Funeral in Blue

William Monk #12

by Anne Perry, David Colacci (Reader)

The headlines were gruesome: two beautiful women found strangled in the studio of a well-known London artist. To investigator William Monk and his wife Hester, the murders are a nightmare. One of the victims is an obscure artist's model. The other is the wife of Hester's cherished colleague, distinguished surgeon Dr. Kristian Beck, a Viennese emigre who swiftly becomes the principal suspect. With an intensity born of desperation, Hester, Monk, and their dear friend Lady Callandra Daviot, who cannot hide her deep love for the accused, seek evidence that will save Kristian from the hangman - hoping to penetrate not only the mystery of Elissa Beck's death... but the riddle of her life.

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery, Fiction, Historical, Victorian, Crime

11 pages, Audiobook

First published October 1, 2001

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

[Lewis Weinstein · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another outstanding mystery by Anne Perry. Lots of plot turns, including a trip to Vienna and exposure to Austrian antisemitism. Perry gets inside the heads of all of her regular characters, having them ask themselves the questions readers want to know about. There were a few times when this introspection seemed excessive, but mostly it was appropriate and welcome, and is perhaps one of the reasons Perry can keep us interested over so many stories.

[Melissa Lenhardt · Rating 2 out of 5]

If not for William Monk and his wife Hester, Funeral in Blue would have been a total disappointment. I like these characters so much I will suffer through much, it seems. In Funeral in Blue, every single characters spends way too much time asking themselves questions, navel gazing and occasionally contradicting themselves. Perry pads the story with repetitions of the victim’s heroism and beauty. In fact, any time someone talks of the victim, her heroism and beauty is mentioned. It is exhausting and completely unnecessary. The entire book is repetitive – the victim’s beauty and heroism, the accused murderer’s sensual mouth and skill as a doctor, one woman’s unrequited love for the doctor, and Monk’s amnesia are all mentioned so often I started to wonder if Perry feared her readers suffered from Short Term Memory Loss.



Full Review: http://swampofboredom.com

[Jamie Collins · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the twelfth book in Perry's Victorian mystery series about Monk, the amnesiac detective and Hester, the Crimean War nurse. It's entertaining enough if you enjoy these characters, which I do, but the mystery is pretty weak.

Monk and Hester have a wealthy patron, Lady Callandra, who occasionally finances their detecting adventures. Callandra has long been in love with the married surgeon, Dr. Beck. But now Beck’s wife has been murdered, so there may be a happy ending in store for Callandra - unless, of course, Beck is the one who killed her.

Monk may be a grumpy bugger, but he’s a paragon of tolerance for the Victorian era. He’s already proven to be receptive to women’s rights and unaffected by homophobia; in this book he shows that he’s not anti-semitic. If he ever encountered any non-caucasian people I’m sure he’d decline to be racist, as well.

Missed Rathbone! It was hard to watch the accused defended by somebody else.

[Randi Annie Framnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

When two women are found brutally murdered in an artist’s apartment, private detective William Monk and his wife Hester team up with well connected and wealthy Lady Callandra Daviot to find out what happened to them. It seems very hard to know who the intended victim was and who just was at the wrong place at the wrong time. One is an artist’s model and the other doctor’s wife Elissa Beck. Elissa Beck’s husband is very soon charged with the murder of the two women. He is Hester Monk’s colleague and friend. She believes him innocent, so she desperately wants to help clear his name. As Hester and William investigate, secrets start to unravel relating to the victims’ pasts. As the Becks used to passionately battle for reform in the Austrian Revolution of 1848, it becomes vital for William to travel to Vienna to gather additional information about the Beck’s role in the Vienna Uprising.

Main Characters
Hester Monk is an ex Crimean War nurse who now volunteers at a hospital. She is married to William Monk who investigates cases privately as he has resigned from the police force under a bit of a cloud. They enjoy a close and happy marriage and are able to read each other very precisely, which is both a blessing and a curse while investigating this case. Hester is friends with both hospital surgeon dr Beck and member of the hospital board Lady Callandra Daviot. William feels he has to tread very carefully to protect his wife’s feelings when he discovers potentially hurtful facts. I enjoy the considerations of both William and Hester when they try to keep each other safe from emotional hurt throughout the investigation.

Lady Callandra Daviot is a wealthy widow and a member of the hospital board. She tries to keep a secret that she loves surgeon Kristian Beck. She officially takes an interest in the doctor’s case and gets Head of the Board to approve her as the doctor’s employer. In reality, she tries to do everything she can to help him without being judged by society.

