An Echo of Murder: A William Monk Novel

William Monk #23

by Anne Perry

A string of gruesome, ritualistic murders of Hungarian immigrants has the Thames River police commander stuck on solving the pattern in the latest installment of the New York Times best-selling William Monk series.

When a Hungarian immigrant is dismembered near London's River Thames, Commander Monk is called to the eerie scene, where 16 candles surround the corpse. As identical murders pop up around the city, Monk confronts the unsettling options: could it be the work of a secret society? A serial madman? Or is a xenophobic Brit targeting foreigners?

A local doctor who speaks Hungarian from his days on the battlefield may be able to help, but his own struggles with post-traumatic stress have left his memory in shambles: could he have committed the crimes without remembering?

Fighting both local prejudice and the weight of the past, Monk and his wife Hester - herself a battlefield nurse familiar with horror - are in a race to find the killer and stop the echo of these repeated murders for good.

©2017 Anne Perry (P)2017 Recorded Books

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

301 pages, Paperback

First published September 19, 2017

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

[Beata · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been a fan of the William Monk series for a long time owing good mysteries and great historical background behind it. Anne Perry with her latest novel can still keep a reader's interest although there are some longish passages which could well be ommitted without any serious consequences for the plot. I guess she prepares her readers for next instalments :)

[Maureen Carden · Rating 4 out of 5]

With some authors I say I grew up reading, other authors I say I grew old reading. Anne Perry is one of the latter since I have been reading her for more than 25 years. Proof positive that she writes some outstanding mysteries.
The twenty third outing of Commander William Monk and his wife Hester is no exception.
A man is horribly murdered in the Hungarian community of London. To add to the horror, there are aspects of ritualism to this murder and to the three that quickly follow. This book takes place years before Jack the Ripper and the idea of serial killers was almost unknown to the police.
The Monks' ward, Scuff-now to be known as Will-is studying to be a doctor at the side of another doctor, Crow. Another doctor, Fitz Fitzherbert, conversant in Hungarian is brought in to translate in a difficult case for Crow. Scuff quickly discovers Fitzherbert was someone quite close to Hester Monk from her days as a battlefield nurse in the Crimea.
Dr. Fitzherbert is suffering from severe PTSD and due to memory loss is eventually arrested by Monk. Monk arrests him to save his life because he became a target of the terrified Hungarian community and was barely able to escape a maddened crowd.
Once again Perry addresses several themes that translate from 1870, the fear of 'the other', from both sides. After the murders, the Hungarians become terrified of the British, in the meantime the British openly express their fear of losing jobs and culture to the small community of Hungarians.
Perry also writes most movingly about the horrors of war and with anger of the bungling of those who wage war. She also writes in this book of the aftermath, suffered both by Hester Monk, and to a greater degree, by Dr. Fitzherbert.
Perry astounds with her horrifying description how conditions such as lockjaw and amputation are addressed back in the days of little in the way of pain relief.
Perry does a good job writing about the background of Monk and Hester, but I don't think she does a very good job explaining why there is such a rift between Hester and her brother.
Also when it comes down to it, I wasn't impressed with the motive for the the killings.
As always Perry writes moving stories with characters who fascinate. Her settings star, she does not pretty up Victorian England and Perry shows it in it's massive ugliness, poverty and despair.
I think of Perry as the doyenne of Victorian historical mysteries, she sets and keeps the bar high.
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

[Barb in Maryland · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay, who replaced the real Anne Perry with this imposter? Or maybe it was the editor who was replaced! Anyway you look at it, this was awful in terms of the writing--so much repetition!! The phrases, the situations, the places--over and over and over again!! Enough already!
I ended up skimming because I really wanted to know the who and why of the crimes. Also buried in there was an incredibly moving story involving a talented, caring doctor with PTSD (Crimean War, American Civil War background).
The mystery was tricky, the commentary on the immigrant experience was sadly familiar, the resolution satisfactory. Too bad that the writing wasn't up to par. It could have been so much better.

[Sophia · Rating 5 out of 5]

An Anne Perry mystery always feels like a deep submersion into history and a delving into the darkest corners of humanity while using her circle of heroes to show there can be hope and justice as well. An Echo of Murder the #23 entry in the William Monk series is no exception.

