A Sunless Sea

William Monk #18

by Anne Perry

Anne Perry’s spellbinding Victorian mysteries, especially those featuring William Monk, have enthralled readers for a generation. The Plain Dealer calls Monk “a marvelously dark, brooding creation”—and, true to form, this new Perry masterpiece is as deceptively deep and twisty as the Thames.
 
As commander of the River Police, Monk is accustomed to violent death, but the mutilated female body found on Limehouse Pier one chilly December morning moves him with horror and pity. The victim’s name is Zenia Gadney. Her waterfront neighbors can tell him little—only that the same unknown gentleman had visited her once a month for many years. She must be a prostitute, but—described as quiet and kempt—she doesn’t appear to be a fallen woman.
 
What sinister secrets could have made poor Zenia worth killing? And why does the government keep interfering in Monk’s investigation?
 
While the public cries out for blood, Monk, his spirited wife, Hester, and their brilliant barrister friend, Oliver Rathbone, search for answers. From dank waterfront alleys to London’s fabulously wealthy West End, the three trail an ice-blooded murderer toward the unbelievable, possibly unprovable truth—and ultimately engage their adversaries in an electric courtroom duel. But unless they can work a miracle, a monumental evil will go unpunished and an innocent person will hang.
 
Anne Perry has never worn her literary colors with greater distinction than in A Sunless Sea, a heart-pounding novel of intrigue and suspense in which Monk is driven to make the hardest decision of his life.

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery, Fiction, Historical, Victorian, British Literature

385 pages, Paperback

First published August 28, 2012

About the author

Anne Perry, born Juliet Hulme in England, lived in Scotland most of her life after serving five years in prison for murder (in New Zealand). A beloved mystery authoress, she is best known for her Thomas Pitt and William Monk series.

Her first novel, "The Cater Street Hangman", was published in 1979. Her works extend to several categories of genre fiction, including historical mysteries. Many of them feature recurring characters, most importantly Thomas Pitt and amnesiac private investigator William Monk, who first appeared in 1990, "The Face Of A Stranger".

Her story "Heroes," from the 1999 anthology Murder And Obsession, won the 2001 Edgar Award For Best Short Story. She was included as an entry in Ben Peek's Twenty-Six Lies / One Truth, a novel exploring the nature of truth in literature.

Series contributed to:
. Crime Through Time
. Perfectly Criminal
. Malice Domestic
. The World's Finest Mystery And Crime Stories
. Transgressions
. The Year's Finest Crime And Mystery Stories

Reviews

[Heidi (can’t retire soon enough) · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very well written mystery which is also a fascinating collision of fictional characters and true events.

The last third of the book made up for the rather dreary (i.e. boring) middle third. Not enough Hester and friends in action, hence the 3 star rating. (okay and the bad guys were obvious from the beginning— I really don’t like when that happens.)

Next I’ll be googling the Opium Wars— I had no idea how barbaric and greedy England, America and other countries were in relation to what really is the beginning of our current and endless war on opiates and addiction. Shameful.

(Reviewed 4/7/19)

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a real Anne Perry fan. I've read everything she's written, and I mean every single book, so when my local library put "A Sunless Sea" out on the shelf I grabbed it up and dived right in. With my familiarity of Perry's writing style, I quickly noticed that she's fallen into a bad habit - one that began to show in the two books previous to this one (Acceptable Loss and Dorchester Terrace). She now writes with endless stream of consciousness always ending in a question. There are so many mental questions in the plot that the question mark key on her computer must be worn. It wasn't until the last third of the book that the questioning by every character began to subside and the plot began to move. I love these characters and want them to be their quick-witted, interesting selves again. Perhaps Perry is just tired of writing this genre? Hopefully she, and her characters, will return to the "can't put it down" suspense she is known for. As for me, I will keep reading her anyway.

[Ricki · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found the title of this latest Anne Perry novel to be quite appropriate: it comes from Kublai Khan, a poem written by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who was a notorious opium eater and according to legend wrote this upon awakening from an opium dream. "In Xanadu did Kublai Khan A stately pleasure dome decree, Where Alph, the sacred river, ran Through caverns measureless to man, Down to a sunless sea."

I love the three main characters in this series, Monk, his wife Hester, and the barrister Oliver Rathbone. The marriage of Monk and Hester is a partnership in every sense of the word; the deep love they feel for each other is obvious, and, although it looks like they are destined to be childless, their foster son Scruff appears to complete their family. Oliver is dealing with being separated from his wife Margaret, even while realizing she is not really the wife he needed.