Elements I Enjoyed:
I so much enjoy the emotional care the Monk’s take when they investigate; both towards each other as well as towards other persons involved. They seem to experience a lot of fear as the investigation progresses and are constantly considering who to tell what and when. This makes me exited to know what happens next. I get to know the relationship between the characters while the plot develops and I feel invested in them. Descriptions of the characters being wet and cold while moving around London in the rain and fog add to the gloomy feel of the story. As does descriptions of dark and unheated rooms. It is expertly balanced out with tea breaks in cozy withdrawing rooms in front of fires, or the eating of hot stews in a warm kitchen. I like that Anne Perry creates a universe with a vast number of characters who make appearances in different stories. It’s like brief visits from old friends.

Overall Thoughts
The historical events description sets the plot at approximately 1860. The story develops gradually through the first half. In the second half the plot seems to bounce around a little bit. New information comes to light and a major twist adds up to a quite surprising conclusion. I find there is a lot to enjoy in this work. Fans of Anne Perry would love this novel, and I think readers of crime fiction would too.

My rating: 4 stars / 5
(All opinions are my own)

[We Are All Mad Here · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've gotten somewhat used to the abundance of introspection in this series, and the repetitiveness of some of those introspective thoughts. This installment went a bit overboard in both.

Also, the ending was stupidly improbable and had almost nothing to do with the rest of the plot.

Here's to #13 being less annoying.

[Pat · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are some good insights into marriage that I plan to quote to friends from this gem. Unbelievable ending.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this years ago and recall enjoying it a lot.

[Bailey Marissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series has always been good about giving a good mystery will being accurate with the time period and this book was no exception. Also, the relationship between Hester and Monk is 10/10.

Recommended 14+ for violence, language, time period racism, medical situations, and moments of sensuality.

[Mary Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perry's books are always good but this was especially so. There is aways interesting history and 19th century social mores in her stories and the ending is always a surprise. Highly recommend.

[Rod Innis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another Monk book that we listened to on Audible. It was a good story and very well read on Audible.

[Kiesha ~ Gwenllian ferch Gruffydd · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was much better than the previous book. I was actually surprised by the ending. I missed Rathbone though and yet again, the courtroom shenanigans were non existent. 3.5 story, 5 star narration.

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tome où l'on découvre le passé du docteur Beck.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really need to read more of the books in this series -- and I need to find out more about the Austrian uprising of 1848. This book deals with the question of friendship and what we would do if pushed to the edge of ruin and, to some extent, the question of political expediency. When Dr. Kristian Beck stands accused of the murder of his wife and another woman, Monk and Hester and Lady Callandra push themselves to the edge to prove him innocent. While they all concede that he might have been driven to kill his wife, the other woman was killed to cover up the crime and that no one can accept. Monk is forced to work with Runcorn and the two of them become closer and Monk has to put aside many of his prejudices about the man as the case goes on and his humanity shows through his ambition and vanity. Monk also travels to Austria in search of additional information, while Hester is left to consider that someone within her own family knows more about the murder than they are revealing.

This was a good mystery -- I somewhat guessed whodunit, though not why, and the clues weren't strong. The best part though was the psychological exploration of motives and bias and what we allow ourselves to see or be blind to in other people. I had a hard time putting it down.

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

First sentence: The operating room was silent except for the deep, regular breathing of the gaunt young woman who lay on the table, the immense bulge of her stomach laid bare.

Premise/plot: The twelfth novel in the William Monk series focuses on Dr. Kristian Beck. This surgeon has appeared briefly in several other novels in this mystery series. In this one, he's the prime suspect for his wife's murder. (There are two murders actually, and both murders occurred at an artist's studio.) Lady Callandra wants Monk and Hester to become involved in the case, to try to protect Beck if they can.

My thoughts: I really enjoyed this one. You wouldn't think that Monk trying to work together with Runcorn would be one of the novel's greatest strengths, but, for me it was. I really loved getting to see the vulnerable Runcorn taking a chance on Monk and the two essentially starting over again. Of course, there is plenty of Hester as well.

Monk travels to Austria in this one to do some background work. And that was fun as well.

Readers also get a chance to further know Hester's brother and sister-in-law. I haven't decided if their presence near the scene of the crime was too big a coincidence for me...or not. But right now I'm just so happy with the series that I don't mind.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Fair disclosure: I got it as a book on CD in a truck stop for a long drive. I enjoy them. Make fun of me - I don't care. Ok, now that I got that out of the way... I have not read the rest of the series. I didn't know it was part of a series. It stands alone - although I suspect or could be even better if I had read the other 11 or so. I enjoy turn of the 19th century historical fiction - especially mysteries or detective stories, and I assure you I will try the first book in the series (as well as some of Ms. Perry's other books) as an actual read. I am excited to do so.

[Hilary · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

It's a good thing Monk's tentative truce with Runcorn remains in effect, because their best chance of finding the truth lies in working together.

This time, Kristian is the one with everything at stake - and even if he wins, he may still lose. As an immigrant, and a murdered woman's husband, he's first on the list of suspects. Can anything be found to save him? And what is Imogen's secret, that Charles can't bear to leave yet requires Hester's help?

