A Sudden, Fearful Death (William Monk Series #4)

by Anne Perry

Overview

In a London hospital, Prudence Barrymore, a talented nurse who had once been one of Florence Nightingale’s angels of mercy in the Crimean War, meets sudden death by strangulation. Private inquiry agent William Monk is engaged to investigate this horrific crime–which intuition tells him was no random stroke of violence by a madman.

Greatly helped by his unconventional friend Hester Latterly, another of Miss Nightingale’s nurses, and barrister Oliver Rathbone, Monk assembles a portrait of the remarkable woman. Yet he also discerns the shadow of a tragic evil that darkens every level of society, and a frightening glimmer of his own eclipsed past.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780345513984
Publisher:	Random House Publishing Group
Publication date:	09/29/2009
Series:	William Monk Series , #4
Pages:	464
Sales rank:	382,630
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.90(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Anne Perry was the bestselling author of two acclaimed series set in Victorian England: the William Monk novels and the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt novels. She was also the author of a series featuring Charlotte and Thomas Pitt's son, Daniel, as well as the Elena Standish series; a series of five World War I novels; twenty-one holiday novels; and a historical novel, The Sheen on the Silk, set in the Byzantine Empire. Anne Perry died in 2023.

Hometown:

Portmahomack, Ross-shire, U.K

Date of Birth:

October 28, 1938

Place of Birth:

Blackheath, London England

Website:

http://www.anneperry.net

Read an Excerpt

When she first came into the room, Monk thought it would simply be another case of domestic petty theft, or investigating the character and prospects of some suitor. Not that he would have refused such a task; he could not afford to. Lady Callandra Daviot, his benefactress, would provide sufficient means to see that he kept his lodgings and ate at least two meals a day, but both honor and pride necessitated that he take every opportunity that offered itself to earn his own way.
(Continues…)

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Excerpted from "A Sudden, Fearful Death"
by .
Copyright © 2009 Anne Perry.
Excerpted by permission of Random House Publishing Group.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Editorial Reviews

Riveting . . . [a] surpassingly excellent historical and psychologically intricate mystery.”—Publishers Weekly

“Absorbing . . . Perry continues her excellent renderings of Victorian manners and mayhem.”—Chicago Sun-Times

“[Anne Perry] is adept at showing the reader two sides of Victorian London–the dark side where people are barely surviving and glittering society where people sometimes kill to hide terrible secrets.”—Knoxville News-Sentinel

From the Publisher

In this excellent historical mystery, Victorian detective William Monk investigates the suspicious death of a young English nurse. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

William Monk ( Defend and Betray ) investigates the terrible rape of a woman in a garden and the strangulation of another in a London hospital. Wonderful Victorian backdrops, memorable characters, and vivid courtroom drama from a master craftswoman. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 6/1/93.

Library Journal

YA-Another Perry mystery that highlights the frustrating status of women in Victorian England. The story hinges on society's low opinion of nurses and of both single and married women who seek abortions. A talented nurse is found strangled, and Inspector Monk and his friends, a nurse and a lawyer, follow the clues to see that the murderer will hang. It is difficult to decide which element is the author's true forte-the details of everyday life or the suspenseful courtroom dialogues. The plot has many twists and turns. Readers may suspect some of the answers, but surprises continue right until the last page. The opening chapters place readers in a subplot that provides background on different characters. The shift in the action is slightly confusing as these people are rarely mentioned again. However, Perry fans will not be disappointed, and newcomers will be entertained by a good mystery as they enter the world of Victorian high society.-Claudia Moore, W.T. Woodson High School, Fairfax, VA

School Library Journal

Anne Perry’s mysteries, set in Victorian England and featuring William Monk and Hester Latterly, are engrossing. In this one Monk is hired to discover the murderer of a nurse in a hospital, and the investigation involves all members of the staff, from the lowest skivvy to the most prominent surgeon. Anne Perry and Davina Porter seem made for each other. Porter reads in a manner that enhances the story and completely immerses the listener in the various characters, no matter what their sex or station in life. She captures the essence of each person’s voice as the novel moves from an arrest to a trial and a surprising conclusion. D.M.W. ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine

FEB 98 - AudioFile