From the beginning, there was no doubt this was going to be brutal and emotionally tense. Was the vicious killing of a Hungarian business owner in his office a hate crime? Was it personal? Was it a lunatic? Monk and his River Police have the job of discovering the answers- and quickly, as it happens again.

While Monk is chasing down leads attempting to bring a killer to justice, Hester and Scuff encounter a man seemingly back from the dead for Hester. Hester thought she left a good army surgeon and great friend back on the battlefield of the Crimean War dead, yet here he is suffering acute PTSD (though, Perry, accurately did not label it b/c of the Victorian time period). Fitz is a shell of who he once was, but Hester is determine to get him help.

In the end, brilliant and wily barrister, Sir Oliver Rathbone, joins Monk and Hester to defend an innocent man of a heinous series of murders.

As usual, I was quite engaged with all the elements surrounding the murder case. The author tackles two main social issues of the day (which are still relevant now, actually)- the hatred of people ethnically and religiously different from one's own and also the lack of treatment or understanding for those come back broken by war. Alongside these issues, the story gives Scuff (now 18 yrs and desirous of being called Will) a much larger role as he is nearly a man and is studying medicine, but also still feeling vulnerable that he will lose all the good things he has since Monk and Hester adopted him.

And yes!!! Finally get to see what comes of a Latterly family reunion. Those who read The Christmas Escape and have followed along with the series knowing Hester's background will really appreciate this inclusion.

But, I also want to address the mystery and the riveting courtroom drama finale. I figured out the killer early, but I didn't know the motive and it remained pretty obscure for some time. I have to say that it moved at a gentle pace until the court case began and then I was riveted and couldn't pry myself away from the book.

The mystery is broken up by switching back and forth with Hester and Scuff's storylines crossing Monk's investigation. I don't bring that up as a criticism, but just to give readers a heads-up that in this book, the mystery is only one of the plot threads instead of the main one.

All in all, this was a strong and engaging entry in the series. It has standalone ability, but the reader would draw so much more from it by getting the series in order. Historical Mystery fans are the target audience for this series and I shamelessly push it at you.

I rec'd this book from Net Galley in exchange of an honest review.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read Anne Perry for more than 20 years. I like the William Monk series although the Thomas Pitt one is my favorite. This is the 23rd book in the series about the Thames River Police Commander and his wife, Hester, a former Crimean War nurse and Florence Nightingale protege. They have taken in a young homeless boy, Scuff, who is now studying medicine and working at a medical clinic.

A Hungarian is found brutally murdered and Monk is called in as the body was found in a building by the River. He immediately gets help from the young pharmacist, Dobokai, who discovered the body to do translations in the Hungarian community. Apparently Hungarians are viewed with suspicion and dislike as foreigners who are there to take people's jobs. Sound familiar? I guess there is always someone to dislike and hate. Then there are more murders done in the same horrific manner and the police believe it's the same killer.

Hester meanwhile is helping out at the clinic where Scuff works and there is an arm amputation and a man with a horrible tetanus infection. The treatment seems barbaric until you learned that medical knowledge has gotten better with things learned in the Civil War. And just when you think nothing good comes out of war, you learn it improves medicine. Hester also has reunions with a doctor who worked with her in the Crimean War and her estranged brother.

The plot is rather weak and stuffed with scene after scene of battlefields in the Crimean War. It was an overkill. The motive for the murders turns out to be slightly improbable. It was not my favorite entry in the series.

Thanks to Net Galley for a preview of this book in exchange for a fair review.

[Betty · Rating 5 out of 5]

My thanks to Overdrive and Meridian Library for my copy. Anne Perry did not disappoint in the 23rd book on the William Monk series, it as good as all her books. The book covers family secrets, the horror of war, mob violence and deceit of an individual.
Monk's current case is the vicious death of Hungarian living in London. Scuff is learning to be a doctor and he meets an army surgeon, Fritz who is living in the area. Fritz is an old friend of Hester. She believed that he died in the war. She had found a body as we're saving the living. This surgeon has blackouts with memories of the Crimean battlefields. As more similar deaths occur in the Hungarian community tensions escalate as Monk does not make an arrest. Fritz is found on the streets covered in blood and the Hungarians are convinced he is the killer. Mob violence takes over and Monk is forced to arrest Fritz for the murder. Hester is determined to save him from the gallows. Will she succeed? I HIGHLY recommend this book and series.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was pretty slow moving, and Monk seemed less than his usually shrewd self in this one. He mysteriously fails to follow up on several things, including a suspect, between the killings. As usual the endless internal speculations and self-examinations, and mental tug-a-wars of all the main characters bogged this one down, and all the inner anguish didn’t accomplish or even change anything, it just added pages that would have been better with actual spoken words. It’s just Perry’s style, I guess, and obviously she isn’t interested in more dialogue and less thought-speak. As usual, the setting details, the supporting characters, and the intriguing plot were enough to get me through my exasperation—at least up to the typical abrupt ending which in every damn book leaves me feeling the story is unfinished. Oh, the murder is always solved, (if I remember correctly—I finished this week’s ago) Monk wasn’t even the one who eventually figured it out. But we never get to check in on the characters—most of whom are very charming and I’d like to know what happens with them—AFTER the climax which typically occurs in the last page or so. Oh, well...I keep reading them anyway.

