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caitibeth's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed this installment of the series. Hester's current case was great, and I love the couple she worked for. Plus Killian was wonderful, and so was Zillah. I really didn't want Killian to die; I wish she'd told someone (Rathbone, Zillah, Zillah's father) about her gender, but I understand why she was afraid to. Another highlight was seeing the opposing lawyer get his comeuppance from Rathbone.
Quibbles: It's astonishing how neatly and coincidentally Hester and Monk's cases dovetailed. ;) It broke my disbelief. And that the murder method on Delphine's first husband should be one still traceable 23+ years later... also highly coincidental. Add that to the murder method for Killian, and you have a heap of overly contrived coincidences.
And Hester and Monk are finally engaged. Sigh. I think they're wrong for each other & don't buy the romance at all. She and Rathbone seem much better suited. But I suspected this was coming. I hope their developing romance doesn't overwhelm the plot in the rest of the series.
Quibbles: It's astonishing how neatly and coincidentally Hester and Monk's cases dovetailed. ;) It broke my disbelief. And that the murder method on Delphine's first husband should be one still traceable 23+ years later... also highly coincidental. Add that to the murder method for Killian, and you have a heap of overly contrived coincidences.
And Hester and Monk are finally engaged. Sigh. I think they're wrong for each other & don't buy the romance at all. She and Rathbone seem much better suited. But I suspected this was coming. I hope their developing romance doesn't overwhelm the plot in the rest of the series.
lilylanie's review against another edition
2.0
This is my least favourite of all the books so far. It compounds all of the flaws that in previous books were fairly minor into what I found to be one big irritation. This included predictable and unnecessary conversations, ludicrous coincidences, excessive repetition, a total lack of new information about our leading characters, and a massive plot hole that I just couldn't deal with. I'm sad to say that I skimmed a lot of this one.
HERE BE SPOILERS .......
We are supposed to believe that everything went horribly and fatally awry because Killian/Keelin couldn't be honest about why he/she couldn't marry Zillah. Unfortunately that just doesn't hold water because there's one very simple and obvious answer: he could just say that he can't father children. It's not a lie, it would very quickly and easily squash any desire to pursue the marriage without hurting feelings, and it doesn't need to be proven. It seems like such an obvious answer that the entire plot just made me mad.
I've only stuck with the last few instalments because I really wanted to see how they would resolve the relationship between Hester and William, so I feel like one more book and I might be done.
HERE BE SPOILERS .......
We are supposed to believe that everything went horribly and fatally awry because Killian/Keelin couldn't be honest about why he/she couldn't marry Zillah. Unfortunately that just doesn't hold water because there's one very simple and obvious answer: he could just say that he can't father children. It's not a lie, it would very quickly and easily squash any desire to pursue the marriage without hurting feelings, and it doesn't need to be proven. It seems like such an obvious answer that the entire plot just made me mad.
I've only stuck with the last few instalments because I really wanted to see how they would resolve the relationship between Hester and William, so I feel like one more book and I might be done.
allisgaze's review against another edition
4.0
Lovely, slowly drawn out mystery in her usual style but at last the potential romantic triangle of our main characters untangled itself. So satisfying, and left me wanting much more of Monk and Hester.
joelle's review against another edition
3.0
I’ve been slowly reading through Perry’s “William Monk” series and I enjoy its gritty Victorian setting and the three main recurring characters—with the mix of vexation and genuine regard they all seem to feel towards one another.
However, I find I can’t read any of the novels back-to-back as one book is very much like the other: an intriguing mystery, some very upsetting events (the overall themes tend to be pretty dark and this one in particular really bummed me out), a surprising twist, and all of the characters having the same thoughts over and over again—I feel like each book could be half as long without losing any of the narrative. Yet the repetition of inner monologues, not just with themselves but with each other, too, does add a kind of comforting familiarity to an otherwise grim storyline.
However, I find I can’t read any of the novels back-to-back as one book is very much like the other: an intriguing mystery, some very upsetting events (the overall themes tend to be pretty dark and this one in particular really bummed me out), a surprising twist, and all of the characters having the same thoughts over and over again—I feel like each book could be half as long without losing any of the narrative. Yet the repetition of inner monologues, not just with themselves but with each other, too, does add a kind of comforting familiarity to an otherwise grim storyline.
garnetofeden's review against another edition
3.0
I believe this is the first work I've read by Anne Perry. Despite being set in Victorian times, it had some of the characteristic markers I associate with and enjoy in Regency fiction. I figured out the reason Killian wouldn't marry Zillah long before its reveal, but it's totally believable that none of the characters ever guessed it. I could also buy some of the characters' progressive thinking on women's rights, but unfortunately the progressive views characters voiced on homosexuality came across as anachronistic. I also enjoyed the veterans theme. I thought the author did an excellent job of weaving history into her fictional plot without overdoing it to the point it became uninteresting. However, she did get at least one detail wrong: Endymion is by Keats not Shelley (pg. 51,53).
Questions remaining:
Rating reviewed 12/26/2022.
Questions remaining:
Spoiler
Will we again see Margaret Ballinger now that Hester and Monk are engaged? Or was she merely a disposable character introduced simply to prove a point and further the plot?Rating reviewed 12/26/2022.
cdbaker's review against another edition
2.0
This one took forever to get going. And some of the stuff was way too coincidental. And I HATE the ending.
robynryle's review against another edition
3.0
There was a point where the book kind of bogged down, and everyone seemed to be repeating themselves over and over again. There are a I guess at least two mysteries to be solved here, and the repetition is redeemed by the cool solution to at least one of they mysteries. I don't know all the series characters, Monk, Rathbone and the Nurse, so I was less interested in their lives.