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William Monk #11
Slaves of Obsession
The Barnes & Noble Review
In Slaves of Obsession, Anne Perry thrusts her returning hero, William Monk, into the midst of the American Civil War. Monk is not choosing sides in this war based on the convictions of the Union or the Confederacy. Instead, he must put aside his principles to get to the bottom of a complex case involving gun smuggling, blackmail, and murder.
In Slaves of Obsession, Anne Perry thrusts her returning hero, William Monk, into the midst of the American Civil War. Monk is not choosing sides in this war based on the convictions of the Union or the Confederacy. Instead, he must put aside his principles to get to the bottom of a complex case involving gun smuggling, blackmail, and murder.
Slaves of Obsession begins with a dinner party at the home of Daniel and Judith Alberton. William Monk and his wife, Hester, meet not only the host and the hostess at this intimate gathering but also Judith's cousin Robert Casbolt, a Union sympathizer named Lyman Breeland, and the Alberton's 16-year-old daughter, Merritt. Although Breeland is quick to share his convictions, Daniel, Robert, and Judith remain more reticent on the topic of the war and try to change the subject. When an unexpected visitor named Philo Trace, a member of the Confederate army, arrives, their taciturnity regarding the Civil War becomes all too clear. Daniel and Robert deal in arms and have made a previous agreement with Trace to sell him guns for the Confederacy -- guns that Breeland desperately wants for his sacred Union.
Having to choose sides in the Civil War is the least of Alberton and Casbolt's problems, however. They soon turn to Monk for help as they are embroiled in a blackmail scheme in which an unknown person wants them to sell their valuable guns to pirates; if they fail to do so, an altruistic secret of theirs will be revealed in such a way that their reputations will be ruined.
Monk agrees to aid them, but before he can begin to help, everything spirals out of control: When William and Hester are awakened by a knock on their door, their lives become entangled with murder; a missing daughter whose passions are engaged not only by the war; a Civil War battlefield; and a London courtroom.
Anne Perry's Victorian mysteries have always been more than just simple whodunits, and Slaves of Obsession is no exception. At first glance, it seems as though the Civil War is at the center of the turmoil, but there's much more at the heart of this work in which love plays a more crucial role than money or war. Perry's superior sense of adventure and her peerless knowledge of the Victorian era enable her readers to enter her worlds so completely that they keep coming back for more.
--Jennifer Jarett
368 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 3, 2000
217 people are currently reading
1219 people want to read
About the author
Anne Perry
362 books3,375 followersAnne 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
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
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 222 reviews
November 26, 2015
AN EXCELLENT STORY WITH A DISAPPOINTING ENDING
I am a great fan of Anne Perry's Monk series. This book has all of the elements which I find attractive in her writing - the Victorian settings, the intelligent interchange between Monk and Hester, an interesting mystery to solve, a well-played trial.
However, there were two major flaws. First, there was a hint dropped early in the book that was obviously of importance which was completely ignored by all of the characters who are allegedly so perceptive. It was never again mentioned until very late in the story when it did become central to the plot.
Much worse was the wildly improbable, difficult to follow resolution of the "who-done-it." Surely there could have been a better way to end what was, until that point, an interesting story.
I am a great fan of Anne Perry's Monk series. This book has all of the elements which I find attractive in her writing - the Victorian settings, the intelligent interchange between Monk and Hester, an interesting mystery to solve, a well-played trial.
However, there were two major flaws. First, there was a hint dropped early in the book that was obviously of importance which was completely ignored by all of the characters who are allegedly so perceptive. It was never again mentioned until very late in the story when it did become central to the plot.
Much worse was the wildly improbable, difficult to follow resolution of the "who-done-it." Surely there could have been a better way to end what was, until that point, an interesting story.
February 13, 2012
This is a weird one. In the beginning, Monk has a client who's being blackmailed because he gave some money to a man who might have been a prostitute. Cool, I think, this is going to be a book about homosexuality and prostitution in Victorian London. But after Monk makes one boring(!) visit to a brothel the book abruptly changes course.
The American Civil War is starting up, and Monk's client is also an arms dealer who has agreed to sell weapons to the Confederate Army. A Union representative is trying to convince the dealer to sell to the Union instead. The dealer's young, abolitionist daughter makes histrionic appeals on the Union's behalf.
Murder ensues, and then Monk and Hester travel to America to retrieve the runaway daughter. The trip is rather obviously contrived to place Hester at the First Battle of Bull Run so she could relive her Crimean War nursing experiences. Then back to London they go, and there's a murder trial to bring the barrister Rathbone into the story, which returns to the series formula for a while.
Towards the end Monk goes diving in the Thames, looking for sunken evidence. He doesn't hire someone, he does it himself. I think Perry had done some research on scary Victorian-era diving suits and had been waiting for an excuse to use it.
It’s not a bad book, it’s just not one of the better ones in this series. I'm enjoying Monk and Hester together, though.
This is set in the summer of 1861 - I'm wondering if they'll be discussing the death of Prince Albert in the next book.