[Cynthia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always look forward to a new Monk book because though I enjoy her other series, especially her Pitt books, the Monk books feel like they have more emotional depth. Maybe because they're darker than her other books because of Monk and Hester's back stories. Echo takes place among Hungarian immigrants which is relevant to today. Monk and his second in command, Hooper, are on the case but finding the culture and language barriers an issue. The Hungarians, perhaps rightly, fear the motives of the police. Of course some of the native Londoners are non too cooperative either.

Monk and Hester's adopted ward is growing up an featured in this book. Scuff or Will as he's chosen to be named is a doctor's apprentice working in the Hungarian section of town. He's been working with a new doctor who herespects greatly, someone who Hester also knows from their horror filled days in the Crimea. Perry is a writer I've learned to trust to provide an interesting book filled with emotional quandaries and interesting history.

Thank you to the publisher for poviding an E-copy.

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anne Perry is the queen of the 19th century historical crime novel. Anne Perry is the pseudonym under which Juliet Marion Hulme writes. This is book twenty-three of the William Monk series.

Monk is the Commander of the Thames River Police. His wife, Hester, is a nurse. She served with Florence Nightingale in the Crimean War. She now runs a free health clinic for the poor. Hester is my favorite character in the series. Scuff the homeless boy, now called Will, that they adopted is now studying medicine and helping Hester in the clinic.

This story takes place in 1870. Monk is racing against the tide of malice and ethnic bigotry as London’s growing Hungarian community is hit by a series of ritualistic murders. Monk is called to a warehouse where he finds a violent murder. With the help of a Hungarian pharmacist, Antal Dobokai, who helps translate for Monk, they hunt for the murderer. A friend of Hester’s, Fitz, a physician she served with in the Crimea, lives in the Hungarian community. He is accused of the killings and Hester sets out to prove him innocent.

The book is well written and meticulously researched. Perry provides a wealth of historical detail in her story. The topic of ethnic prejudice is a timely one for today’s world.

I read this as an audiobook downloaded from Audible. The book is twelve hours long. David Colacci does an excellent job narrating the book. Colacci is an actor and an award-winning audiobook narrator. Colacci has the ability to interpret, represent and bring to life each character in the story. He was trained in the classics and language and that comes through in his narration.

[eyes.2c · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absorbing!

As always a masterful rendition of murder inquiry, doubt, and the machinations of the human mind under stress. Once again Perry brings a reality check to murder most foul. Commander Monk of the Thames River Police is confronted by a murder unlike any he's seen before. A Hungarian man has been killed in what appears to be some sort of ritualistic endeavour. The body is surrounded by seventeen candles, two of them a dark, purplish-blue color.
As more killings occur fear spreads throughout the Hungarian community. Are these sacrificial murders, a secret society run amok, evidence of extreme ethnic prejudice, or the product of a deranged mind? Is the perpetrator English or Hungarian? The community wants answers and a scapegoat is needed.
The person of possibility turns out to be a friend of Hester's, part of her painful past in the Crimea. A man she knows must be innocent and yet the horrors of the war are all too near to lie peacefully. Is her friend unhinged or innocent?
The struggles for Hester and her friend are laid bare. Struggles Scruff has some idea of although his experiences have been different.
Scruff is coming into his own as he practices medicine under the tutelage of Crow. We see him emerge as a young man more confident his own abilities. It's a pleasure to watch his growth.
There are more questions than answers for Monk and Hooper and many theories to entertain.