The book deals with opium trading and drug abuse, still a hot subject today. I don't like to give details in reviews as I think it takes away from a person reading the actual book and drawing their own opinion....but I will say that I think this is the best book in the series so far!

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was soooo looking forward to this book. "Dorchester Terrace" was great and I had high hopes for this one. I was not disappointed. I tried so hard not to race through it, to take it slowly, enjoy the building of the mystery and what Monk would do to solve it. To no avail. I blew through this book in two days and it was exhilarating. I had the right family but not the right person, but I don't care. "The Sunless Sea" was a joy to read if that is a word to use to describe the horrors of opium addiction, before it became a restricted drug and some of the lengths people would go to to keep it legal.
Sir Oliver was a much bigger presence in this one and his wrestling with his conscience makes him a much more interesting character. Will he go the way of his late father-in-law? Telling himself it is for the greater good? No personal gain, no blackmail for money or will he be able to resist the using the "information" he has? Very good thread to weave through future books. What of his estranged wife, Margaret? I was so happy for him to find love, or so he thought. Do things change in their situation?
The use of Runcorn in the last several books shows how great Monk's development has been. Experience and love have had a profound affect on him. The plot device of amnesia gives Perry a wide scope to maneuver with what Monk learns about his past and himself, and what he can create anew. Looking at Runcorn through more forgiving eyes lets us appeciate his abilities, especially working in conjunction with Monk. Their shared past can be another path to explore in the future as well.
Not much Hester or Scuff in the one, but it shows the depth of Perry's writing that she has so many well defined characters to pick and choose to feature in each novel, never missing a beat in the quality and integrity of the story.
Series writing of this quality is rare. Whether it is Hester and William or Thomas and Charlotte, characters, storylines, plot, each novel is better than the last. Even peripheral characters add to the story and each others lives. I wait with eager anticipation the next offering, from either one.

[We Are All Mad Here · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just when you think there can't possibly be another social issue for Anne Perry to attack, she reminds you that there is TRULY NO END TO THE PROBLEMS IN THE WORLD.

This installment felt a little extra-repetitive and drawn out; it seemed to me that we covered the same internal questions at least forty times each. "Could she have actually done it? Or might it have happened this way? Or maybe none of the above?" ad nauseum. All the same, I love these characters and cannot let them go.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read all of Anne Perry's books in the William Monk and Thomas Pitt series, and I always look forward to a new one. While I enjoyed The Sunless Sea, it seems to lack the intensity of other books in the series. Monk and Hester have become domesticated, leaving Hester with little to do but engage in a bit of snooping while Monk tries to solve the mystery of two deaths, one of them an extremely gruesome murder. Their good friend, the attorney Rathbone, is called upon to defend Dinah, the accused murderer, in a suspenseful trial, a plot element in all of the Monk books.

The major problem with the plot is the question of Dinah's innocence. If Monk thinks Dinah is innocent after he arrested her, why did he arrest her in the first place?

Another problem I noticed in this book is the repetition. Events happen, then are explained again and again. Emotions are aroused, then revisited. The book would be half as long if the unnecessary repetition was eliminated, but it might make for a better read. It might also add to the book's intensity. Monk has always been a dark character, but he seems to have tamed the obsessions that nagged at him so much. Hester, always a powerful character in her own right, now has almost disappeared from the plot. The addition of a child to the story leaves Hester to make toast, darn socks, and make tea. There's nothing wrong with that, but it takes away from her role as an equal partner.

Even so The Sunless Sea made for good nighttime reading. I'll be picking up the next book when I see it on the shelves.

[Larraine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anne Perry is at her somewhat overwrought and melodramatic best in this latest William Monk novel. Perry is one of those writers that tends toward the romantic in her writing. By that I mean, she tends toward melodrama. However, her books are rescued by their intricate plots and excellent historic detail. In this novel, Monk has arrested a woman for the murder of her husband, but really doesn't believe that she is guilty. She requests that Sir Oliver Rathbone, a renowned attorney, be enlisted to defend her. Soon Monk finds himself involved in the search to prove her innocence. This is 1864 England and, apparently, it doesn't take much in the way of evidence to arrest a person. Today we would call it hearsay, although we have people in our own prisons who have been found guilty based on similar evidence. The background is opium addiction and the famous Opium Wars, a period that I knew nothing about. I didn't know, for instance, that Britain smuggled opium into China against the wishes of its government, that when China tried to retaliate it blockaded its ports and, as a result, got ownership of Hong Kong. I also didn't know that both the United States and France also played a part in these wars. I certainly explains a lot about modern China. This was an interesting book. Now Ms. Perry has me thinking about the Opium Wars! To me that's the sign of a good author.

