Funeral in Blue

September 17, 2001
From the enormously popular and hard-working Perry comes her 11th Victorian mystery featuring Hester and William Monk, to the certain delight of her faithful admirers. In the studio of a London artist, two women have been murdered, one of them the wife of Dr. Kristian Beck, a physician from Vienna with whom Hester's dear friend, Lady Callandra, is secretly in love. When Beck is charged with the murder, Callandra enlists the aid of Hester and William. Neither of the Monks fits tidily into polite society. William, a former policeman now working as a private enquiry agent, has no memory of his life before a serious injury five years ago; it may partly explain his cantankerous personality. Hester, a nurse who served under Florence Nightingale in the Crimean War, is outspoken, courageous, passionate, independent and stubborn—not exactly your typical subservient Victorian gentlewoman. Indeed, a common theme for Perry is spotlighting the social ills of 19th-century England, particularly the treatment accorded to women. Here she layers a new evil into the plot: anti-Semitism, widely accepted then and a haunting precursor of ugliness to come. The author excels at re-creating the ambience of 1860s London streets, but stumbles in plot cohesion, succumbing at the last moment to out-of-left-field syndrome. Throughout, the key characters engage in a great deal of inner reflection made ponderous by wordiness and repetition. No doubt Perry's myriad fans won't care a whit. (Oct. 2)Forecast: The sample chapter included in the mass market edition of
Slaves of Obsession, featuring Thomas and Charlotte Pitt from Perry's other Victorian series, will help fuel this novel's surefire sales.

March 1, 2002
Adult/High School-William Monk and his wife Hester become involved in a murder investigation when their friend Lady Callandra Daviot asks them to help prove the innocence of her distinguished colleague, whose wife was one of the victims. The action moves from London to Vienna and deals with such issues as anti-Semitism and religious and intellectual freedom. The details of Victorian London are essential to the atmosphere of the book and help advance the story as the two search for the killer. Perry is so masterful at setting the scene that readers can picture the fog rolling in along the river, smell the stench that rises from the gutters, and hear the hooves of the horses as they plod along the cobblestone streets. A secondary plot concerns the inner turmoil that Monk experiences as he joins forces with Runcorn, commander of the Totem Court Road police station and an old adversary. When Monk travels to Vienna to interview people who knew Kristian Beck and his wife, he finds treachery, deceit, and long-buried family secrets. Will the devastating information that Monk uncovers be enough to save Beck's life? This is the issue that heightens the suspense throughout his murder trial. Teens who enjoy Victorian murder mysteries with lots of atmosphere will have no problem delving into this one.-Patricia White-Williams, Kings Park Library, Fairfax County, VA

Copyright 2002 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2001
In her latest William Monk novel after Slaves of Obsession, Perry presents another gripping Victorian spellbinder. The strangulation murders of Elissa Beck, the wife of prominent Viennese surgeon Kristian Beck, and Sarah Mackeson, an artist's model found together in a well-known painter's empty studio lead to a series of bizarre discoveries. The prime suspect is Kristian. Investigator William Monk and his wife, Hester, probe the crime out of duty and friendship toward both Kristian and Lady Callandra Daviot, who works at the hospital and hides a love for the surgeon. Callandra dispatches Monk to investigate Kristian, his wife, and their friend Max Niemann, all during the Vienna uprising of 1848. When Kristian comes to trial, his father-in-law, the distinguished Fuller Pendreigh, volunteers to defend him; the final courtroom scenes bring all the characters together. Perry's deep, sympathetic characterizations help cement the complex plot, as she explores Victorian class distinctions, hypocrisy, duty, and morality. Highly recommended for all mystery collections. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 6/1/01.] Michelle Foyt, Russell Lib., Middletown, CT

Copyright 2001 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2001
William Monk is an intriguing character in Perry's pantheon: a Victorian private investigator who has no memory of his life before an accident that took place some six years ago. The nature of truth, or lies, or memory is at the heart of Perry's writing, and she never permits the answers to be simple. Monk's wife, Hester, serves as a volunteer nurse with Dr. Kristian Beck, an intense Viennese emigre. Beck's wife, Elissa, is English, but the two met during the 1848 revolution in Austria when both were freedom fighters. When Elissa and another woman are found murdered in the studio of an artist who was painting both of them (the book's title refers to a painting of Elissa), suspicion falls heavily on the doctor. Monk travels to Vienna in hopes of unraveling some of the women's past and tracking the real murderer. The addiction of gambling as well as the addiction to danger, the pervasive hatred of Jews, the intricacies of class and dress in England and Austria in the mid-nineteenth century--all these themes are spun tightly within a plot that doesn't spring quite open until the very end.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2001, American Library Association.)