A NetGalley ARC

[LJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

First Sentence: “It’s A bad one, sir.”
Comm. William Monk is called to gruesome murder scene of a Hungarian warehouse owner who has been impaled with a bayonet-fixed rifle, his body surrounded by blood-dipped candles. To assist him work with the Hungarian émigrés, Monk turns to a local bi-lingual pharmacist. Young Scuff, an orphan taken in by the Monk’s, is studying to be a doctor. A patient, who is English but knows Hungarian, comes in who knew Hester during the Crimea War. With more bodies found, fear and accusations grow.
Perry always creates a strong sense of place—“…the Pool of London was already busy. Huge cranes lifted loads of bales from ships’ holds and swung them ponderously over to the docks. The water was congested with boats at anchor, waiting their turn; barges loading; ferries going back and forth from one side of the river to the other.”
While it may seem shocking to us now, one much remember that our opioids of today were the morphine and laudanum of the period and were commonly used. What is hard is to read about some of the medical procedures of the time. On the other hand, it is nice to be reminded of the tremendous contribution Florence Nightingale made to medicine.
Perry excels at taking current issues and reminding us that plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose (the more things change, the more they stay the same). In this instance, the issue is bigotry and the fear of those who are different from ourselves—“Some animals will kick to death the ones that are different,” he said very quietly. “a different color, a lightly different shape. Slower, perhaps. There is something primal in us that fears anything unlike. … I would like to think we are better than the animals, but perhaps some of us are not.”—and the tendency for those who’ve come from somewhere else to establish communities—“There was a natural closeness they felt to those who shared their roots and memories and, above all, who understood the complicated nature of a hope for a new life in a new country.”
A secondary element to the story is PTSD, although it wasn’t known as that at the time. Perry doesn’t deal with it in an abstract way, but delves into what those who suffer are subjected to such as flash-backs and nightmares.
With all the drama of the killings and the medical issues, there is a lovely balance of the relationships; Monk’s with his second, Hooper—“Monk had seen it in extraordinary loyalty. When everyone else had considered Monk guilty of error, and worse, Hooper had risked his own life to save him, not to mention his career to defend him.”; the Monk’s with Scruff, and certainly Monk with Hester—“The only thing Monk could think about was hot, fresh tea. Hester had no need to ask. “Cold beef and bubble and squeak for dinner?” she asked. “And I’ve got apple pie.” It was exactly what he wanted, especially the pie.”
It is the strength of the characters that brings everything together, and there is a very strong cast. Many of the characters are recurring and well known to those who follow the series. However, it is also very nice that she brought two wonderful characters from a recent Christmas novella forward into this book.
“An Echo of Murder” is a very well done story that addresses important issues, is filled with strong characters, fascinating details, and a good twist at the end.

AN ECHO OF MURDER (Hist Mys-Thomas/Hester Monk-London-Victorian) – VG+
Perry, Anne – 23rd in series
Ballantine Books-Sept 2017

[Mal Warwick · Rating 3 out of 5]

English novelist Anne Perry writes historical crime fiction. In abundance. Thirty-two books to date in the Thomas Pitt series, set in England in the period beginning in 1881. Five in a World War I series. And twenty-three in a series of novels featuring William Monk, who serves as Commander of the Thames River Police in London in the years following the American Civil War. An Echo of Murder is the latest entry in that series.

It's 1870 now. As the novel opens, we find Commander Monk and his wife, Hester, living in comfortable surroundings on Paradise Street south of the Thames. A young man of about eighteen known as Scuff lives with them. Hester, who served as a nurse with Florence Nightingale in the Crimean War (1853-56), has founded a medical clinic across the river. Her experiences in the war figure in a major way in the story that unfolds.

An Echo of Murder begins with the savage killing of a Hungarian émigré in what appears to be a ritual murder. Investigating the crime, and others that follow, leads Monk, his sidekick, Hooper, Scuff, and eventually his wife Hester into a deep dive into the Hungarian immigrant community. But Monk's investigation turns up virtually no clues until close to the very end of the book, and the story veers off into detailed accounts of Hester's experience in the Crimea and Scuff's training as a doctor in a clinic that caters to the Hungarian community. Taking center stage well into the story is Heather's friend Fitz, who served with her as an army surgeon in the war; we learn far too much about his experiences there, too. Perry can't sustain the suspense amid all those digressions. And, unfortunately, she seems never to have met a point she can't belabor. I found the book slow going, not to mention often tedious.