[Jamie Collins · Rating 2 out of 5]

Victorian murder mystery, the newest in the Monk series - I’ve caught up with them now. The book’s theme is the unregulated sale of opium in London: it can be bought cheaply over the counter, but there is no standard for labeling or dosages, so it’s easy to accidentally overdose, especially children.

I continue to enjoy these characters, but this was not a particularly good mystery, and the book is padded with excessive repetition. Monk ponders the facts and repercussions of the case, then Hester ponders them, then Rathbone ponders them, then they all get together and discuss them. The author has always been a little prone to this, but this is the worst I’ve seen yet.

[Andrea Cox · Rating 2 out of 5]

The reason I chose this book was it fit perfectly for a challenge category I was struggling to find a book for. The cover and back-cover copy looked and sounded intriguing, so I thought I would enjoy this story, and I’d heard from a few friends that Anne Perry books were pretty clean overall.

I wouldn’t call this book “clean.” There was a lot of swearing, including using the Lord’s name in vain many times. There were references to pornographic pictures, though this was not a heavy focus within the story. One main theme was that it was “acceptable” for a married man to cast off his wife to live with a mistress and raise illegitimate children and create the family of his dreams with someone other than his wife. This is wrong on so many levels, and I cannot agree with it in any fashion.

All that being said, there were things I really enjoyed about this story. The mystery was the number one thing. I was intrigued by the mystery murder and had fun trying to figure everything out before the river police could sort it all out. I didn’t not see the ending coming, so that was a perk. Good twists are hard to come by in an overly saturated book market, so I was happy to see there were some surprises involved in this one that I could not figure out very early on.

The characters were interesting and well developed. The dialects used for the lower-class characters made for some slower reading as I had to “interpret” what they were saying as I was reading their dialogue. Less is more, I think, when it comes to choppiness of dialogue to get dialect across. I liked the variety of characters, from the river policeman and his wife to the judge and opposing counsel to the charity workers and shopkeepers, among others. Upper, middle, and lower classes were all well represented, which made for quite a diverse cast, which helped keep me entertained.

This book was a slower read for me. Some of that was the dialect, as I already mentioned. The larger reason why it was slow, now that I’ve had time to think about various factors, was because a lot of the chapters simply repeated information I’d already learned prior to those moments. Probably a third of the book could have been omitted without greatly affecting the mystery thread (core part of the story). Repetition is a story killer, and I felt like this book definitely fell into that category for me.

The mystery surrounding the murder was enough to keep me reading. It was unique enough that I wanted to find out who the culprit was more than I wanted to quit on the book because of the slowness factor and bad language.

Content: expletives, profanity, mentions of pornographic pictures (including child abuse), gory details of injury, alcohol, substance abuse, drugs, prostitutes, suicide, marital affairs

[Shirley Schwartz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I never cease to be amazed at Ms. Perry's writing, and each new book in either of her Victorian series, or in other books that she writes leaves me somewhat in awe. Not hard to see why she is my favourite author! I love the William Monk series, and this book is by far the best Monk novel I've ever read. And that is saying something because I absolutely love this series the most. In this book Monk and his Hester are again helping their friend Sir Oliver Rathbone who is trying to find justice for a woman whom he knows has been set up for a horrendous crime. With powerful people on every side, Oliver feels like he's fighting a losing battle and he relies on his friends Hester and William to help him see his way through. Monk in turn is stymied by this terrible murder (a middle-aged woman, hit on the head and eviscerated and left on the pier to be found). He engages the help of his one-time co-worker and a man who was his sworn enemy for many years. They both put the past behind them and work together to try to correct a deep wrong. Ms. Perry's writing is lyrical and at the same time spare which depicts her era (Victorian England) like no one else out there. She is brilliant, and her mysteries are never easy to figure out either. As a true fan, I just know that when I pick up one of her books, I am going to be transported to Ms. Perry's world, and I'm going to spend some quality time with some of my favourite fictional characters. I am grateful that Ms. Perry is a prolific writer because I know there will be another Anne Perry for me to read in few months.