The American Civil War is starting up, and Monk's client is also an arms dealer who has agreed to sell weapons to the Confederate Army. A Union representative is trying to convince the dealer to sell to the Union instead. The dealer's young, abolitionist daughter makes histrionic appeals on the Union's behalf.
Murder ensues, and then Monk and Hester travel to America to retrieve the runaway daughter. The trip is rather obviously contrived to place Hester at the First Battle of Bull Run so she could relive her Crimean War nursing experiences. Then back to London they go, and there's a murder trial to bring the barrister Rathbone into the story, which returns to the series formula for a while.
Towards the end Monk goes diving in the Thames, looking for sunken evidence. He doesn't hire someone, he does it himself. I think Perry had done some research on scary Victorian-era diving suits and had been waiting for an excuse to use it.
It’s not a bad book, it’s just not one of the better ones in this series. I'm enjoying Monk and Hester together, though.
This is set in the summer of 1861 - I'm wondering if they'll be discussing the death of Prince Albert in the next book.
July 25, 2022
Es el primer libro que leo de esta autora y me ha decepcionado. El ritmo de la obra es bastante lento, yo me esperaba algo parecido a las obras de A. Christie, pero ni punto de comparación. Lo único interesante cuando describen un poco la batalla del run Bull de la guerra de secesión en América. El final no esta mal, aunque lo hacen en 2 paginas finales. 5/10
May 23, 2012
Slaves of Obsession is a frustrating book. Clearly a murder mystery (as are all in this series), the murderer proves to be the most likely suspect for me but not the villain I wanted it to be. To be sure, there is a certain poetic justice which occurs with regard to the one I consider a villain, but the actual mystery seems rather bourgeois when it is finally unveiled. Fortunately, there are extremely well-delineated action scenes and moments of suspense between the murder(s) and the final revelation, as well as some tense courtroom drama. In fact, if I was charged to write a television series based on one of these characters, I’d choose Sir Oliver Rathbone to become the lead character as opposed to the supporting character he plays in this series of novels.
One unique aspect of this novel is that it shows how British arms dealers were pulled into the American Civil War (War Between the States, War of Northern Aggression) in the context of Britain having followed William Wilberforce’s ideal of liberating the slaves. And, Ms. Perry uses a unique plot device to give the reader a musket’s eye view (as well as field hospital’s eye view) of the Battle of Bull Run. Those pages were positively mesmerizing—touching all of the senses mentally so that one could practically smell the blood and feel a necessity of swatting away the flies and wiping the black powder from one’s face. It is as vivid for those pages as many historical novels built around military protagonists.
I loved the way both the resolution of the case and the evolution of Hester’s and Monk’s marital relationship both depended upon aspects of Monk’s past. I can’t be specific without ruining some of the beautiful counterpoint in this story, but I can remind those of you who haven’t read a novel in this series for a while that Monk doesn’t know much about his past. However, he knows enough to get occasional glimpses and he doesn’t always like what he sees. I really enjoyed the way his past was used in this novel. I also enjoyed the delicate dance between Sir Oliver Rathbone who loved Hester but didn’t overtly pursue her and the protagonist couple. This is the type of interpersonal interplay that raises the bar in Perry’s work. People do have pasts and people do have regrets. It’s interesting to see them working on them.
One unique aspect of this novel is that it shows how British arms dealers were pulled into the American Civil War (War Between the States, War of Northern Aggression) in the context of Britain having followed William Wilberforce’s ideal of liberating the slaves. And, Ms. Perry uses a unique plot device to give the reader a musket’s eye view (as well as field hospital’s eye view) of the Battle of Bull Run. Those pages were positively mesmerizing—touching all of the senses mentally so that one could practically smell the blood and feel a necessity of swatting away the flies and wiping the black powder from one’s face. It is as vivid for those pages as many historical novels built around military protagonists.
I loved the way both the resolution of the case and the evolution of Hester’s and Monk’s marital relationship both depended upon aspects of Monk’s past. I can’t be specific without ruining some of the beautiful counterpoint in this story, but I can remind those of you who haven’t read a novel in this series for a while that Monk doesn’t know much about his past. However, he knows enough to get occasional glimpses and he doesn’t always like what he sees. I really enjoyed the way his past was used in this novel. I also enjoyed the delicate dance between Sir Oliver Rathbone who loved Hester but didn’t overtly pursue her and the protagonist couple. This is the type of interpersonal interplay that raises the bar in Perry’s work. People do have pasts and people do have regrets. It’s interesting to see them working on them.
November 11, 2025
A rather disappointing outing in this long-running series. 2.5 stars
What went wrong:
The murder is greeted with an Olympic level 'leap to conclusions' re: who was the murderer.
A totally unbelievable bit of plot business that had Monk and a companion finding their man in the middle of a raging battle.
A dull courtroom segment that just fizzled out.
An over the top rescue during the finale.
A very confusing plot, with a murky motive for the baddie.
What went right:
An interesting group of characters for our regulars (Monk, Hester, and Rathbone) to deal with.
Do I regret reading it? No. The author kept me turning the pages, even as I was muttering "oh really" and rolling my eyes.