Anne Perry, born Juliet Marion Hulme, served five years for the murder of her best friend's mother at the age of fifteen. She later changed her name.

[Dick Reynolds · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s 1870 in London and the populace is becoming more and more agitated as time goes on.  A Hungarian man has been found murdered in a most horrible way:  a bayonet impaled in his chest, fingers broken on both hands, a ring of seventeen candles burning brightly, and a statue of the Virgin Mary covered in blood.
Commander William Monk of the Thames River Police is in charge of the case and quickly enlists the help of another Hungarian fellow to help with translation during interviews with other residents who are also from Hungary.  Monk also recruits the help of a doctor, Herbert “Fitz” Fitzherbert, with the medical aspects of the murder.  Fitz had lived in Hungary at one time and was able to speak the language fairly well.
Before much time elapses, a second Hungarian is found murdered with all the identical clues ascribed to the first murder.  Monk suspects these ritual killings are somehow related.  The reader will soon conclude that it wasn’t such a good time for Hungarians to live in London.
Fitz had served in the Crimea at one time as a battlefield surgeon.  By a stroke of coincidence, Monk’s wife Hester also served in the Crimea as a battlefield nurse and was fairly well acquainted with Fitz.  (When I read this part I thought that Fitz and Hester might have had a relationship similar to the fictional characters Dr. Yuri Zhivago and Larissa Antipov.)
There is a lot of medical activity concerned with saving lives of those severely wounded by a bayonet, knife, or some other device, and it’s gory at times.  Dr. Fitz has problems at times trying to recall where he was at certain times and what he’d been doing.  He’s even considered a suspect for the murders but his close friends think it’s not true.
The plot moves steadily ahead with a lot of excitement coming at the end in a surprise that I didn’t expect when the actual murderer’s identity is revealed.  I felt the way in which the murder was unmasked was a bit contrived but, in light of the era in which the plot was set, it was about the best the police could do.  
The book’s beginning might be difficult for some readers do get through but persistence will be rewarded when the last page is turned.

[Monique S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am writing this review still calming my emotions after the incroyable finale.

Encore Mme Bertrand nous a livré un livre de Anne Perry en une traduction plus que fascinante. Moi je parle le Français couramment et je suis bilingue avec mon Allemand natal et l'Anglais Brittonique, donc normalement je préférerais lire l'original.

With this series, though, I read the first book in French and was more than just surprised by the fact, that a week after my lecture I could not tell, whether I had read the book in French or English. The atmosphere was so clear in my mind, everything so English ...

In this case the uncommonly high quality of the writing was met by an equal ability to translate and I really enjoyed reading the complete series up to this volume in French. The plot is - if anything - even more complex than the rest of the series and we touch upon the horrors our female heroine, the nurse Hester Latterly, the now wife of William Monk, has experienced during her time with Florence Nightingale in the Crimean war.

Tennyson's "The Charge of the Light Brigade" doesn't quite describe the horrors those few courageous young women, the orderlies, doctors and soldiers had to face and live with the experience. Anne Perry gives us a glimpse here and it is nothing for the faint hearted. But ... it is an excellent book and and well worth the tears you will not be able to repress in certain scenes.

Like all her books in the series our heroes and heroine come out victorious, the expectation of that fact helped me through some of those scenes. Five stars certainly are not enough for this book and its Traductrice!

[Barbara Rogers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Series: William Monk #23
Publication Date: 9/19/17

William Monk just keeps on getting better. In many series that have run this long, the stories become repetitive and predictable, but not so with this series. Each new book is exciting and interesting and you never know where it will lead because it is always filled with twists and turns that will keep you guessing right up until the end.

Monk is called out early in the morning to a warehouse near the river. The crime is a grisly murder that has some resemblance to it being ritualistic. The victim is an immigrant from Hungary who was well respected and well liked within his community. Who would want to kill him?

After a week or more of investigation there are no leads and Monk is worn totally out. Then, another early morning call and yet another grisly murder – of a well-liked Hungarian immigrant. Then, they just keep coming – all respectable, well liked men of the Hungarian immigrant community. Is it somebody with a vendetta against Hungarians? Immigrants? Or are they just random. Monk is sure they are all the work of the same killer because they are all identical.

