Reviews

The Face of a Stranger by Anne Perry

acsmyser's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

cathmkay's review against another edition

5.0

I am finally getting around to reading the first book in the William Monk mystery series and I'm hooked! This was a fascinating start to a series because the main character has amnesia after an accident. As the reader is learning about him, he is learning about himself. He must fake his way through a murder investigation without remembering anyone or anything to do with it. He doesn't know who his enemies are and he must use his instincts and his wits to keep his job and find the murderer.

The characters were all finely detailed and multifaceted. There was one particular plot twist I did not see coming. I love it when that happens! I can't wait to continue on with this series.

margaretefg's review against another edition

3.0

Pretty satisfying Victorian mystery, with plenty of attention to nuances of class, details of London neighborhood and Monk who has lost his memory so spends the book solving the mystery of who he is (and why he appears to be a lonely and unpleasant person.)

cakereads's review against another edition

2.0

Intriguing premise. Much of the book was spent developing Monk's character, and not much on the mystery until towards the end. I did enjoy it though, and would read the other books.

judyward's review against another edition

4.0

How are you suppose to solve the murder of a young nobleman who is a hero recently returned from the Crimean War when you have lost all memory of the past? Following a horrible carriage accident, all William Monk has on his release from the hospital is a receipt in his pocket that leads him to his apartment. Gradually, he realizes that he is a police detective in London. But beyond that, and the fact that he comes to understand that he has a reputation for being arrogant, ambitious, and cold, he's forgotten everything and is forced to hide his disability and bluff his professional skills. An intriging launch to a new series.

shelfreflectionofficial's review against another edition

3.0

I currently have my rating at 3 stars because I’m not sure how I feel about this one. The writing style took a bit to get used to, taking place in Victorian England and often involving the Cockney accent. It was a book where I felt like I had to read a lot at one time to get into it and remember what was going on. Seemed like there was a lot of ‘background’ or seemingly unnecessary details to wade through to get to the meat. As others have pointed out- much of this happened in the middle of conversation causing it to be disjointed. Several times I had to go back and figure out what question the response was even connected to because so much happened between the asking and the answering. I can’t say that the solved mystery was shocking or brilliant by any means. Because of the writing style it made it hard to solve on my own ahead of time because I wasn’t entirely sure what clues I should even have at that point. And there were lots of references to the Crimean War which I knew nothing about. And I did get a bit tired of hearing Monk’s character contemplate himself and all his self-reflection. BUT. All that to say, I’m willing to read the next book and see if I can be engaged now that I know what to expect. The storyline was interesting enough and I do like a good mystery. I’ll give Anne Perry another shot!

rlse's review against another edition

3.0

A solid mystery with a unique angle. There aren't many mystery detectives that end up having to investigate themselves for the crime at hand.

melli80's review against another edition

4.0

Slow going but I enjoyed it, definitely found a new author to read

greenldydragon's review against another edition

3.0

The drama of "Who killed Joscelin Grey?" came across as a sub-plot versus the driving question of this book. While Mr. Monk's memory loss rightly throws him off edge and consumes a lot of his attention, he also confuses the reader and repeats the same questions over and over again...

dreynoldsbook's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0