Will I be reading the next one, Funeral in Blue? Yes I will, in hopes that it will be better than this one.
I'm buddy-reading this series with a GR friend. We are having a good time exchanging views as we read along. Any book is interesting if you can talk about it with a friend.
What went wrong:
The murder is greeted with an Olympic level 'leap to conclusions' re: who was the murderer.
A totally unbelievable bit of plot business that had Monk and a companion finding their man in the middle of a raging battle.
A dull courtroom segment that just fizzled out.
An over the top rescue during the finale.
A very confusing plot, with a murky motive for the baddie.
What went right:
An interesting group of characters for our regulars (Monk, Hester, and Rathbone) to deal with.
Do I regret reading it? No. The author kept me turning the pages, even as I was muttering "oh really" and rolling my eyes.
Will I be reading the next one, Funeral in Blue? Yes I will, in hopes that it will be better than this one.
I'm buddy-reading this series with a GR friend. We are having a good time exchanging views as we read along. Any book is interesting if you can talk about it with a friend.
August 22, 2019
This wasn't my favorite. I figured out the culprit immediately. I'm disappointed in Monk and Hester. They continue to look at the surfice regarding evidence. I expect more logic to be used after 10 books. Yes, an item conveniently at the crime scene seems damning but too obvious, too easy. I hope Perry will remedy this in the future books. They are not Sebastian and Hero, that's for sure. Anyway... The beginning was so far fetched. How the hell does two people from England find a suspect in the aftermath of a civil war battle so easily, so quickly? I presume Perry wanted to place Hester at the first battle of the American Civil War. It didn't work for me as it was too far fetched to be believable. I was also disappointed that their dislike of Breeland made them blind to evidence and to some extent, justice. They only cared about clearing the name of the silly chit, Merritt. This has to be said.... IT IS TIME FOR RATHBONE TO GET OVER HESTER. I'M TIRED OF HIM MOONING AFTER HER. Oh and here's my main complaint--it may be petty but I've come to enjoy the shenanigans of the courtroom. There was not a single faint or scream from a woman in the gallery, not a single juror blasphemed nor did the judge threaten to clear the courtroom while banging his gavel! Let's hope the courtroom is redeemed in the next book.
2.5 stars for the story
5 for narration
2.5 stars for the story
5 for narration
January 18, 2014
Back and forth I went, changing my rating from 2 stars to 3. In the end Perry's writing style made up for the ridiculous plot. Well, almost. I felt like throwing the book across the room when Monk, in the middle of the Battle of Bull Run, finds the very man he is looking for amidst 40,000 or more fighting, fleeing, dying soldiers. And how self-righteous her English characters were that there was slavery in America in 1861. The British didn't abolish slavery until 1833!!!
May 25, 2012
I usually like Anne Perry, but this one was too far-fetched. Four of the characters travel separately from England to the US, and manage to find one another during (and in) the Battle of Manassas? I don't *think* so.
November 2, 2020
There are convoluted plots, and then there are plots so convoluted that one is forced to decide that life is too short to spend any more time trying to figure them out. Slaves of Obsession contained one of the latter. I now know who the bad guy was, and that is about as far as my understanding of this book goes.
For example,
On the bright side, it is such a relief having Hester and Monk married, as opposed to playing out that silly love/hate/but mostly hate thing they were meant to be having. And of course Rathbone and his father are perfect. I hope that one day Rathbone marries someone with whom Monk used to be in love, but has forgotten about until he sees her again, at which point one more pre-amnesia memory comes flooding back.
For example,
On the bright side, it is such a relief having Hester and Monk married, as opposed to playing out that silly love/hate/but mostly hate thing they were meant to be having. And of course Rathbone and his father are perfect. I hope that one day Rathbone marries someone with whom Monk used to be in love, but has forgotten about until he sees her again, at which point one more pre-amnesia memory comes flooding back.
September 22, 2010
I had a very hard time with this one. There was a lot of small, but vital, mistakes in this tale of Americans in Great Britain during the Civil War. I was so annoyed with the overall quality that it was very difficult to wade through this one. Part of the William Monk series. Somewhat recommended.
For the complete review, please go here:
http://www.epinions.com/content_48419...
For the complete review, please go here:
http://www.epinions.com/content_48419...
December 3, 2016
First sentence: "We are invited to dine with Mr. and Mrs. Alberton," Hester said in reply to Monk's questioning gaze across the breakfast table.
Premise/plot: William and Hester Monk attend a dinner, and, soon most of the guests will be caught up in a murder case. The victim--one of several--is Mr. Alberton. And it looks like he's been killed by someone he knew, someone he entertained in his own home. Monk isn't directly on the murder case, so to speak, but he's hired by Mrs. Alberton to find her missing daughter and bring her back home, no matter what. And the number one suspect in the case is the daughter's love-interest. So chances are, if you find one you may find the other. So Hester and Monk have their hands full in this one. It takes place on TWO continents. (The daughter has fled to the United States....)