[The Library Lady · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Sunless Sea" is a quote from Coleridge and refers to opium addiction, and this volume of the Monk series concerns a grisly murder, attempts to regulate the sale of opium (at the time available everywhere and no requirements in terms of labeling medicines containing it with lists of actual contents or safe dosages), the use of hypodermic needles, and the horrors of opium addiction. Meanwhile Oliver Rathbone is dealing with his shattered marriage, and his horrific legacy from his father-in-law brings him to make a decision that may cost him dearly.On the brighter side, Monk discovers happy news about his old enemy/friend Runcorn, and William,Hester and Scuff celebrate Christmas, with some very moving moments between Hester and Scuff. Compelling reading in a compelling series.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anne Perry's books about William Monk always have a moral theme, and with A Sunless Sea, the Commander takes on the opium trade. Early one morning, when on routine business, Monk discovers the horribly mutilated body of a middle aged woman, lying in the open on Limehouse Pier. As his investigation commences, the victim appears to be a prostitute with a single client, who stopped visiting her about two months before her death. With considerable difficulty, Monk tracks him down, only to find that he too is dead, apparently from suicide. The authorities providing him with the details strike him as suspiciously evasive, persuading Monk that all is not what it seems. This man was a well regarded researcher who was trying to convince Parliament to regulate the labeling, dosages, and sale of heroin. A few days after his report was publicly debunked, he killed himself in humiliation, according to the inquest results. But the doctor's widow, Dinah, immersed in grief, adamantly refuses to believe that he'd do such a thing. Soon she finds herself arrested for the prostitute's murder. But Monk's instincts tell him that something's not right, and as he delves ever deeper, he finds himself embroiled in a governmental cover up of astounding proportions.

Although it drags in places, particularly at the start, once the pace picks up the plot becomes compelling. It seems certain that Dinah will be convicted and executed. As always, Monk's success depends upon the help he is given by his wife and close associates, and as they team up to ferret out the facts, the reader is taken into dark scenes and settings that illustrate well Opium Wars and the development of the opium addiction that continues to plague society to this day. The courtroom scenes are equally effective, and culminate in the need of the defense counsel to make a gut wrenching moral choice of his own. No traditional happy endings, here, but this is a book that drives its point home.

[Tammie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars. It was painful to watch Rathbone go through what he went through in this one. He deserves so much better. It seems obvious to me that even if he loved Margaret he still, in a way loves Hester. He compares every woman to her. This being set in Victorian times and divorce very difficult to obtain, this leaves Rathbone with an estranged wife and I’m very sad about that. If he ever somehow gets out of this marriage with Margaret I hope the next woman he meets totally knocks him off his feet and makes him forget about Margaret and Hester completely. And I hope she and Hester are fast friends and have much in common. I did not enjoy this one as much as the two before it. It was easier to figure out and I thought Monk, Hester, and Rathbone were a little slow to not have figured out that Zenia was actually the man's wife.

[Bailey Marissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good. Much more emphasis on the nuances of morals.

[Audrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! That is one powerful book! I hung unto every word as the story gripped me. A woman is found brutally murdered and gutted. She is assumed to be a prostitute. But was she really? Monk is determined to find out who committed this atrocious crime. The clues lead to the wife of a well-known doctor who apparently committed suicide two months earlier. Did he really? Monk's friend, Rathbone, is asked to be the accused's lawyer. As Monk and Rathbone dig deeper into the case they discover dark secrets that include the use of opium.

[Roger Stone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like driving a very fast car. You're in first gear for the first half of this complicated story then all of a sudden you're doing 150 to the closing page. Original plot with lots of accurate history and 1862 London locations. Main characters had lots of substance. Left me with questions about the basic premise - shall have to go to my library for the answers. Definitely want to read more of Ms. Perry's stories.

[Pamela Mclaren · Rating 3 out of 5]

A body is found on the Limehouse pier — a woman brutally murdered and her body mutilated. Commander William Monk of the River Police is there and soon involved in finding out who was the woman and why was she on the pier, did anybody see anything?

It soon becomes obvious that she is not a prostitute and there is no previous cases of a woman being mutilated like this. Slowly her name, Zenia Gadney, and some of her story comes to light. And with it, a connection to a man who died two months earlier. Is it coincidence or is there a link between the two deaths? And what is it?

The case and the suspect bring in barrister Oliver Rathbone, who is coming to grips with a previous case that cost him his wife. Nothing drives him anymore ... until this case.