Note for Kindle readers: the last 12% contained all previews of other books, so set your expectations accordingly.

[Lori · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 Stars.actually. This book was excellent up until the very end where the storyline wrapped up a bit too neatly and quickly for my liking. Otherwise a great book start to finish.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another enjoyable mystery by Anne Perry, up to her usual standard. I always know I am going get a great mystery.

[Palomaferi · Rating 3 out of 5]

F

[Rosario · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was really intrigued by the plot in Funeral in Blue. Kristian Beck has been one of my favourite secondary characters for several books, and his doomed relationship (given his unhappy marriage) with Lady Callandra Daviot something I was hoping would be resolved at one point. So I was looking forward to seeing what would happen.

Unfortunately, this wasn't as good as it could have been. The main reason I have enjoyed this series is the psychological truth in Perry's portrayal of the people involved, and I felt that was very lacking here. I did not buy the character of Elissa or her relationship with Kristian. She never came to life for me, no matter how many people talked about her. And people were not acting in ways that made sense, neither our detectives (who seemed to completely ignore obvious avenues of investigation), nor the secondary characters.

There was a fascinating sideline into the events of the revolutions of 1848, specifically the events in Vienna, and this had the potential to be really interesting, and to really make sense of things. But unfortunately, I felt Perry wasted the good potential.

Like in the previous one, the most enjoyable thing about this reading experience was discussing it with my goodreads friend with whom I'm doing a buddy read of this series. Let's hope the next one delivers a better case!

[Sophie ARGINTARU · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ce roman ainsi que le suivant vont clore le passé énigmatique de Monk. Et pourtant cela commence comme un fait divers. Certains personnages récurrents quitteront définitivement la série alors que d’autres vont bientôt faire leur apparition… Monk en profite pour tenter de se réconcilier avec l’homme qu’il a été, très loin de ses préoccupations actuelles… des petits cailloux qui entraîneront bientôt un changement d’avenir. Un voyage à Vienne nous ramènera des années en arrière, dans la tentative de révolution d’une Europe en ébullition.

Cette intrigue qui touche personnellement nos héros aura bien évidemment un procès retentissant… On retrouve tous les ingrédients que l’on apprécie dans cette série, un vrai mystère, des personnages entre passions et raison, des coups de théâtre, l’intimité entre Monk et Hester qui s’approfondit, ainsi qu’un contexte fouillé, la peinture, les classes sociales cloisonnées, le féminisme, et le terreau prémisse des deux guerres mondiales du siècle suivant (ici l’antisémitisme). L’histoire est assez poignante et plus qu’intéressante.

Encore une réussite, et on ne va pas s’en plaindre !

[Lucy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars. This review is based on the unabridged audio book read by David Colacci. Usually, I’m not a big fan of historical novels but this book was quite well done. Set in London in the late 1800’s, it’s part of a series of mysteries featuring William and Hester Monk. There are some references to their pasts, such as the fact that an accident of some sort wiped out William’s memory of anything in his life prior to the last few years, but that doesn’t detract from this book. There is some assumption that the reader is already familiar with the characters but they’re still reasonably well fleshed out. Period details about little things like clothing, homes, and London streets add nicely to the book without becoming a distraction. Two women have been murdered. One is the wife of a doctor that Hester works with so of course Hester and her husband set out to try to solve the whodunit. More than one possible suspect, no obvious solution, enough twists and turns to keep you guessing until the end. I’ll keep my eyes and ears open for other books in the series.

[Kim Dennis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hmmm...somewhat mixed feelings about this book. For the most part I really enjoyed it. I hadn't realized that Vienna had some similar uprisings to those that were going on in France, and it sounds like perhaps other places in Europe. (Of course, a lot of the reason many of us know about uprisings in France is because of Les Mis. -- Thanks, Victor Hugo 😊) Makes me more curious about European history in the 1840s.

About an hour before the end of the book, I had a thought of who the killer might be, so it didn't come as a complete surprise. The thing I liked least about this book was that the end felt a little melodramatic. I also felt like there were a lot of unanswered questions. I'm sure we will see some of the issues raised come up again in other books. If not, they should probably have been left out. The problem with that being at the end is that's the last impression, and it left me really unsettled.

I was glad to be able to listen again, although I'm not sure how I feel about this narrator. He wasn't bad, but I think I liked both of the other two better.

[Susan Chow-Dukhan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two women are found murdered in an artist's studio in London, a doctor's wife and the artist's live-in model. The prime suspect is Dr. Kristian Beck, whose's wife was a compulsive gambler. Dr. Beck is known to William Monk through his wife Hester, who volunteers at the hospital, and so the search to prove a man's innocence begins.
Anne Perry's historical mysteries usually holds the readers' attention due to the investigation process as well as the detailed references to the Victorian lifestyle. Funeral in Blue did not live up to my expectations, as the story became bogged down with mundane conversations and observations. If you're the type of reader who doesn't like to put down a book until a chapter is completed, you'll find yourself checking to see how many pages are left before the end of the chapter, in order that you can make a decision if you should close the book in the middle of a chapter, because boredom has set in.