My thoughts: I really am enjoying this series again. I really like seeing Hester and William settle down into married life. I really love seeing these two love and respect and cherish one another! Yet the romance in the book is never in-your-face or time-consuming. Instead it is in the background, subtle. The issue in this book is "slavery" and whether it's right or wrong to sell guns to the South. Does someone who sells guns for a living have a moral obligation to sell guns only to people whom he agrees 100% with? Does he have the right to refuse to sell guns to interested buyers because he finds their cause distasteful? Who is really capable of deciding which causes are good or bad?
Premise/plot: William and Hester Monk attend a dinner, and, soon most of the guests will be caught up in a murder case. The victim--one of several--is Mr. Alberton. And it looks like he's been killed by someone he knew, someone he entertained in his own home. Monk isn't directly on the murder case, so to speak, but he's hired by Mrs. Alberton to find her missing daughter and bring her back home, no matter what. And the number one suspect in the case is the daughter's love-interest. So chances are, if you find one you may find the other. So Hester and Monk have their hands full in this one. It takes place on TWO continents. (The daughter has fled to the United States....)
My thoughts: I really am enjoying this series again. I really like seeing Hester and William settle down into married life. I really love seeing these two love and respect and cherish one another! Yet the romance in the book is never in-your-face or time-consuming. Instead it is in the background, subtle. The issue in this book is "slavery" and whether it's right or wrong to sell guns to the South. Does someone who sells guns for a living have a moral obligation to sell guns only to people whom he agrees 100% with? Does he have the right to refuse to sell guns to interested buyers because he finds their cause distasteful? Who is really capable of deciding which causes are good or bad?
July 23, 2011
The year is 1861 and the Civil War divides the United States. The story begins with an English gun dealer that has promised to sell guns to the agent of the Confederate Army. But a representative of the Union Army, Lyman Breeland, hopes to change the mind of Daniel Alberton, the guns dealer. Breeland has won Daniel's 16-year-old daughter, Merrit, to the fight against slavery. Daniel is found murdered, the gun shipment has disappeared, and Merrit has disappeared. Daniel's widow, Judith, employs Monk and Hester to go to the United States to find and retrieve Merrit. Perry does a wonderful job showing the first battles of the war, and the utter chaos. Sir Oliver Rathbone defends Merrit and Lyman once the pair has been brought back to England. Of course the English judicial system is a little different than the American system. Rathbone struggles with his feelings for Hester and his regret concerning her marriage to Monk. The ending was not a total surprise as in the earlier novels.
March 19, 2015
The American Civil War has finally started to affect Britain. Hester and Monk are drawn into a dispute between a Northerner and a Southerner, each seeking to buy the same guns but one having captured the idealistic heart of their host's 16-year old daughter.
And then there is murder, cold murder, and theft, and Monk's task is to track down the author of both, always seeking the truth no matter how much he might dread it. During this search, he finally sees Hester as the seasoned, admirable, experienced nurse she is, and is forced to face some internal truths about himself.
Anne Perry always brings forward some social issue of the time, and here it is the Civil War: the untrained and unskilled soldiers, the horror of the battlefield and the flashbacks that may occur to survivors, the realities of field surgery, the helplessness of those waiting, and the impact from lack of supplies. Contrasted with that is the underlying thread searching for the nature of real love.
And then there is murder, cold murder, and theft, and Monk's task is to track down the author of both, always seeking the truth no matter how much he might dread it. During this search, he finally sees Hester as the seasoned, admirable, experienced nurse she is, and is forced to face some internal truths about himself.
Anne Perry always brings forward some social issue of the time, and here it is the Civil War: the untrained and unskilled soldiers, the horror of the battlefield and the flashbacks that may occur to survivors, the realities of field surgery, the helplessness of those waiting, and the impact from lack of supplies. Contrasted with that is the underlying thread searching for the nature of real love.
July 31, 2022
I see I am not alone in downgrading this one. The ending was improbable and the story was wrapped up awkwardly and way too late to hold my interest. I kept reading just to see how it ended, not because I cared any longer. Also, a couple of hard to swallow plot twists: like really, Monk found his man on an abandoned battle field amidst thousands of dead and wounded? And at the end: Monk learns to scuba dive in elementary equipment (did they even have it in 1861?) in a matter of minutes? And Hester lies to his rescue in a boat with policemen in tow who shoot the right man at the last possible second? Etc.
March 13, 2015
This is hands-down my least favorite book in the William and Hester Monk series, which I generally like. The plot is incredible and contrived in many ways. Worth skipping, except for a few more insights into the main characters.
March 18, 2015
Well written as always, but predictable and very formulaic. Luckily this pattern did not continue in books to follow in this series.
November 13, 2020
This was one of my favorite Anne Perry books yet, rivaling perhaps even the first in this series.
I know that I've been reading them sporadically, second-hand, and not in order, but still, when did they get married?!! I kind of thought they might, but I must be missing something big. Last I knew, they were at odds with each other, which, honestly, was most of the time.
They seemed to do well as a married couple, though, and their temperaments got along better.