This was a very strong, intense mystery where you felt as if you were actually one of the characters. As I was reading I was as much bound to the story and to what was happening as if I was living it. It was only after completing the book and "figuratively" wiping my brow from the heady finale, that I realized I still didn't quite know how they had come up with the solution.

Perry does an excellent job of developing story line and characters, but in this particular book I felt she took a leap to the conclusion. We were missing steps at how they finally focused in on the real criminals and while it was logical and there were some clues along the way, it felt odd that we didn't have those steps for that final action.

[Lori · Rating 5 out of 5]

Compelling, tragic and informative. An excellent installment of this terrific series. Rathbone, Monk, Hester and even Monk’s old nemesis Runcorn come together to solve a gruesome murder of a middle-aged unassuming woman that unearths a complicated and tragic chain of events that led up to it. Focusing on the opium trade at a time when it could be legally sold and purchased anywhere and the resulting horror of addiction that it leads to, this is a story that captivates the reader from start to finish and sheds a light on a dark time in Britain’s history. Thoroughly enjoyable and highly recommended.

[Simona F. 'Free Palestine, Stop Genocide' · Rating 4 out of 5]

Giallo vittoriano molto interessante sia dal punto di vista storico che per la trama in sè.
Si parla dell'inizio della tossicodipendenza "moderna", quella con le siringhe, per intenderci.
Si parla delle guerre dell'oppio.
E' il mio primo romanzo della serie del comandante Monk, quindi non so se sarà così anche nelle altre storie, ma qui il protagonista in realtà è un "team" investigativo molto affiatato e sui generis, piuttosto che il solo Monk. Particolarmente intensa è l'ultima parte del romanzo, ma devo rilevare che l'autrice si è ripetuta inutilmente e con troppa insistenza in alcuni punti relativi all'intervento inglese durante le guerre dell'oppio in Cina.

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

The courtroom scenes were way too many, too long and tedious. They were as exciting as one feels about getting a root canal except for the last several days of testimony and summing up. And what is happening to Monk? In earlier novels he exuberated sharp wit in solving his cases. Now he just seems to plod along with what seems to be the easiest solution until others raise questionable doubts. Pooh-pooh Anne Perry bring back a sharper witted Monk. Loved the new characters of Dr. Winfarthing and Agatha Nisbet. Hope they pop up again in future novels.

[Colin Mitchell · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not enjoy this one very much. There are a number of continuity issues, especially when the courtroom chapters are reached. Witnesses saying one thing in evidence then telling a different story which is taken as fact,

As usual, Monk rushes into an arrest with the slimmest of circumstantial evidence, then spends the rest of the book trying to find the evidence to reach a not guilty verdict. All-round this story is so like other novels in the series to take away the enjoyment.

Characters are in a rut and the story format to similar. Did not do much for me. 2 stars only.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

The challenge of pain management and the use of opium is a theme that resonates today. This is a William Monk novel but Sir Oliver Rathbone has the larger role and complex moral dilemmas.
Sometimes Anne Perry’s long discussions about what a character is thinking can get tedious and this does in places. But the book overall is interesting and the ending satisfying.

[Karen McManus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting was the information about England's Opium Wars and their intentional selling of opium to the Chinese to get them addicted so England would have funds to purchase Chinese tea, silk, porcelain. Also, the call for labeling medications - to list how much opium was in the medicine and what were appropriate dosages for children, adults, etc - reminds me of what we are still having to work for, especially for unregulated OTC meds/herbal remedies, etc

[Toby · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very slow-paced, very legal type of mystery - the majority of this one occurred in the courtroom so be prepared for that should you pick it up! Very twisty and worth the read, though. That ending!!

[Carol Schaal · Rating 2 out of 5]

I always enjoy Anne Perry's Monk series, but this one didn't grab me. Too much repetition of the opium information. Still, I'm glad I read it, as it offers more information on the series characters, particularly Oliver Rathbone. It's like visiting old friends.

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

J'ai adoré ce tome. J'ai changé sans cesse de suspect tout au long de la lecture!

[Helen Campbell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set in 1864, this novel concerns the rampant and uncontrolled use of opium in England at that time and the havoc and grief it caused. While Anne Perry exhibits an elegant writing style, appropriate for the time frame of the book, I found it dreary and repetitious.