Hester, Monk’s wife, gets involved because of a very old friend that she thought had died 16 years earlier. Is that old friend the madman killing Hungarians? Surely not – he’s a sweet gentle man. Hester and Monk’s ward (for lack of a better word) also becomes involved in the case because he has befriended and come to admire Fitz, Hester’s old friend.

Did Fitz commit the murders? If not, who did and can they prove any of it? You’ll just have to read it to see because I don’t want to tell too much and spoil the story for you.

I’m already looking forward to Monk #24.

"I requested and received this e-book at no cost to me and volunteered to read it; my review is my honest opinion and given without any influence by the author or publisher."

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anne Perry begins An Echo of Murder slowly with Commander William Monk completely at a loss to discover who had committed a horrendous murder in the Hungarian community near the docks on the Thames. One can feel the hours and days drag on with hopelessness and helplessness as Monk and his co-worker Hooper meticulously investigate and interview members of the Hungarian and English community with the help of interpreters familiar with both English and Hungarian. They are able to eliminate potential suspects but unable to find evidence pointing to a murder. And then the pace of action gains speed as a second, third and fourth murder occur - horrible, increasingly gruesome photographic replicas of the first murder. The Hungarian community is up in arms and blame the police for not protecting them.

Fitz, a doctor who worked with Monk's wife Hester who was a nurse on the battlefield of the Crimean War, was introduced in this installment of the William Monk series. Some of the most compelling parts of the book are descriptions of operations performed by Fitz, and Crow, doctor to the poor, and Hester and Monk's adopted son Scuff with methods and medications available in 1870 when the action takes place.

As she invariably does in this series, Anne Perry, keeps us guessing and holding our breath until the very last pages. Revisiting life in the 1870s is a welcome distraction from the crises facing us today in early 2019.

[Diane]

'Monk remembered Hester telling him that when women speak to each other of trivial things, that is merely a vehicle.What they are saying beneath the surface is about interest, trust and understanding.'

[Laura Edwards · Rating 3 out of 5]

"An Echo of Murder" had highs and lows, hence the 3 star rating. It seems to me that Anne Perry's characters, especially those in the Monk series, tend to verge on hysteria. This trait coupled with a nauseating amount of repetition has me contemplating a break from the series, if not stopping altogether. Add to that I just don't like the character of Monk and the temptation to quit increases. Hester is the only character I still truly care about anymore and she will be the reason I read the next book, if I do. The impending sense of doom which permeates this series was never present with such intensity in the Pitt series (which I like much better, though the first half of the series is better than the second). And the Daniel Pitt series is encouraging thus far. I just hope it doesn't go off the rails at some point. The Monk series has never been as good, in my personal opinion.

Again, Ms. Perry makes careless mistakes regarding timeline, etc. with her characters. In book 23, Hester's elder brother Charles makes a reappearance. Here is a rundown of the discrepancies regarding Hester's brothers. In book 1, Hester's younger brother George died in the Crimea. In book 3, his name is changed to James. In books 15, 16 and 17 the living brother's name is James and the one who died is either George or Charles. In book 9, the living brother is Charles, I think. Or is it James? Is it any wonder I can't keep it straight since the author can't seem to. And it seemed very odd and unrealistic how easily Hester and Charles resume their relationship, talking to each other as if nine years hadn't passed, especially since their parting had been somewhat acrimonious. Why does Hester feel completely at fault for the break in her relationship with Charles? In previous books where he's appeared, he's never acted in a kind or friendly manner toward her. He is condescending, at best. In fact, in "Sins of the Wolf" when Hester was in prison for a crime she did not commit, he refused to even visit her and get her version of events. Of course, complete and unrealistic changes in character seem to be the norm with Anne Perry (Rathbone's ex-wife, Margaret, and Charles' late wife, Imogen, are only two examples).

Another error involves Monk's past. Not many people know about his memory loss, a fact which Anne Perry brings up. However, it is stated only Hester, Rathbone and Hooper know the truth. Um, I'm pretty sure Runcorn guessed at one point and Monk admitted the truth.

For all the times Monk pats himself on the book about being such a "brilliant" detective, he sure comes off as stupid with a great degree of regularity. Once we realize Haldane murdered Fodor, it's absurdly obvious who killed the other three men. Only one person beside Monk, Hooper and Hyde had intimate knowledge of the details of the original murder scene. Dobokai. Monk initially dismisses him as the killer because he has an alibi for Fodor's murder. Yet when realizing someone else killed the other three victims, it takes forever for Monk to realize having an alibi for the first murder doesn't absolve Dobokai of the other three. And, as always, Hester is really the one who thinks up the angle to solve the case. I tell you, if it weren't for Hester, Monk would have unsolved cases piled up on his desk, proving he's not as brilliant as he thinks. If not for Hester, this series would be a total wash.