This book was long enough that it was almost like two books in one - the adventures in America, and then the sequel, back in England.
I liked seeing the usual characters out of place, away from England, and in the American Civil War. I thought that was well done, in that different perspectives on the war were included from the common people in many different facets. A much more realistic mix than the three most commonly given. I liked Hester's take-charge attitude, even with the surgeon.
One reviewer noted that Lincoln's emancipation proclamation was not that early in the war; another person noted that the method of doing laundry wasn't correct for the era.
Several readers pointed out the improbability of finding a particular soldier during the middle of a battle. Yup. I'd have to agree.
I did figure out whodunit, as well as where Shearer had gone. Not exactly, but close enough. I wondered why anyone hadn't considered that possibility. There was another possibility with the original blackmail Monk had gone to solve, tying into the story's motives, that wasn't as fully developed as it could have been. One reviewer felt that Perry's stories have gotten too convoluted to waste time trying to figure out; I don't think so. It was follow-able, an engrossing read. My mom still enjoys them, and she feels like she can't concentrate on complicated plots or too many characters anymore.
I felt sorry for Merrit throughout the story, but I realize that was partly the point.
Why would Monk go diving with a murder suspect and depend on him for life? I've read about countless amateur detectives doing something so risky, but Monk's a former police officer. I couldn't imagine him failing to be more cautious than that.
I have known someone like Breeland, who was more concerned about his cause than he was the individuals at his side. The others conjectured that it was relational cowardice, and that he needed a cause because he was so bad at bonding with others. "He can see a million slaves and the moral wrong of their state, the mass injustice and cruelty - but he doesn't dare to look at the loneliness or the need of one human who needs him. It is too ... personal, too intimate, too close under his own skin." "It was almost as if his fire were all in the mind, nothing in the heart or the blood." It reminds me of someone saying, "I don't understand about why she cares so much about all these groups of people, but not anyone that she actually knows." Which made me wonder if Breeland were on the autism spectrum, even if he were highly functional.
There were many thoughtful quotes in this book, and some of them seemed to apply to the political contentions here in America once again.
Quotes:
"He had a natural confidence, as if he were sure enough of himself and his beliefs he had no need to thrust them upon anyone else. He was happy to listen to others." What a refreshing person that would be, in today's political landscape!
"Seeking the truth , whether it is what you want it to be or not. Even if it is what you dread most and cuts deepest at what you want to believe, never lie, never twist it, never run away, never give up." If only more people felt this way today, rather than trying to twist truth, or out-and-out lie, particularly in the area of politics.
"Change frightens us, and because we are frightened, we are angry, and we make bad judgments." That quote reminded me of today's politics again.
"There is little more bitter than disillusion, and we can make ourselves believe what we need to, however preposterous, at least for a while. We call it loyalty, or faith or whatever virtue counts most highly to us, and fits the need." Today's politics again.
"There is no debt between friends." Sweet sentiment.
"Merrit was impervious to sarcasm. She was too idealistic to see any moderation to a cause."
"Hester felt a surge of tenderness towards her, remembering how ardent she had been at that age, how full of fire to better the world, and sure that she knew how, without the faintest idea of the multitudinous layers of passion and pain intertwined with each other and the conflicting beliefs, all so reasonable, if taken alone." This one gives me hope for the younger generation that some of their ideas can be outgrown, or balanced with other ideas.
"She was no longer young enough to be sure about much. She had learned by experience her own fallibility."
"Rathbone had dealt with martyrs before. They were exhausting and seldom open to reason. They had a single view of the world and did not listen to what they did not wish to hear. In some ways it was admirable. Perhaps it was the only way to accomplish certain goals, noble ones, but it left a trail of wreckage behind." Interesting, unusual thoughts on martyrs.
"Juries are people, Mr. Breeland, and subject to emotional impulses like the rest of us. They will not remember everything that is said to them. In fact they will probably not even hear it all, or perceive it in the way we wish them to. Very often people hear what they think they will hear." I find this unnerving, although I know it's true. I find it frightening that juries, granted weighty decisions, would be swayed by emotion to the detriment of fact, and I feel like people are deficient who can't separate the two and think more clearly than that.
That quote continued, "Make them feel some respect for you, some liking, and they will see the best, and recall it when it matters. This is not peculiar to English juries, it is part of the nature or all people, and we choose to be tried before a jury precisely because they are ordinary. They work on instinctive judgment and common sense as well as the evidence presented to them."
I know that I've been reading them sporadically, second-hand, and not in order, but still, when did they get married?!! I kind of thought they might, but I must be missing something big. Last I knew, they were at odds with each other, which, honestly, was most of the time.
They seemed to do well as a married couple, though, and their temperaments got along better.
This book was long enough that it was almost like two books in one - the adventures in America, and then the sequel, back in England.
I liked seeing the usual characters out of place, away from England, and in the American Civil War. I thought that was well done, in that different perspectives on the war were included from the common people in many different facets. A much more realistic mix than the three most commonly given. I liked Hester's take-charge attitude, even with the surgeon.