[Gayle (OutsmartYourShelf) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Still working for the River Police, Monk is drawn into the case of a brutal killing which happens on the docks at Limehouse Pier. A woman has been killed and eviscerated, and it seems there may be a connection between this woman and the suicide of a respected scientist who was arguing for the regulation of the opium trade. Can Monk uncover the truth behind a deadly opium conspiracy?

I usually enjoy these books, but I found this one rather a slog to get through. As always, Perry aptly and vividly describes the living conditions and the challenges faced in Victorian London, but the plot was grindingly slow. The courtroom scenes with Sir Oliver Rathbone were drawn out and lackluster, and I pray his (soon-to-be-ex-hopefully) wife is completely out of the picture now. Overall, a disappointing book in the series.

[Gail Cooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

May as well admit my bias in the first sentence - I’m a huge fan of Anne Perry’s William Monk series. Perry is an agile word painter - so perfectly describing the sights and sounds of Victorian London from the dark Limehouse area to the posh West End that one feels transported to a different time and place.
As for her characters, they’re impeccably drawn from the brooding elegantly tailored William Monk who speaks precisely and stands “with both grace and confidence” to the residents of the waterfront with their work weary faces and humble clothing.

The give and take between Monk and his feisty, loving wife reveals so much about their endearing and enduring relationship. Perry includes the characters’ thoughts as they face each situation, which tells us a great deal and renders them fully fleshed human beings. With the 18th Monk tale we grow even fonder of all.

A Sunless Sea gives us an intimation of what is to come with the first page. Monk and his partner, Orme, are out on the river just as the sun is rising when “The peace of his satisfaction was shattered by a scream, which was piercing even above the creak of the oarlocks and the sound of the wash from a passing string of barges breaking on the shore.” They reach Limehouse Pier to find a hysterical woman standing by what appears to be a pile of rags but in reality is a dead woman gruesomely dismembered.

It takes some time but they identify her as Zenia Gadney who was evidently supported by a gentleman who recently stopped coming to see her. The man in question was found to be Dr. Joel Lambourn, a respected physician and researcher who had taken his own life by ingesting a large quantity of opium and slitting his wrists. There was no investigation into his death, which was immediately declared a suicide by government officials. This was the same government that had recently dismissed his report which advocated the accurate labeling of opium products.

What possible connection could there be between these two deaths? It soon becomes obvious to Monk that a key to answering that question may be found in the doctor’s report, but how to see it? As he eventually joins forces with his barrister friend Oliver Rathbone to solve this mystery readers are treated to a fascinating account of what at that time was a vital issue as well as a refresher course on the effects of the Opium War.

For this reader A Sunless Sea is Perry’s best to date, and that’s saying quite a bit!

- Gail Cooke

[Laura Edwards · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hate to nitpick, but right away in the first paragraph Anne Perry fudges the timeline yet again. If it is November 1864, Monk has been head of the River Police for one year, not the two as claimed.

The story starts out a little slow. And, at times, Monk does not seem like such a great detective since he has a negligible tendency to arrest the wrong person initially. I don't know why it took them so long to suspect the correct people. They were obvious from the beginning. When Monk, Hester, Rathbone and Runcorn were sitting around the table and trying to come up with possibilities late into the story, I wanted to shake some sense into them.

I can't believe Rathbone even considered keeping the pictures. Destroy them and end the possibility of blackmail and abuse of power, once and for all! I really hate, too, that such a distressing topic as child pornography and rape is going to continually turn up in this series. By using the pictures to clear Dinah, Rathbone has acted unethically and compromised his integrity. The only saving grace was he did not demand a not guilty verdict, only a chance for a fair trial which the judge seemed hellbent on preventing. I had predicted I would not like this new twist to the series and I was right. The Monk books will now be more about conspiracies than crime.

I think Rathbone and Margaret's breakup could have been handled in a more realistic fashion without suddenly making Margaret so nasty. And no offense to Rathbone, but her jealousy of Hester is understandable. He was always pining for Hester, even after marrying Margaret.

A lot of rehashing of the same facts, which made the read tedious at times. And good history and moral lesson about opium use and the Opium Wars was presented in too preachy a style.

A couple of positive points. Nice to see Monk working with Runcorn again. I like the camaraderie which has developed between them.

The courtroom scenes for the defense were quite riveting and helped bump up the rating a star.

Plenty of unusual names in this one. I could barely write them down fast enough! Amity. Sinden. Barclay. Sorley. Alvar.