A Sudden, Fearful Death: A William Monk Novel

By Anne Perry

In a London hospital, Prudence Barrymore, a talented nurse who had once been one of Florence Nightingale’s angels of mercy in the Crimean War, meets sudden death by strangulation. Private inquiry agent William Monk is engaged to investigate this horrific crime–which intuition tells him was no random stroke of violence by a madman.

Greatly helped by his unconventional friend Hester Latterly, another of Miss Nightingale’s nurses, and barrister Oliver Rathbone, Monk assembles a portrait of the remarkable woman. Yet he also discerns the shadow of a tragic evil that darkens every level of society, and a frightening glimmer of his own eclipsed past.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Sep 22, 2010
• ISBN: 9780307767783

Anne Perry

With twenty million books in print, ANNE PERRY's was selected by The Times as one of the twentieth century's '100 Masters of Crime', for more information about Anne and her books, visit: www.anneperry.co.uk

Reviews for A Sudden, Fearful Death

[n.w.moors-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

When Crimean nurse Prudence Barrymore is murdered and her body stuffed down a laundry chute, it is up to private investigator William Monk to discover who killed her. He has the aid of Hester Latterly who knew nurse Barrymore slightly and is now nursing in the same hospital. I was happy there was a lot more of Monk in this book. The last two books had more to do with Hester and Oliver Rathbone, the solicitor who is usually involved in the crimes detailed this series. There are some good twists and turns in this story though it seemed to take a while to reach the conclusion with some side alleys that didn't seem to have much to do with the actual crime. I also didn't learn much new about Monk's memory lapse (from the first book) which is what makes up so much of his character. But it was a good read despite a few plot holes; there were women doctors in America in the 1850s so I'm not sure why there was so much disbelief in England that a woman could go to medical school. Innovations in sterile environments in medical facilities were discussed by people such as Joseph Lister and Florence Nightingale though perhaps still ridiculed at the time of this book. Ms. Perry writes well with a lot of good detail about Victorian settings, and all-in-all, this was a fine effort.

[bonniejune · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I like that Monk had two cases to solve in this one. I like the characters, the setting and the mystery itself. I think the books in this series are too long. I'm listening on audiobook so I can't really skim through dull parts. I was also screaming at the book for at 2 hours about something that should have been obvious at least to Hester.

[eilonwy_anne · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I read this years ago, but I remember it as being a well-plotted mystery and an incisive look under Victorian mores. I also think it made me fall in love with Hester Latterly, the bright, abrasive nurse that works with Anne Perry's detective Monk.

[kaulsu · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The main characters are well rounded in this fourth book in the series. Perry now can spend more time developing the victims and protagonists. In this book, however, the villain of the piece remained fairly two-dimensional throughout.

[margaretpinardauthor · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Oh, I like the Monk novels, but this one turned out to have a big gaping hole. Perhaps Perry assumes her reader to be sufficiently in the mindset of the period not to realize that the letters could have a different meaning than she points to for over a hundred pages, but I thought it was most exasperating that they went on and on without realizing their import. Ah well. I begin to see how she's rearranged characters' foibles and mannerisms from the Thomas Pitt series, which makes it easier to analyze, as an author...

[scottkalas · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

This book is not part of the Monk series as promoted it is Hester Latterly series. That in itself didn't make this book miss its mark it is dragged out beyond a length where my interest was kept.

The basis of evidence against the Stanhope character would never be enough to bring the case to trial. How one jumps from letters of a scorned woman who threatens blackmail being without a doubt evidence for police to arrest to me seems farfetched. There is no direct physical evidence to directly connect the person to the murder.

Maybe i'm being a whiner but this edition of the Monk series and the ever growing role of Latterly's character has me choosing to dump Anne Perry's Monk series of must read

[bonniejune54 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I like that Monk had two cases to solve in this one. I like the characters, the setting and the mystery itself. I think the books in this series are too long. I'm listening on audiobook so I can't really skim through dull parts. I was also screaming at the book for at 2 hours about something that should have been obvious at least to Hester.

[delphimo_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I had stopped reading this series and I have no idea why I stopped. This is set in Victorian England, and presents a society enmeshed in rules and regulations for each level of society. Medicine and surgery are in the early stages of development, and nurses do not have a professional entity. The story shows the helplessness of women in that age. A male member of the two different families rapes two young women and nothing is done. The main story centers on the murder of an outstanding nurse, and the trial of the alleged murderer. The plight of women and the emergence of surgery stand as the main attractions of this story. Perry does a wonderful job showing the feelings of the day in regard to these topics.