One reviewer noted that Lincoln's emancipation proclamation was not that early in the war; another person noted that the method of doing laundry wasn't correct for the era.
Several readers pointed out the improbability of finding a particular soldier during the middle of a battle. Yup. I'd have to agree.
I did figure out whodunit, as well as where Shearer had gone. Not exactly, but close enough. I wondered why anyone hadn't considered that possibility. There was another possibility with the original blackmail Monk had gone to solve, tying into the story's motives, that wasn't as fully developed as it could have been. One reviewer felt that Perry's stories have gotten too convoluted to waste time trying to figure out; I don't think so. It was follow-able, an engrossing read. My mom still enjoys them, and she feels like she can't concentrate on complicated plots or too many characters anymore.
I felt sorry for Merrit throughout the story, but I realize that was partly the point.
Why would Monk go diving with a murder suspect and depend on him for life? I've read about countless amateur detectives doing something so risky, but Monk's a former police officer. I couldn't imagine him failing to be more cautious than that.
I have known someone like Breeland, who was more concerned about his cause than he was the individuals at his side. The others conjectured that it was relational cowardice, and that he needed a cause because he was so bad at bonding with others. "He can see a million slaves and the moral wrong of their state, the mass injustice and cruelty - but he doesn't dare to look at the loneliness or the need of one human who needs him. It is too ... personal, too intimate, too close under his own skin." "It was almost as if his fire were all in the mind, nothing in the heart or the blood." It reminds me of someone saying, "I don't understand about why she cares so much about all these groups of people, but not anyone that she actually knows." Which made me wonder if Breeland were on the autism spectrum, even if he were highly functional.
There were many thoughtful quotes in this book, and some of them seemed to apply to the political contentions here in America once again.
Quotes:
"He had a natural confidence, as if he were sure enough of himself and his beliefs he had no need to thrust them upon anyone else. He was happy to listen to others." What a refreshing person that would be, in today's political landscape!
"Seeking the truth , whether it is what you want it to be or not. Even if it is what you dread most and cuts deepest at what you want to believe, never lie, never twist it, never run away, never give up." If only more people felt this way today, rather than trying to twist truth, or out-and-out lie, particularly in the area of politics.
"Change frightens us, and because we are frightened, we are angry, and we make bad judgments." That quote reminded me of today's politics again.
"There is little more bitter than disillusion, and we can make ourselves believe what we need to, however preposterous, at least for a while. We call it loyalty, or faith or whatever virtue counts most highly to us, and fits the need." Today's politics again.
"There is no debt between friends." Sweet sentiment.
"Merrit was impervious to sarcasm. She was too idealistic to see any moderation to a cause."
"Hester felt a surge of tenderness towards her, remembering how ardent she had been at that age, how full of fire to better the world, and sure that she knew how, without the faintest idea of the multitudinous layers of passion and pain intertwined with each other and the conflicting beliefs, all so reasonable, if taken alone." This one gives me hope for the younger generation that some of their ideas can be outgrown, or balanced with other ideas.
"She was no longer young enough to be sure about much. She had learned by experience her own fallibility."
"Rathbone had dealt with martyrs before. They were exhausting and seldom open to reason. They had a single view of the world and did not listen to what they did not wish to hear. In some ways it was admirable. Perhaps it was the only way to accomplish certain goals, noble ones, but it left a trail of wreckage behind." Interesting, unusual thoughts on martyrs.
"Juries are people, Mr. Breeland, and subject to emotional impulses like the rest of us. They will not remember everything that is said to them. In fact they will probably not even hear it all, or perceive it in the way we wish them to. Very often people hear what they think they will hear." I find this unnerving, although I know it's true. I find it frightening that juries, granted weighty decisions, would be swayed by emotion to the detriment of fact, and I feel like people are deficient who can't separate the two and think more clearly than that.
That quote continued, "Make them feel some respect for you, some liking, and they will see the best, and recall it when it matters. This is not peculiar to English juries, it is part of the nature or all people, and we choose to be tried before a jury precisely because they are ordinary. They work on instinctive judgment and common sense as well as the evidence presented to them."
July 11, 2017
William Monk and Hester Latterly are now established as husband and wife when they are invited to dinner by an arms dealer who has received blackmail threats. Daniel Alberton has agreed to sell a quantity of guns and ammunition to Philo Trace, an American representing the southern states in the recently begun Civil War. This leads to conflict with his 16 year old daughter Merrit and Lyman Breeland a union offficer who also wants to by guns. This all leads to murder and flight to America with Monk and Hester becoming caught up in the battle at Bull Run/Manassas. Back in England Oliver Rathbone sets to work with Monks assistance only for the true perpetrator to be uncovered.
A rather similar scenario to other William Monk stories and although the writing style flows more smoothly than previously the plot line seems to come to rather an abrupt conclusion.
A rather similar scenario to other William Monk stories and although the writing style flows more smoothly than previously the plot line seems to come to rather an abrupt conclusion.
February 6, 2022
Chouette tome des aventures de Monk et Hester qui nous permet de lever un peu le voile sur le passé de celui-ci. Dénouement un (tout petit) peu tiré par les cheveux mais l'ensemble était très bien ficelé!