[LadyRemy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was certainly interesting to see the dynamics of Runcorn and Monk as they both had to work on a case to prove the innocence of Kristian Beck. It was nice to see some of their past feelings from decades of working together resurface. You could tell that they truly had been best friends at one point.

I was guessing until the very end with this book and was positive it was one of two people, but proven entirely wrong. The actual murderer felt out of left field when we discover exactly why they did it. The reasoning had nothing to do with the actual investigation, which, yes that happens in investigations but it was a lot of build up and revelations only to get to the who and why and suddenly feel disappointed.

The characters themselves were interesting in this book: Imogen, Charles, and Dr. Beck. I would've enjoyed more insight to Imogen and Charles's relationship as this entire novel they had a side story going on alongside the murders that was relevant.

[N.W. Moors · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the twelfth book in Anne Perry's Monk series, we find Monk and Hester investigating the murder of Dr. Kristian Beck's wife along with another woman. The two women are found in an artist studio with their necks broken. Monk works with his old nemesis Runcorn to find the murderer, building on the tentative accord they reached in the previous book.
Each book seems to be getting better and better. They all start a bit slow as Ms. Perry builds each case detail by detail. I had no idea until the last few pages who the real murderer was though it made perfect sense. I missed Oliver Rathborn (who's in Italy), but the rest of the cast of characters make appearances. Now I'm eager to see how Lady Callandra and Kristian go forward. And there's a good cliffhanger about the central mystery to the series: Monk's past.

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two women are found murdered in an art studio in London. One is a woman who worked as an artist’s model. The other is Elissa Beck, who was sitting for her portrait. Elissa’s husband, Dr. Kristian Beck was a highly respected surgeon and friend of Hester and William Monk. Police Superintendent Runcorn, an arch-enemy of Monk, is put on the case, and Monk reluctantly offers to help him, hoping that the case will not become a newspaper scandal. Hester’s brother Charles is concerned about the personality changes in his wife, Imogen, and this is a major point in the story. There are few clues, and someone is eventually arrested and tried for the murders. Rathbone is traveling in Italy, so he is not available to conduct the trial. Although the climax is quite a surprise, I thought that the story dragged and was not up to Perry’s usual quality writing.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Never a dull moment in this series.... Can never guess the ending.... Good book. Can't wait to start the next....

The headlines were gruesome: two beautiful women found strangled in the studio of a well-known London artist. To investigator William Monk and his wife Hester, the murders are a nightmare. One of the victims is an obscure artist's model. The other is the wife of Hester's cherished colleague, distinguished surgeon Dr. Kristian Beck, a Viennese emigre who swiftly becomes the principal suspect. With an intensity born of desperation, Hester, Monk, and their dear friend Lady Callandra Daviot, who cannot hide her deep love for the accused, seek evidence that will save Kristian from the hangman - hoping to penetrate not only the mystery of Elissa Beck's death... but the riddle of her life.

[Mark Lisac · Rating 2 out of 5]

This has some decent basic plot and some interesting tidbits of history, even if the history lessons are layered in as overt products of research. It also delivers annoyances: characters whose attributes are often too good to be true; an endless procession of entire paragraphs spelling out questions that characters are asking themselves, apparently intended to remind readers what they should be asking; streaks of what I imagine to be writing that belongs in romance novels (although a sort of bromance becomes almost the most important relationship); a twisting story line apparently intended to deliver some obvious moral lessons (important ones, but they are delivered in a fairly hamhanded manner). It could stand up as a reasonably good mystery in a historical setting, but the style was not to my taste.

[ttxsxffiaa · Rating 1 out of 5]

1⭐

No me a terminado de gustar la forma la escribir de la autora, y tampoco la historia en si.

La sinopsis me llamó mucho la atención y me gustó, pero la forma de su ejecución en el libro no.
Se le da mucha vuelta a todo y a la vez a nada.
Se habla mucho de los personajes y sus inseguridades y pensamientos, y no tanto de la actual historia.

Tampoco es que me haya entusiasmado la parte de la guerra, la cual creo que es necesaria mencionar, ya que esa es la época del libro, pero siento que la autora se excede demasiado en ello.
Se supone que esto es un thriller, no una novela contemporánea ni nada parecido.
Que repito no esta mal mencionarlo, pero es muy constante y hablando todo el rato de traumas que tienen personajes, que para mí no tienen relevancia en la historia.

No lo volvería a leer, ni tampoco otros de la saga.