented women in an age when a woman's place was in the home (whether decorating it or scrubbing it) -- and she has her two continuing male characters, Oliver Rathbone and William Monk, delivering most of the (quite unlikely) feminist rhetoric. The ending wraps up two divergent storylines too neatly -- the coincidences just are not credible.
Rating: 
Summary: Suing Him When He Backs Out Of Marrying You
Review: I read this mystery set in Victorian England to ascertain how one of these breach of promise cases worked back then. They were abolished in my state several decades ago as being too behind the times with the gains women had made in the market place. In this mystery, a young lady and her family sue the architect who had been building a house for her father for not going forward and marrying her. It's a fascinating case to watch unfold and to see the mystery behind it develop. However, I don't know any of these continuing characters the author uses in her mysteries so that aspect was less successful with me. Also, there's an incredible coincidence that develops at the end of solving this case that the odds were just too long against. An enjoyable read but I'm not rushing out to buy more from this series.
Rating:
Summary: A Breach of Promise
Review: This latest in Perry's series about Monk and Hester Latterly continues the personal thread of their relationship along with a tantalizing mystery so well set in Victorian England that you can feel and smell the story! Go back and read every one of the books in this series!
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down
Review: I was up 'till 3am to finish it. The coincidences were a little much, but the suspense was grand. I think it was Perry's best yet (and I've read 'em all).
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