September 18, 2023
not my favorite of the series but definitely still an amazing mystery and i love monk and hester as usual
March 21, 2025
A very interesting story, well written. As is often the case in mysteries, it ended a bit too quickly with some unanswered questions. I did enjoy it though.
March 31, 2024
I despised this book. I don’t even know why I gave it two stars. In fact, I won’t- down to one star. There is nothing interesting about William Monk except for his amnesia, and the plot is mostly aimless wandering. Agatha Christie would have told this story in less than ten pages, but she wouldn’t have told it because the actual killer is too painfully obvious. A huge portion of the book is spent helping out in one of the first Civil War skirmishes in America, and don’t ask me why that ocean voyage and gory battle was included because I don’t know. (Oh, did I mention that one of the heroes is a defender of the slave traders? Yes, you heard that right, one of the ‘heroes’ defends slavery.) Monk also repeatedly walks up and down the river finding nothing. Sometimes he goes alone and sometimes with other people. Either way, nothing is found until the last few pages of the book, and if you’re expecting a surprise after reading page after page of repetitive nonsense, naval gazing, and hand wringing, you’re out of luck. The main revelation in the book comes not from the main character, but rather from the guy who tells him to stop walking up and down the river and instead to hop in a boat to be rowed up and down the river. I haven’t been this happy to finish a book in years, and if I never read another Anne Perry book I’ll be happy. I’d feel bad about leaving such a harsh review but Perry has passed on, and she killed at least one person before she died anyway. I have a new vision of Hell, and it’s a library full of nothing but Anne Perry novels. Perhaps she’s down there now, waiting for all of us sinners, with a new William Monk manuscript in her hands. “Welcome,” she says. “Take a seat. I wrote you something.”
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 19, 2016
Anne Perry is a master of fleshing out Victoria England with her William Monk and his wife Hester series. Slave of Obsession takes the readers from the exclusive enclaves where the wealthy live their leisurely lives to London's shadowy waterfronts where ships leaves for American shores to unload their cargos, including the most modern and deadly weapons. The year is 1861 and the American Civil War has just begun. London arms dealer Daniel Alberton is becoming a very wealthy man as both sides of the conflict rush to purchase his guns. He holds a quiet dinner party with his beautiful wife and invites Monk and Hester who notice growing tensions and barely concealed violence in their beautiful mansion as two of the guests are Americans vying to buy Alberton's armaments. Philo Trace, the Southerner, is both charming and intelligent, but a defender of slavery. Northerner Lyman Breedlove is a disturbing blend of political zealotry and personal reserve. But, Alberton's teenage daughter has pledged her heart to him. Monk and Hester have forebodings that the situation will not end well and are right in their feelings when one is brutally murdered in a cruel ritualistic fashion and two other disappear along with the entire inventory of weapons. Monk and hester chase him all the way ti Washington, D. C. and the horror at Manassas. A powerful attorney, Sir Oliver Rathbone, fights to defend the innocent from the hangman's noose.
This is yet another of Anne Perry's compelling stories of Victorian England and raises the bar for storytelling.
This is yet another of Anne Perry's compelling stories of Victorian England and raises the bar for storytelling.
April 3, 2022
Regretfully, this is not Anne Perry's best book in the series. This was an interesting concept - arms dealers and the US Civil War - and also a disappointing change from others in the series. It felt like someone else had penned it. Overall, the writing was not as beautiful as previous books and the end was a little too wrapped up. I will, however, say that there were clear moments of surprises and twists.
Someone needed to check the facts. The placement of Monk toward the end of the book seemed historically incorrect. How would a country-raised detective be able to go into the murky Thames, find a boat wreck and be able to see the bullet holes in the foreheads of the victims? Underwater lighting, according to my research, was patented in the late 1870s /early 1880s.
From Underwater Lighting History (https://www.bgbinnovation.com/alittle... ): "…The invention of the first, practical, incandescent lamp occurred in 1878 and is ascribed to Swan, working in England and Thomas Alva Edison working independently, in the United States. The latter was granted a U.S. Patent in 1880.
So, although Anne Perry is one of my favorite authors and I am a huge fan - and have bought the books for our town's library as part of the Adopt an Author program - I cannot recommend this book. You could just skip it in the series - it doesn't add anything to the timeline or character development - unlike the earlier books in this series.
Someone needed to check the facts. The placement of Monk toward the end of the book seemed historically incorrect. How would a country-raised detective be able to go into the murky Thames, find a boat wreck and be able to see the bullet holes in the foreheads of the victims? Underwater lighting, according to my research, was patented in the late 1870s /early 1880s.
From Underwater Lighting History (https://www.bgbinnovation.com/alittle... ): "…The invention of the first, practical, incandescent lamp occurred in 1878 and is ascribed to Swan, working in England and Thomas Alva Edison working independently, in the United States. The latter was granted a U.S. Patent in 1880.
