William Monk knows Londons streets like the back of his hand. But the river Thames and its teeming dockswhere wharf rats and night plunderers ply their tradesis unknown territory. Only Monks dire need for work persuades him to accept an assignment from shipping magnate Clement Louvain, to investigate the theft of a cargo of African ivory from Louvains recently docked schooner, the*Maude Idris.*But why didnt Louvain report the ivory theft directly to the River Police? Another mystery is the appearance of a desperately ill woman who Louvain claims is the discarded mistress of an old friend. Is she connected to the theft, or to something much darker? As Monk endeavors to solve these riddles, he cant imagine the trap that will soon so fatefully ensnare him.
Amazon.com Review
Commissioned to find the precious cargo of ivory stolen by river thieves from the hold of Clement Louvain's ocean-going schooner, private enquiry agent William Monk is intrigued by his new surroundings. The waterfront of the River Thames is a world unto itself, but without the help of the famed River Police, Monk hardly stands a chance of retrieving the ivory or tracking down the murderous men who killed an innocent crew member while robbing Louvain's ship. Not so coincidentally, Monk's wife Hester, who operates a shelter for sick and injured women of the streets, discovers that a woman with a mysterious connection to Louvain may hold the key to the missing ivory as well as many more deaths aboard his ship than the one Monk knows about. Perry's trademarked plotting, characterization, and verisimilitude in recreating Victorian London gleam brilliantly in this well-crafted historical mystery. --Jane Adams
From Publishers Weekly
The strain of publishing two major novels a year continues to show in bestseller Perry's 14th historical to feature private inquiry agent William Monk and his wife, Hester, despite the fresh start for Monk, who has recovered from the amnesia that afflicted him in Death of a Stranger (2002). In the autumn of 1873, because he needs the money, Monk agrees to recover valuable cargo stolen from a ship waiting to be unloaded at an East End London dock for the ship's owner, Clement Louvain, with the proviso that Louvain will also prosecute the thieves for murdering the ship's watchman. Monk enlists the aid of a young Cockney orphan, Scuff, who doubts Monk's ability to investigate a Docklands crime: "Yer in't got the wits fer it, nor the stomach neither. Yer stick to wot yer can do-wotever that is." Meanwhile, Hester, who receives no pay for the clinic she runs for streetwalkers, must deal with an unexpected death that she suspects may be murder. Unfortunately, the author too often tells rather than shows. The reader waits impatiently for the "ruthless" Monk to say or do something that suggests that quality. Still, with its focus on the lower classes and the Thames, the plot will resonate with fans of Dickens's riparian novel, Our Mutual Friend. And, as always, Perry uses her characters and story to comment on ethical issues that remain as relevant today as they were in Victorian times. Expect another bestseller.
Copyright Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Title Pre Pound : The Shifting Tide
Formats : EPUB
Series Parm B : 14
Series Parm A : William Monk
Author Parm Cn : Perry
Identifier : isbn:9780345440099
Custom Series : Serified.William Monk.Cmd.14 of 17._.ICBF
Test Compare Series : eq
Enter Series Index : 14 of 17
Enter Series Index Part 3: 17
Compare Author : eq
Make New Series : TEMPLATE ERROR Value: unknown field enterseriesname
Title Suffix : The Shifting Tide
Calc New Series : Serified.William Monk.Cmd.14 of 17._
Title Parm A : The Shifting Tide
Number of Formats : 1
Calc Series Genre : Cmd
Previous Series Index: 14
Calc Series Name : William Monk
Enter Series Name : William Monk
Enter Series Cover Quality: ICBF
Author Parm A : Anne Perry
Whole Title : The Shifting Tide
Enter Series Suffix : _
Title First Parm : The Shifting Tide
Calc Series Suffix : _
Words in Title : 3
Single Author : Anne Perry
Record Notes : Hand Checked Serified 02 02 15
Uncorruupted Title : The Shifting Tide
Calc Force Series : .William Monk
Enter Series Group : Serified
Calc Genre : William Monk
Sorted Author by LN, FN: Perry, Anne
Enter Series Index Part 2: of
Enter Series Genre : Cmd
Enter Series Index Part 1: 14
Number of Words in Auth: 2
Enter New Series (Calced): Serified.William Monk.Cmd.14 of 17._.ICBF
Calc Series Index : 14 of 17
Title Pre Parend : The Shifting Tide
Calc Series A (group): William Monk
Test Text Series Index: 14
Words in Author Name: 2
Has Cover : Yes
Uncomma Author : Anne Perry
Number of Authors : 1
Calc Series Group : Serified
Calc Cover Quality : ICBF
Title Post Pound : The Shifting Tide