I believe the main reason for the re-entrance of Charles into the story and his unbelievably quick reconciliation with Hester is the introduction of his ward, Candace. No doubt, she is going to be a love interest for Scuff/Will fairly soon. Is Perry going to end the Monk series eventually and start a new series featuring Scuff/Will, as she did with the Pitt series and their son Daniel? We'll see.

With previous books in this series, I've listed the unusual names Ms. Perry has unearthed. I'm skipping that this time around since all the unusual names are Hungarian and, thus, not necessarily unusual in Hungary. Not really any unusual English names to mention. Maybe next time.

[Paula · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was very good and I was enjoying it very much until the ending. The solution was so convenient and quick as to be completely unbelievable. And again Monk did not really have much to do with solving the crime. This is a little hard to swallow from his character as a "brilliant detective " book after book. Good thing I enjoy reading about the secondary characters in this series.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed most of it, but the ending was a disappointing rush to a very strange ending. It was a good look at how immigrants are feared simply because they exist in numbers that make people uncomfortable. No matter the time, the place, the language, the color, the religion or creed. Some always see them as "the other"and therefor a threat. How sad that is for humankind.

[Jessica Robbins · Rating 4 out of 5]

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[Pamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always enjoy Anne Perry, as an author. Capt. Monk is in charge of the River Police , in London . He is called to an extra gruesome murder, not far from the docks. The building is owned by an immigrant, but he is not new to the city. He, in fact supplies employment for new Hungarians needing jobs. Monk, and his second Hooper can not find a reason for anyone to have murdered this man in such a ritualistic way. The murders continue, and each the exact copy of the first down to the smallest detail. The only person fairly new to the area is a British doctor, who worked with Hester, Monks wife in the terrible war. He is burned out, yet he begins to help the Hungarian people, along with another doctor, and apprentice. Time is running out, and the new doctor has hallucinations, and nightmares of all those he could not save. The regular police want him arrested, since Monk has no other person he can accuse. I agree, with Monk one man seems very suspicious, but has an airtight alibi for the first murder, and had no grievance with him. Hester is terrified a fine surgeon who has given his all could be considered. Oliver is called in, but it looks bad. Hester, Oliver, Monk, and even scruff have very little time to solve these brutal murders. Are they simply hate crimes, or worse crimes of a doctor out of his reality, or a stranger no one has found yet. Together they work late nights, and full court days to learn everything, and solve the murders. It does have violence, child abuse( not witnessed), adultery resentment, bigotry, and PTSD at its worst. , The Book was wonderful, and it ‘s characters are full of life, and sadness too . I did guess the murderer, and that was a very sad situation. The four stars are for so much sadness, and people falling through the cracks of life. It had very little Hester and Monk time , or to just take a breath.

[Alisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy of this to review.
In this latest installment of Anne Perry's William Monk series, she continues to show her skill at world building. There's no doubt but that she knows the Victorian age, and her descriptions are fairly light-handed so that the reader doesn't feel like a history lesson is being shoe-horned into a story. The details that are there feel natural and necessary to create the setting.
This mystery centers on the Hungarian community in London, several members of which are being violently struck down. For much of the novel, Monk is stymied as to what the motivation could even be, let alone who the culprit is. Because the investigation stalls continually, when the denouement finally does come, it feels rather rushed.
Perry's main characters all have a habit of lengthy introspection, which sometimes breaks up the narrative and makes each and every moment seem a little too deliberate. One gets the sense that these people are unable to live life one day to the next, because each action carries with it a flood of memories. However, in this novel, it works a little better than in some of the others, because a new character is obviously suffering with PTSD.
One of the up-and-coming characters who is getting a bit more notice in this book is Scuff, a/k/a Will, the orphan boy adopted by William and Hester Monk. He's now grown to about age 18 and is studying medicine. His development and medical training are among the more interesting aspects of the novel.
Overall, I found this a pretty easy read, with prose that let me move along and not get bogged down. One of the better of Anne Perry's novels to date!

