Rating: 
Summary: Tedious
Review: A slender plot is bloated by Perry's incessant and repetitive psychologizing. An editor should have restricted to two (three at the absolute outside!) iterations of: Monk's frustration about his lost antecedents; the tensions between Monk and Runcorn; Hester's brave-but-vulnerable background; Callandra's brave-but-veiled feelings for Kristian; the flame-like fascination Elyssa exerts; Kristian's heroic idealism; the characterologic impossibility of Kristian killing an innocent bystander; etc, etc. When the denouement finally arrives, it is unprepared, implausible and distasteful.
Rating: 
Summary: Still a Perry fan
Review: Any story that starts with a giant hairball and ends with hearsay masquerading as testimony is bound to have some entertainment value. Nevermind that the solution to the mystery has no relationship to the clues that have gone before. I still get a kick out of the Victorian ambiance of Perry's books and can't help being curious about Monk's past as it slowly starts to come into focus.
Rating: 
Summary: Funeral in Blue - Yahoo! Yahoo! Perry fan returns.
Review: Buy this book. The purpose of this review is not to tell the plot but rather to assure Perry fans that her "Funeral in Blue" is a fine piece of storytelling. If you are a William Monk fan, you will enjoy this book especially if you are more interested in puzzles than Perry-philosophy. "Funeral in Blue" has a better balance between storytelling and philosophy than most of the recent Monk novels. If you liked "The Face of a Stranger," you will be relieved to read "Funeral in Blue" because it seemed that the recent Monk novels focused more on the "other" characters than Monk and his wife Hester; this book returns its focus to its namesake. I rated the book like this: Two stars for Ms. Perry returning her focus to Mr. and Mrs. Monk; two stars for Ms. Perry departing, thank goodness, from her usual sordid murder to a crime less gruesome than is her wont; and two stars for the mystery itself. I know that two plus two plus two is six stars, but this mystery novel rated an additional star. Because Ms. Perry has become somewhat predictable, I had a pretty good idea who the culprit would be (and I was correct), but I have to admit that she did a good job of trying to make me change my mind several times. Give Ms. Perry an A+ for this addition to her Monk series. Once I picked up "Funeral in Blue," I had to read it all the way through. If you like Perry, this one is worth buying.
Rating:
Summary: a fascinating read
Review: I've just finished reading the latest William & Hester Monk mystery novel, and I must confess that while I enjoyed it very much, if you're looking for the kind of mystery novel that it full of twists and turns, and that will keep you happily guessing till the very end, you might be in for a bit of a disappointment. "Funeral In Blue" is an interesting and absorbing read, but mainly because of the psychological element in the novel. What makes "Funeral In Blue" such compelling reading is NOT the mystery at hand: who could have murdered Elissa Beck, and the artist's model, Sarah Mackeson, but rather the manner in which Perry delves into the characters of the personalities involved in this novel. Briefly the novel opens with the grisly discovery of the bodies of two women in artist, Argo Allardyce's studio. The dead women turn out to be Sarah Mackeson, Allardyce's model, and Eliisa Beck, the wife of Dr. Kristian Beck (a friend of Hester's) and the daughter of rising political and barrister, Fuller Pendreigh. The nature of the crime causes the police to focus their investigations on Allardyce (who had been commissioned to paint Eliisa's portrait and who happened to be in love with her) and Kristian. Allardyce, it turns out has an iron cast alibi; however Kristian's alibi proves to be shaky at best. And then Monk, together with the detective in charge of the case, discover that Elissa was a hopeless and addicted gambler, and who was near ruining Kristian with her enormous debts. Krisitan is arrested for the murders of both his wife and Sarah Mackeson, however neither Monk nor Hester believe that Kristian could have committed so heinous a crime. Neither does Elissa's father, who commissions Monk to investigate the murders more thoroughly while he undertakes to defend Krisitan in court. Monk's investigations takes him from the gambling slums of London, to Vienna, where Kristian and Elissa first met during the 1848 revolution, where they became comrades in arms, and where they fell in love with each other. For this case seems to hinge on the characters of both Eliisa and Kristian, both one time fiery revolutionaries, all set to change society and the world, and how they have changed since -- for while Kristian seems to have given his life to helping the sick and the poor, Eliisa seems to have exchanged the heady danger of revolution for that of gambling. What had caused Eliisa to fall into such an abyss? Could her murder be linked to her gambling debts? Could Kristian have killed both his wife and the model, Sarah? An added complication for the Monks arises when they realise that Imogen, Hester's sister-in-law, was a gambling cohort of Eliisa's and who may know more of the murder than she is letting on. For Monk and Hester the stakes have never seemed higher as they battle to help a friend, and protect Imogen from discovery and ruin. As is usual with most Anne Perry novels, "Funeral In Blue" is an excellently written and crafted mystery novel. The characters are deftly and thoughtfully portrayed, as is her look at the 1848 uprising. The mystery itself gets resolved suddenly, and there is a gigantic element of coincidence in the resolution of the murders, that gives an air of reality to the whole thing, but which could prove frustrating to all armchair detectives out there. What this mystery novel hinges on however is the riddle that was Elissa Beck. And that is what makes this novel such an absorbing read.