So, although Anne Perry is one of my favorite authors and I am a huge fan - and have bought the books for our town's library as part of the Adopt an Author program - I cannot recommend this book. You could just skip it in the series - it doesn't add anything to the timeline or character development - unlike the earlier books in this series.
August 2, 2014
I don't know how much research Perry even did for this book or if she just went with the "Lincoln set the slaves free during the war between the North and the South" premise. As an American reading this I cringed.
She left out the laws in the North that captured and sent runaway slaves back South. These laws were still in effect well into the war. She says Lincoln is a new president when he wrote the emancipation proclamation, when in fact it was his second term and the war was dragging on and on. It was definitely not the beginning of the war. Setting the slaves free was Lincoln's last bid to win the war. It was the only way he could end the war.
She has a soldier saying America is "One nation under God." Although that is part of our pledge of allegiance to the flag, now, the "Under God" part was added in the 1950's. Many people said "under God" during WWII and the phrase was used as propaganda to distinguish "us from them" if you will, Americans on "God's mission"vs. "evil Hitler." So, no soldier would say that in the civil war.
So, if you know your American history well, grin and bear it. If you don't, know this is fiction and is quite a overly-simplified version, as it would have to be to stay under 350 pages.
This book makes me question all her other books...
She left out the laws in the North that captured and sent runaway slaves back South. These laws were still in effect well into the war. She says Lincoln is a new president when he wrote the emancipation proclamation, when in fact it was his second term and the war was dragging on and on. It was definitely not the beginning of the war. Setting the slaves free was Lincoln's last bid to win the war. It was the only way he could end the war.
She has a soldier saying America is "One nation under God." Although that is part of our pledge of allegiance to the flag, now, the "Under God" part was added in the 1950's. Many people said "under God" during WWII and the phrase was used as propaganda to distinguish "us from them" if you will, Americans on "God's mission"vs. "evil Hitler." So, no soldier would say that in the civil war.
So, if you know your American history well, grin and bear it. If you don't, know this is fiction and is quite a overly-simplified version, as it would have to be to stay under 350 pages.
This book makes me question all her other books...
June 24, 2014
Private inquiry agent William Monk is hired to look into the blackmailing of a prominent merchant. While meeting the merchant and his family he also meets an agent for the confederacy who has contracted to purchase arms for the South, He also meets a Union officer who is trying to persuade the merchant to sell him the arms instead. The Union officer is angry and frustrated when the merchant will not go back on his contract to the South. The merchants 16 year old daughter is infatuated with the Union officer and fervently supports the cause of anti-slavery. After a fight with her father she runs away and joins the Union officer and they sail to America. She does not know that her father has been murdered and all the arms stolen the night she left England. Monk is engaged to follow them to America and bring back the daughter and the Union officer, who is suspected of the murder, to stand trial. An interesting piece although I did pick the culprit early on although not the motive.
July 14, 2010
Anne Perry found a way to get Monk and Hester to America and at the cusp of the Civil War, too. What begins at a tense dinner party at the home of a proserous trader gets extremely over-wrought when one of two other guests from the United States square off to implore the host to sell them arms. The distress is increased even moreso when the trader's daughter breaks out into an impassioned plea against slavery and hence the South. By the next morning the trader is dead and everyone else is gone as are the guns and all the money due for them. What happens now? This is a fast-paced novel and the plot is more straight-forward than many of Perry's though it does have her landmark twists near the ending. But that would be telling.
November 27, 2013
2½ star
I am rather disappointed that this book is about the American Civil war. I normally love London as a character in the books so I missed it for part of this book. The plot overly convoluted this time. I think I had my share of this series for now. I might come back to it later, but past book 10 in a series with no overarching plot it is perhaps time to move on. The book did not hold my interest like the series normally does, normally I can't get enough of them and I stay up all night to read, with this one I was easily distracted - and I was just looking forward for it to finish so I could read something else. I think I might need to try one of Anne Perry's other series
I am rather disappointed that this book is about the American Civil war. I normally love London as a character in the books so I missed it for part of this book. The plot overly convoluted this time. I think I had my share of this series for now. I might come back to it later, but past book 10 in a series with no overarching plot it is perhaps time to move on. The book did not hold my interest like the series normally does, normally I can't get enough of them and I stay up all night to read, with this one I was easily distracted - and I was just looking forward for it to finish so I could read something else. I think I might need to try one of Anne Perry's other series
December 30, 2022
4.5 Stars
rounded up to 5 Stars. What was different about this book was its pacing. Anne Perry's usual MO for her mystery writing is starting with a slow unraveling of the crime and chasing down each and every lead with most of them going nowhere and all the true action usually is in the last two chapters if not just the last chapter. This story had action throughout the book which really was a treat. Again, she should have given the readers more of a wind up for an ending.
July 12, 2010
While not my favorite installment of Monk, Hester, Rathbone (I hope he stops pining for Hester soon) and company, I did love that a jaunt overseas to America was included. I actually found the Civil War battle and early Washington DC scenes my favorite in the book, even if they did little to move the plot along. As a historical fiction piece I enjoyed this better than as a mystery... Here's to the next one!
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