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Workmanlike entry in the William Monk Victorian mystery series. A man is bizarrely murdered among London's Hungarian community: in a warehouse stabbed with a bayonet, surrounded by 17 candles, 2 of them purple, all dipped in the man's blood and a religious figurine smashed. With the help of a bilingual Hungarian, Monk sets out doggedly to solve the crime. The novel portrays the theme of prejudice and bigotry between the English and a minority community. Monk is faced with 3 more identical murders of Hungarians. What is the common thread among them? Monk seeks to prove the innocence of an English doctor who had spent years in Hungary and is a veteran of the Crimean War, suffering PSTD. Dr. Fitzherbert had worked with his wife Hester, a nurse in that conflict. Is there only one culprit or are there more than one? [Hence "Echoes" in the title.] A courtroom scene and the doctor's knowledge of Hungarian lay bare whodunit and any motivations.

A linearly constructed mystery which could be read as a standalone although this is #23 in the series; much backstory was given, especially of the running characters. I felt the solution logical, but I wish the significance of every element of the gruesome deaths had been explained. I thought Monk's character was bland but I did like that he was not omnipotent.

Thanks to LibraryThing for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Debbie Maskus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anne Perry beautifully executes another William Monk story of social awareness and the changing times. In this tale, males in a small Hungarian community in England meet violent death as the blame for this serial killer runs the gamut to someone with a grievance against the Hungarians to doubt as to the actual killer and the motives. A doctor who served with Hester during the Crimea War appears and becomes the prime suspect. Monk races to find a maniacal killer as the unrest boils over in London. Into all this chaos, Scuff changes his name to Will, as he trains to be a doctor. Anne Perry uncovers the misconception and discovery in the field of medicine as the doctors attempt to save the poor. And of course, Oliver Rathbone leaps to the defense in the end of the novel. Hester’s old loves appear everywhere.

[We Are All Mad Here · Rating 4 out of 5]

I try to give Monk as many breaks as I can. Honestly. Well, he didn't have access to Google, I might think, or Criminal Justice probably wasn't even a degree back then. And still as he blunders around missing the most obvious clues and actually knowing the right answer and then immediately telling himself it can't possibly be, I sometimes get actually, literally angry at the stupidity.

Four stars for the author having found yet another twist on murder that we haven't seen in this series before, and for Scuff's developing story, and for the way it ended. And as always, for Hester.

[Shirley Schwartz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This 23rd William Monk book is masterfully writtten, and very compelling. The ending blew me away, even though I had figured out who actually was the murderer about 2/3 of the way through. Anne Perry's dialogue and character development are second to none. Not only that, but we find out some really wonderful nuggets of information about Hester's earlier life and about her family. Monk has been called into a particularly brutal murder in London's dock area and in an area where Hungarian immigrants live. The murder is particularly gruesome. And before they Monk and Hooper get very far, another identical murder takes place in the same area. They are trying to catch a particularly sadistic killer and put a stop to the senseless killings. Before the murderer is unmasked Monk, with the help of the intrepid Hester, have to plumb the depths of the murderer's mind and the unresolved past that drives him now, and while doing this, it brings up past unhappy memories for both of them. I loved the pace of the book, and as usual, loved the courtroom scene with Rathbone, but mostly I love Monk and Hester. They are two of the most complex fictional characters that I've encountered.

[Bertha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading an Anne Perry book is like revisiting an old friend. Her characters are so well developed and the story flows so easily. It doesn't matter if you've never read one of her books because Ms. Perry is so adapt at including updates for the new readers but she doesn't make it boring for those of us who have been fans for years.
An Echo of Murder is part of the William Monk series and it dept me guessing to the end. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a good mysteries.

[Kimberlee Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is more of a 3.5 for me. This is my first book by Anne Perry, and it was on the recommended shelf at the library, so even though i knew it was #23 in a series, i gave it a shot, and i wasn't disappointed. I didn't feel like i was too far behind, and i found all of the characters to be interesting and believable. I'll definitely check out some earlier books from the series and some from her others... It's nice to have a reliable "go-to."

[Sharla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Without sharing a lot of spoiler details, I'd say the motives did not seem strong enough in either case to warrant what was done. Beyond that this is another strong book in the William Monk series. The exploration of attitudes towards immigrants is particularly on target now. I was also glad to see Hester reunite with her estranged brother in this book. Relationships between the characters are so important to this series and always well done.