Rating:
Summary: Very readable
Review: Simply put. Likeable and interesting characters. Great period of time. Wouldn't call this a high-octane read, but enjoyable. Liked it enough to look into other Anne Perry novels.
Rating:
Summary: Very readable
Review: Simply put. Likeable and interesting characters. Great period of time. Wouldn't call this a high-octane read, but enjoyable. Liked it enough to look into other Anne Perry novels.
Rating:
Summary: A SUPERBLY NUANCED READING
Review: Talented actor/director David Colacci gives a superbly nuanced reading to the 11th Victorian thriller by tireless Anne Perry. Much to the delight of her band of fans Ms. Perry brings back Hester and William Monk. As many recall, William is a private investigator who has no recall of his life prior to an accident that occurred some six years ago. Hester, William's wife who once toiled along side Florence Nightingale in the Crimean War, is a nurse for Vienna born Dr. Kristian Beck whose wife, Elissa, and a second woman are brutally murdered in an artist's studio. Is the good doctor the killer as many are prone to believe? Or, is Elissa's untimely death tied to her time as a freedom fighter during Austria's mid nineteenth century revolution? The Monks are called upon to solve this mystery by Lady Callandra who can barely conceal her love for Dr. Beck. Once again Ms. Perry excels at her descriptions of period London as well as recalling social inequities that darkened England during those years.
Rating: 
Summary: A Dark Peek Into Victorian England
Review: The book begins with a grotesque and incomprehensible operation, and then takes the reader into an intrigue of enemies, allies, causes and injustice, weakness and strength, oppression and religious prejudice. This book is a very dark peek into lives in England during the U.S. Civil War, and post revolution Austria. The reader is introduced to three unlikely, complex and generally unsympathetic (all childless) couples. First we meet Monk and Hester - the gentleman/former policeman without a past and Hester, the altruistic and driven nurse, a former aide to Nightingale, and assistant to the benevolent Dr. Beck. Then the story shows another marriage - former revolutionaries - the good Dr. Beck and the beautiful, purposeless, addicted drama queen of a wife, also quite an unlikely duo. Wiggling about in the background are the staid Charles and the secretively buoyant Imogene. The characters are a study in psychological contrasts, with an envious and judgmental police detective, the shallow but highly talented artist, the dedicated father, the wealthy yet haunted by love older widow, the ego driven head of the hospital and the mysterious Austrian - but while well sketched they never seem to breathe. Deep passions, emotions and dark secrets haunt this darkly hazy tale of murder, betrayal and unworthy obsession. It plods along slowly to a rather implausible and hasty climax. When Elissa Beck and an artist's model are found murdered, Monk - the man without a past - must travel into the past to find answers. Generally well written, with interesting research, philanthropic motives and an ominous glimpse into compulsion and despair. However, this dark dirge does not inspire me to read more by this author.
Rating: 
Summary: A Disappointing Plot and Murder Investigation
Review: The strength of the Anne Perry books about William Monk and his nurse wife, Hester, is in describing the nitty-gritty of ordinary life in Victorian London. In Funeral in Blue, Ms. Perry extends her talents to do the same for Vienna. As a result, the book's best moments are those exploring the passions and conflicts of the unsuccessful revolution there in 1848.
Unfortunately, Ms. Perry overreaches herself in dragging those momentous events into the story. The rest of the plot also seems contrived and moves oh so slowly. Despite enough red herrings to fill a pickle barrel, it's very obvious to any reader who the murderer was except to the fictional characters who are investigating the murder. As a result, the angst that William and Hester go through is simply painful to read.
I read this book after enjoying The Shifting Tide. If you decide to read one of the novels in the series, I strongly suggest that you read The Shifting Tide instead. It's vastly more interesting, fast moving and well constructed than this one.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Victorian Mystery!
Review: The writing and atmosphere are good in this one, but the plot stinks. We are constantly told what characters are like and how they feel, but we see little direct evidence to prove it. Too many plot threads, one involving Hester's brother and sister in law is created seemingly just for convenience in trying up part of the evidence in the main case. One good point- Runcorn is presented as a slightly more complex character. Monk sees him in a different light as they work together, and it seems as if some of their differences may be mending. It would be good for him to have an ally on the police force again. It seems that Monk is going to try and re establish some contact with his remaining relatives, and that would be good as well. It's about time that Anne Perry started to tie up the threads of Monk's life and bring the series to a close before it becomes unreadable. How many more dreadful dark family secrets can she work into her plots before she runs out of ideas?
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